Assessing Unstoppable Learning. Tom Hierck

       To my daughter Kennedy—your tenacious pursuit of why and your insatiable love for learning inspire me to keep learning, reflecting, and growing as a mother and an educator every day. You are my everything, and you make my heart so happy!

      And to my late grandmother, Darlene—although her dynamic career as a first-grade teacher and principal spanned almost five decades, she still knew all the names of each of her students, and ultimately their kids’ names, and even their grandkids’ names. May her legacy of building relationships, inspiring hope and perseverance, and fostering a love of learning in each of her students serve as inspiration to all of us. I can only hope to be half the educator she was.

      — Angie

       Acknowledgments

      Although our names appear on the cover, this book would not be possible without the support and input of many colleagues and friends.

      Beginning with the Solution Tree family, we would like to thank the following key supporters. Douglas Rife has been a visionary in his role as publisher, and his support has been invaluable. Claudia Wheatley brought the two of us together, knowing our styles and abilities would mesh to create a high-quality book. We hope you’ll validate her faith in us. Jeff Jones has built a company that encourages educators to find their voice and share that with colleagues. His commitment to educators through books and events is unparalleled in our field. Amy Rubenstein was our first editor and key support person, and we thank her for the initial shaping of this text. Tara Perkins became our go-to person for all of the subsequent edits, and her suggestions ensured that our ideas blended and led to a cohesive text. We are fortunate to get the opportunity to share our thoughts in the words of this book and to follow that with the opportunity to share this work through professional learning opportunities coordinated by Shannon Ritz and her PD team. Our Assessment Center colleagues will see their fingerprints in various places in this book. In particular, we are grateful to Cassandra Erkens, Tom Schimmer, and Nicole Vagle for their contributions.

      At the outset of the writing and throughout the process, we were supported by insightful feedback, shared narratives, and exemplars provided by colleagues. Trailblazers like Charlie Coleman, Garth Larson, Michael McDowell, Sue Stephenson, Pam Bloom, Erika Fisher, Scott Greseth, Michelle Hicks, and Denise Pontrelli are paving the way with their innovation and collaboration to serve as exemplars to catapult this work forward. Like all educators, they have full plates and yet made the time to provide timely feedback and share some content.

      We are very appreciative of the opportunity to write a book driven by the high-quality work of Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. They have charted new territory with Unstoppable Learning and were generous in their time and support as we crafted this book.

      Finally, thanks to the thousands of educators and students we’ve been fortunate to interact with over the years. Your sharing of successes and failures reminds us of the great work that has been done and the remaining work that lies before us.

      Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:

      Jennifer Adams

      Assessment Coordinator

      Arlington Heights School District 25

      Arlington Heights, Illinois

      Elizabeth Gaffney

      Academic Coach

      Secondary English Language Arts Curriculum Specialist

      Chandler Unified School District

      Chandler, Arizona

      Peter Glahn

      Principal

      Timberline Middle