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TOOLBOX If youwant to find out more about schools profiled in this issue or resources to help bring excellence to your schools, contact the following: National Heritage Academies: www.heritageacademies.com or (800) 699-9235. Hyde Education Charter Family: www.hyde.edu Elaine McEwan: www.elainemcewan.com National Council on Teacher Quality: www.nctq.com Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools: How You Can Know If Your School Is A Good One Elaine K. McEwan, Ed.D. Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton, IL (1999) I nterested in iden- tifying and creating excellent schools?  Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools may be your next reading assignment. Author Elaine McEwan draws extensively on her own experience as a teacher, principal, office administrator, consultant and parent from Oro Valley, Arizona.   Because parents today have no guaran- tees that one school will be better than the next, it’s important to know how to scope out those with real excel- lence.  Form too often wins out over substance: the sparkling new public school in an affluent area might be lacking a focused academic mission, while the inner-city school with the committed principal may actually be delivering the high achievement you were looking for.   In the U.S., curriculum is not standardized, so a family transferring from New Jersey to California, for example, will encounter a totally different set of expectations and teaching methodologies. And because there are far more choices now, too — public schools, magnet schools, private and parochial schools, charter schools and home schooling and even vouchers  – McEwan helps us break down into smaller, manage- able pieces the task of evalu- ating a school’s success and effectiveness. Her ten traits are based on what the research has to say about the schools in which students learn most effec- tively and her own personal experience as an adminis- trator in creating a successful school.   Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools provides parents with a sure-footed approach to learning which schools are the best.  “I want parents to understand that with just a little digging and homework and interest, you can become very knowledge- able about schools,” says McEwan.  “You owe it to yourself and your children to do that.” People are at the core in any top-notch school, according to McEwan. Everyone – principals, teachers, students and parents – is focused on the goal of academic success for every child.  Parents are a powerful force. In successful schools, professionals give credence to parents’ opin- ions about curriculum and children’s needs. Good schools must have strong standards, research- based curriculum, and rising achievement, McEwan advo- cates. The climate should be safe, with open communica- tion, and one in which there is a focused academic mission. Though intangible, culture and climate have the power to make or break a school. McEwan provides a checklist of potential hot spots in which a school sends dangerous messages about its philosophy and mission. For instance, she asks:  Do vague mission statements fail to summarize what you want for your chil- dren? Do educators "circle the wagons" to protect their own when threatened? Are buildings and grounds unsafe and poorly maintained? “If you’re looking at becoming excel- lent, or you’re looking at staying excellent, you have to tend to all ten traits,” cautions McEwan.  “It’s very easy to grow complacent. Demographics might suddenly shift, you may lose some particularly excellent teachers who are retiring and suddenly you realize it wasn’t just by accident that all your kids take AP English.” Subsequent chapters examine a school’s reading and mathematics programs and provide checklists to rate school performance. Finally, the book provides a comprehensive list of over 40 web sites offering infor- mation about the education issues raised in the book, a list of resources on reading instruction for educators and parents, and a model mission statement. Cornerstones for school excellence “I want parents to understand that with just a little digging and homework and interest, you can become very knowledgeable about schools”