The Superintendent's Summer Book Club

The joint reading of a well-chosen text each year in Frederick County, Md., engages the school community in thoughtful discussion

Most people don’t realize how busy summer can be for school districts. As a district leader, you know, the minute one school year ends, we begin working at breakneck speed to get ready for the coming school year.

At the same time, though, we still need to use the summer as much as possible to pause and reflect on our work as education leaders and to renew ourselves for the year ahead. I’ve found a great way to do that while simultaneously offering professional development for staff and meaningful engagement for the broader community. I host a Superintendent’s Summer Book Club each year.

We’re headed into our fourth year of a book club in Frederick County, Md., that focuses parents, staff and community members from business to government partners on the same page, literally at times, as we discuss a book linked to achieving our mission in public education.

A Book on Mindsets

We started the summer club in 2014 by reading Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success. Exploring the question what makes high achievers different by examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, this choice generated inspiring and lively discussion on public education’s role in our community. I especially appreciated the book’s intriguing look at cultural differences.

In my increasingly diverse community in central Maryland, I knew that Outliers would be a good discussion starter. Indeed, the book engaged large segments of our community. Educators, business people, political leaders, parents and high school students came together to talk about public education and the idea of achievement.

We built on the success of our inaugural book club in summer 2015 by selecting Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Also focused on achievement, the work by Dweck, a world-renowned Stanford University psychologist, advocates a growth mindset with the view that brains and talent are limited in determining a person’s potential, while resilience and love of learning are essential ingredients for great accomplishments. With a growth mindset, Dweck asserts, dedication and hard work help us develop our most basic abilities.

Mindset describes Thomas Edison’s drive and collaborative work as factors leading to the light bulb’s invention, which Dweck notes was not a single moment of achievement but relied on a network of inventions, “each requiring one or more chemists, mathematicians, physicists, engineers and glass blowers.” Already harnessing Dweck’s research to promote talent development in our primary and middle school learners, we found Mindset a natural fit for expanding that conversation in our community.

Appealing Venues

In each of those summer book clubs, we connected with readers in ways that worked best for them. We used social media, our targeted e-mail service, our FCPS TV channel that we broadcast on cable and livestream online, news releases and community events to promote the club and share when we were reading specific chapters.

For some readers, a scheduled Twitter conversation using a common hashtag was the easiest way to participate. One tweeter said, “I see with my boys, they have a growth mindset when it comes 2 sports, but not necessarily with academics. Again, situational.” Another responded: “Same thing with video games. ‘I’m not failing; I’m learning to do better.’ Why not in school?” A teacher weighed in: “There is often a stigma with struggle. We need to reverse that and reinforce that progress is never made without struggle.” 

For some participants, book club meetings at a downtown bookstore, community café or even outdoors in a Frederick city park were appealing. Still others tuned in to a televised panel discussion and shared their thoughts on the school district’s social media. A visit to our blog site rewarded viewers with a 10-minute presentation by Dweck about the power of replacing notions of “failure” with a “not yet” mindset or a growth rather than fixed mindset. We encouraged comments and welcomed dialogue.

Hosting an Author

With our third selection, Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform, last summer, we hosted a visit by author Jack Jennings, who spent much of his career working for Congress on education issues. It was a significant bonus that readers could hear the author discuss the evolution of federal education policy and share his insider’s vision for the future. What could be more rewarding after reading and discussing the material than getting to engage directly with the writer? After all, I had attended Jennings’ session at an AASA conference and was inspired by his work.

Given the conversations around reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and political discussions about local control, I considered the book a great springboard for understanding the context of education issues such as equitable funding and mandated testing. Many of our teachers were particularly interested in how the mandates that affected them came to pass.

Jennings set forth an ambitious agenda for reframing education as a federal civil right and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn. “American schools can be the best in the world, and American students can be both knowledgeable and creative,” he told our discussion group. “But we must get moving — and right now!” I was pleased the local news media covered the author’s visit — and our book club made the news.

Eager Anticipation

We are exploring options for this summer’s book selection. Participants from past summer reading groups have offered excellent suggestions. To see what we’re reading, check our blog. You’re even welcome to use the hashtag published there to join us from afar in social media discussions and more.

Regardless of what book we choose, though, I know my entire community is looking forward to the next book club. While our summers are as busy as ever, our book club has become an important (and fun) way to renew, reflect and engage around critical education topics.