3 Building a Strengths-Based Culture
Focusing on Strong Versus Wrong
Developing Leadership in Teachers and Students
Encouraging the Zookeeper Effect
Creating Defining Moments
Molding Mindsets—Theirs and Ours
Conclusion: Wise Up
Touchstone Takeaways
4 Designing Personalized Experiences
Seven Questions to Kickstart the Process
Core Components of Personalization
Strategies for Designing Personalized Experiences
Conclusion: Settle or Soar
Touchstone Takeaways
5 Collaborating With the Outside
Education Philanthropy Through the Ages
The Collective Impact Movement
Collaborating With Millennial Parents
Conclusion: Lower the Drawbridge
Touchstone Takeaways
Assess Your Identity
Turn Words Into a Movement
Conclusion: A New Hope
Carlsbad Unified School District Graduate Profile
Lakeside Union School District Graduate Profile
About the Author
Suzette Lovely, EdD, spent thirty-four years serving K–12 schools in every capacity—from instructional aide to teacher to principal to central office administrator to superintendent. During her role as superintendent in Carlsbad, California, she spearheaded several efforts to support future-ready learning, including the implementation of a career pathways grant involving eighteen school districts throughout San Diego County; coordination of workforce readiness meetings with community college presidents, elected officials, and business leaders; and participation in collective impact endeavors with nonprofits. Dr. Lovely was also one of a handful of superintendents invited to participate in a focus group with California’s governor to discuss the state’s new funding and accountability system.
Since retiring, Dr. Lovely has remained active in strategic planning work, superintendent searches, leadership coaching, university teaching, and facilitation of the Women in Education Leadership (WEL) Institute. Dr. Lovely has been recognized for her visionary leadership and educational contributions by California Senator Patricia Bates, the California PTA, Hi-Noon Rotary, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, The Master Teacher blog, and the San Diego County Art Education Association.
Dr. Lovely is the author of three books: Staffing the Principalship, Setting Leadership Priorities, and Generations at School. She has also authored numerous journal articles on capacity building and leadership development. Dr. Lovely has been a featured speaker at several local, state, and national conferences.
Following her undergraduate work at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Lovely earned a master’s degree in educational administration from National University and a doctorate from California State University, Fullerton. Her doctoral research provides unique insights into the generational perspectives of Millennial teachers and their long-term commitment to the profession.
To learn more about Dr. Lovely’s work, email [email protected], or follow @SuzetteLovely on Twitter. To book Suzette Lovely for professional development, contact [email protected].
Foreword
by Sean Covey
It is both an honor and a pleasure to write the foreword for this tremendous book by Dr. Suzette Lovely. Although we don’t know each other well, her reputation precedes her, and I have the greatest respect for the decades of her life she has devoted to education. Having worked in all educational roles and capacities during this time (from teacher’s aide to educator, principal, and then California superintendent), Dr. Lovely truly walks her talk. What, then, has led her to connect with me?
I am also in the education business. And although I come from quite a different background (having never been an official teacher or received a PhD), I spend my life in a classroom of sorts. I study kids—their behavior, ideas, opinions, and more. And as president of the FranklinCovey Education division, mentoring future-ready learners is also my passion. Several years back, I published a book (following in my father’s footsteps) called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Following a decade of research, I concluded that our current education system is just not keeping up with the needs of today’s students. This led my division at FranklinCovey to bring forth a character-based curriculum of its own, The Leader in Me. We saw the need and knew that something needed to be done.
Which brings me to Dr. Lovely. I am enormously gratified by her courageous leadership in identifying ways to bring our current school systems and educators into the new millennium. The time has come to shift away from the paradigms of the past and embrace the future. In Ready for Anything: Four Touchstones for Future-Focused Learning, Dr. Lovely introduces us to her education model, comprised of four touchstones or criteria which can help point educators toward meaningful adjustments that will help prepare our children for the future. These four touchstones are remarkable, proven principles that work wherever a student or teacher falls in their educational journey. Let me explain by giving a quick preview of these principles.
First, Dr. Lovely stresses the need for implementing innovative practices. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The future depends on what we do in the present.” This touchstone encourages educators to challenge students to innovate and create through new ideas and practices. When they do this, they take a big step into the future.
The second touchstone describes how important it is to build a strengths-based culture. This is accomplished by talking to students about their interests and ideas and helping them utilize their innate talents. This, in turn, can lead to new discoveries and build confident learners of the future.
The third touchstone explains the importance of designing personalized experiences for each and every student. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Students must be individually considered and given what they personally need to progress in their own time and their own way.
Fourth, Dr. Lovely believes in the vital importance of collaborating with the outside. Communities, organizations, parents, and others help shape, mold, and connect students to their own unique environments. It truly takes a village.
Each of these touchstones frames a future-ready learning process that advances the cutting edge of education.