Having worked for many years with the leadership at Meriden schools, I have seen how their consistency, high standards, and understanding of their students and community pay off for every student. I highly recommend The Great Equalizer for every school district.
Of all the districts we have worked with, Meriden Public Schools operates administratively with enthusiasm. There is no resting on their laurels there, but a tone of constant innovation. Their digital transition supports students with heightened humanity--a real trick to pull off in schools that takes a changed mindset. Therefore, superintendent Benigni and his superb staff were awarded the Learning Counsel News Media & Research's high honor of "EduJedi Knighthood," one of only four districts nationwide to make it to that level in 2020. As an author myself, I am pleased to endorse their book The Great Equalizer: Six Strategies to Make Public Education Work in America.
One great lesson learned during the recent past is that "leadership matters!". Effective collaboration is the secret sauce behind the success of most leadership endeavors. Connecticut's Meriden Public Schools district leaders, who authored this book, exemplify the epitome of collaborative leadership on a daily basis. Readers of The Great Equalizer: Six Strategies to Make Public Education Work in America will come away with winning strategies and immediate and long-term action steps to ensure that their schools are truly meeting the current and future needs of all their students.
The voices of practitioners are all too often left out of the conversation about what we need to do to transform our schools and systems. But if we want to serve all students better in our public schools, we need to understand the stories and perspectives of the leaders who have actually done the work. Mark D. Benigni, Barbara A. Haeffner, and Lois B. Lehman offer solid guidance based on their real experiences successfully improving adult practice and student outcomes. The six strategies they recommend can be applied in any system and will lead to better learning for all students.
The Great Equalizer is an essential book at a critical time. With intelligent analysis and compelling storytelling, the authors have taken us inside the work of Meriden Public Schools. It is time that policymakers, researchers, and practitioners all know about Meriden's focused, innovative, and sustained improvement efforts. Theirs is the story of what matters most: doing whatever is possible to ensure that each and every child experiences educational success.
The Great Equalizer: Six Strategies to Make Public Education Work in America is an important resource for leaders to reiterate that indeed, public education in America remains the great equalizer for our students and families. The six strategies all center around embracing, teaching, and nurturing the Whole Child. Now, more than ever before, educators need to be reminded of the importance of engaging the community to reach and support every learner.
Today's modern learners deserve an experience that is relevant for the world in which they live and will work. Shifting paradigms and systems is not easy. It requires bold decision-making, visionary leadership, and resilience to get the work done. Yet, it is possible. There is no better way to make the necessary shifts happen than to learn from those leading the work, and this book highlights what's happening in Meriden Public Schools, one of the best district turnaround stories in the country. The Great Equalizer provides an evidence-based, experientially grounded framework for educational leaders to effectively reimagine what's possible while developing a course of action to make it happen. No matter where you find the state of your system today, this book will force reflection while guiding you in leading the work to new heights
Under Mark D. Benigni's leadership, Meriden Public Schools has been a national lighthouse for exemplary school system leadership and has been honored for its innovation with technology. It is impressive how they work as a team with their community to build equitable digital learning environments while embracing social-emotional wellbeing and ensuring student-centered learning. Learn these impressive lessons for all school leaders and those who want a better education for our children.
Want challenging, inspiring, and supportive schools? Read The Great Equalizer: Six Strategies to Make Public Education Work in America to learn how it was done in Meriden, Connecticut. This beautiful, inspiring, and practical book packed with key takeaways and guiding questions illustrates the importance of laying the foundation for innovation with stakeholder partnerships and celebrating progress on a dashboard of success. Learn how to embrace whole child design principles in a tech-enabled learning environment where all students are challenged and supported.
We are in the midst of a STEM workforce shortage. Countries around the world are gearing up to fill these jobs from where they sit. Dr. Benigni and his team are doing the work that prepares students to thrive, not just survive, in the rest of the 21st century. The Great Equalizer: Six Strategies to Make Public Education Work in America is a blueprint for the post-pandemic development of our young people to compete globally.
