Resource Center
The tools you need to build a responsive organization
Explore Our Resources
We have collected and designed resources to help you test and implement The NEW School Rules in your organization. Use the experiments, workouts, case studies, and content below to develop new practices for you and your teams.
As we wrote The NEW School Rules we wanted to not only think differently about the how schools and districts operate, but also the way readers interact with the rules. Many “how to” books include recommended activities or guiding principles, but these often require a big lift to get started. We wanted to ensure the lessons in this book drove readers toward action. The NEW School Rules includes two types of activities you can use right away to engage with our school rules: experiments and workouts.
- Experiments: The NEW School Rules book includes “experiments” at the end of each chapter to help you try out the rules in small ways. These experiments are helpful when you have a hypothesis you want to test (e.g. I think reworking our instructional team structure will lead to better collaboration across the team). Experiments are meant to be used as a starting point for making a change on your team or across your organization. Please purchase The NEW School Rules to access the experiments today.
- Workouts: The NEW School Rules website includes workouts for each rule. Workouts are activities that help you build a new muscle for implementing the rules. Research shows that it takes repeated practice to develop a new habit or skill. Practicing something repeatedly actually changes the wiring of your brain and supports the growth of new neurons. We have designed these workouts as activities you can use repeatedly, on your own or with your team, to develop the flexibility and stamina for new skills. You should use our workouts once you know what problem you’re trying to solve (e.g. I know I need to rethink roles and accountabilities on my leadership and want to practice doing this). Click on the links below to access our workouts.
Looking for a resource we don’t have below? Have a resource you want to share? Email us at nsr@edelements.com to connect and collaborate.
Learning Organization Workout #6B
This workout focuses on Rule #6: Schools Grow When People Grow. This workout helps you focus on learning a new skill and reflecting on the successes and challenges of the learning process.
Sharing Information Workout #5A
This workout supports Rule #5: Harness the Flow and Let Information Go. This workout will help you take messages and chunk them into small, medium, and large pieces based on effort and expiration.
Decision Making Workout #4A
This workout focuses on Rule #4: Aim for “Safe Enough to Try” versus Consensus. In this workout you will build skills to take ideas that you might have said “won’t work” and make them safe enough to try.
Managing Roles Workout #3A
This workout helps you build skills for Rule #3: Define the Work Before You Define the People. It helps you practice regrouping roles and accountabilities, a key element for reimagining how work happens.
Teaming Workout #2B
This workout helps you dive deeper into Rule #2: Build Trust and Allow Authority to Spread. This workout helps you practice redistributing authority to the teams and individuals closest to each decision.
Planning Workout #1B
This workout focuses on Rule #1: Plan for Change, Not Perfection. It helps you build skills to be a better planner and to develop plans that have the flexibility to allow for learning and iteration.
Experiment #10: Team Meeting Protocol
This experiment helps you test hypotheses related to decision-making and aim for “safe enough to try.” Through this experiment you can test new ways to “default to yes and defend no” one decision at a time.
Experiment #4: Team Meeting Protocol
This experiment helps you test hypotheses related to teaming and how you build trust and let authority spread. Through this experiment you can apply a new meeting protocol to change the way your team comes together and collaborates.
Chapter #1 Planning
The first chapter of The NEW School Rules explores Rule #1: Plan for Change, Not Perfection. This chapter includes an overview of the Planning rule, a district case study, experiments you can try, and look-fors related to the rule.
Study Guide
This guide will help you and your team to reflect, share and synthesize your learnings from The NEW School Rules. Begin to change your culture and shift mindsets towards responsiveness.
Meet Anthony and Alexis
In this short interview hear Anthony and Alexis introduce themselves, summarize The NEW School Rules, and explain why it’s most relevant now.
TL Talk Radio
On this Podcast, Anthony speaks with Lynn Fuini-Hetten and Randy Ziegenfuss from TL Talk Radio about the PL Playbook and reasons for writing The NEW School Rules.
The Principal Center Podcast
On this Podcast, Anthony is interviewed by Justin Baeder Director of The Principal Center about how schools and district organizations can be more effective and impactful.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I learn more about The NEW School Rules?
We’d love to connect with you to share more about the NEW School Rules and how they might support you and your organization. Email us at nsr@edelements.com to connect, or complete the form below.
Where can I buy the book?
The NEW School Rules is available on Amazon and can also be ordered through the Education Elements team by contacting us at nsr@edelements.com.
How can I bring someone to present at my organization?
We’d love to help facilitate a workshop or deliver a keynote to your organization. Check out our Partner With Us page for more information on our speakers and how to book them.
Which rule should I start with?
Use our quiz and our responsive roadmap to help you identify which rule might be best for you or your organization to start with.