Generations at School
Building an Age-Friendly Learning Community
- Suzette Lovely - Capistrano Unified School District, CA
- Austin G. Buffum - Capistrano Unified School District, CA
Foreword by Roland S. Barth
"An insightful and uplifting read!"
—James Rickabaugh, Superintendent, Whitefish Bay School District, WI
"Baby boomer teachers are now the old guard. Gen-Xers demand accountability and transparency. And Millennials are recasting the attitudes and behaviors of youth. The authors provide a roadmap that rings true with anyone who works in a school."
—Neil Howe, LifeCourse Associates
Author, Generations and Millennials Rising
An enlightening guide to encourage multigenerational school staff collaboration.
Today's workforce comprises distinct generational cohorts—Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials. Generations at School provides educators with the knowledge and tools to create and sustain true collaboration, teamwork, and consensus.
Suzette Lovely and Austin G. Buffum introduce the traits and tipping points of these diverse age groups, while providing:
- Case studies and workplace alternatives for the hiring and retention of high-quality employees as well as practices for orientation, mentoring, and boosting schoolwide communication
- Guidelines for examining the generational footprint of an entire district, department, or school site
- Easy-to-apply strategies to promote cross-generational collaboration, performance, and harmony
When sound communication emerges and differences are understood, school districts can create communities that appreciate the uniqueness of each member and value the rich contributions from a multigenerational staff.
"An interesting, insightful, and uplifting read! Filled with practical suggestions and strategies to understand generational differences and build on shared interests and strengths while leveraging unique perspectives and motivations."
"Baby boomer teachers are now the old guard. Generation X parents are demanding accountability and transparency. And a rising generation of Millennials is recasting the attitudes and behaviors of youth. The authors provide an excellent roadmap through this new landscape, drawing on concrete examples that will ring true with anyone who works in a school."
"Filled with creative ways to develop the capacity of a staff to work together as a professional learning community. The authors make a compelling case for recognizing the significant generational differences in play among most faculties and, more important, offer specific strategies for addressing those differences in ways that benefit teachers and students alike."
"This is the essence of the book: understanding our generational differences, finding our generational commonalities, which ultimately will enable us to work together to make a difference for all students. The authors do an outstanding job of providing practical examples and strategies that can be easily implemented."