Over the past two decades, and perhaps even before the "No Child Left Behind Act," policy makers and others have managed to drain civility, compassion, and courage from everyday classroom instruction. We have grown to become an educational system that is almost solely focused on academics at the expense of teaching to the whole child. Civility, Compassion, and Courage in Schools Today argues that civility, compassion and courage are absolutely essential to foster good citizenship-to encourage and motivate students to action-to take on the perspectives of others, and to see how they can become productive members in an ever changing global community. Using the authors' "Model of Influence," a four level hierarchy, they suggest that students can be taught to be more civil, compassionate, and courageous, even when facing adversity, and can move from developing a consciousness about these attributes into embracing influence and taking bold action. This book provides numerous examples as well as lesson plans designed to assist all educators to infuse their instruction with these critical attributes.

This book offers alternative and innovative methods to improve preservice and inservice teacher education. The book explores options in preservice education for supervisor coaching of interns completed through both traditional face-to-face and virtual formats. Additionally, professional development strategies for inservice teachers using face-to-face and virtual coaching are discussed with the goal of improving teachers' classroom content and pedagogy, enhancing teachers' ability to engage diverse student populations, and supporting teachers' in innovative classroom technology applications. The book discusses the benefit of using coaching with both preservice and inservice teachers thus shifting the focus of work with teachers from evaluation to increased support in the classroom. Notably, the book explores an innovative model for this work using virtual coaching to provide teacher candidates and practicing teachers much-needed support embedded within their unique classroom context. This model uses Bluetooth Bug-in-the Ear (BIE) devices with Skype voice over-IP software to deliver virtual coaching. Finally, this book encourages readers to examine coaching relationships and to consider how we as educators engage in coaching practices with our colleagues and our students.

Teacher retention is of utmost importance at a time when so many young teachers choose not to remain in the profession. Teachers exiting the profession cite a lack of administrative support throughout their first years in the classroom. Implementing mentoring programs for beginning teachers will guarantee help and assistance during the difficult time of adjusting to a new career. Mentoring programs are critical when teachers are leaving the profession as quickly as they are leaving. Mentoring programs strengthen faculty relationships within their school community while increasing teachers’ motivation and drive to remain in the profession. If teachers are appreciated, supported, and intrinsically motivated, they will want to be in schools, and they will remain.

Relationship, rapport, routine, respect, and responsiveness are often times the most difficult to facilitate and manage in school settings. However, these concepts are often connected to student achievement, student motivation, and overall school success. Success Favors introduces the Relationship Management System (RMS) (TM). It is a collection of proven strategies, techniques, and approaches developed to impact a school's culture and climate in a positive way. RMS is research-supported and designed to improve the intentionality of the interactions, positive guidance approaches, and the disciplinary practices within school settings. The book is written to engage the reader by presenting Alexander Crummell Academy. Crummell Academy is reflective of many schools across the country. The teachers, administrators, and other professionals of Crummell Academy, are faced with relational and classroom management issues common to many schools and classrooms. As the school's story evolves, the reader will experience how these educators use the RMS strategies in context.