After her school wins the coveted United States National Secondary Education Award, a school principal embarks upon an educational odyssey. The principal discovers that the reasons for winning the award are a sham! As her school falls apart, she begins to reflect on the stagnant school organization and the ineffective prescriptions for improvement. She wonders why as a democratic nation, American schools do not model the practice of democracy for students. The principal begins her quest to unearth the flaws in her own thinking about the way schools work in her quest to create more democratic schools. Endeavoring to understand how systems really work, the principal puts her new ideas into practice and shares with the reader the lessons learned from past practices. This book presents a guide for principals in the form of rules that suggest that educational leaders must ask themselves why they do what they do. It also takes readers through a series of vignettes focused on how principals can practice democracy in the schoolhouse, while challenging themselves and their school community.
′Overall, and as one has come to expect from Fink, this is a readable text that thinks outside the box of leadership theory... I have no doubt that the text will be welcomed by many readers for an engaging style that places human interest at the heart of the discourse in the field′ - Mark Brundrett, writing in Educational Management Administration and Leadership ′It is a ′must read′ for those in educational leadership roles in schools, both to gain invaluable insights and to draw on a framework for individual reflection′ - Professor Brent Davies, University of Hull `I enjoyed reading this book. The combination of critical reflection of his experience in the light of relevant literature makes for a lively and thought-provoking book. I was going to say "little" book, because at times I would have liked to have read more. But on the other hand, it is the sort of book one - the academic and the leader - could read in one sitting, enjoy and come back to for some ideas. I recommend you to do so′ - ESCalate `This book provides a refreshing alternative to the rhetoric about ′superheads′, and ′mavericks′ that has been prevalent in some of the recent discourse about leadership. Dean Fink draws heavily upon the work of Andy Hargreaves, Michael Fullan and his own research with Louise Stoll so some of the ideas are familiar. However, what makes Leadership for Mortals interesting is the way in which he untangles the complexities of leadership by using genuine examples alongside the theory. Dean Fink′s writing is accessible and his anecdotal style should resonate with his intended audience of current and prospective leaders′ - LDR, The Magazine for School Leaders `This book is a welcome antidote to the notion of school leaders as heroic figures. Dean Fink′s commitment to enhancing the life chances of young people shines through the pages′ - Kate Myers, Times Educational Supplement `With great wisdom and insight, Dean Fink invites us into his leadership stories to masterfully illustrate that school leadership is no longer a person but an intricate network of ′mortals′ working together to enhance learning experiences for students. They are truly leaders of learning, where commitment to successful learning for all students is the locus of their passion, perseverance and persuasion. Balanced with connections to respected leadership literature, this lucid and eloquent book will inspire current and future school leaders to reflect and develop their leadership practice to higher levels of effectiveness. An outstanding and optimistic read for all school leadership mortals, practitioners and scholars alike. I enjoyed it immensely′ - David Eddy, Director, First-time Principals Programme, The University of Auckland `Practitioners will find this book at the same time reassuring and challenging. Fink includes stories of leadership that highlight effective strategies and some approaches that have gone wrong. They are real and ring true and therefore credible and instructive′ - Ken Thompson Principal, Gladstone Park Secondary College, Australia `A great story about schools and their leaders progressing towards a knowledge driven world and the roads they choose to travel. Building sustainable communities of practice and the credible and varied examples of how the combination of leadership behaviour and enabling and disabling processes can make or break a successful school are clearly illustrated in Leadership for Mortals. A significant read for all aspirant and accomplished leaders′ - - Jenny Lewis,Executive Officer, Australian Council for Educational Leaders ′Dean Fink brings together a wealth of learning from his own experience as a leader and learner to provide some powerful messages. This is a well-informed book with a strong theoretical basis but it is also personal and real, making sense of educational leadership in a way that is both profound and down-to-earth. School leaders in the UK and elsewhere will find inspiration, reassurance and challenge in this book′ - Steve Munby, Chief Executive, National College for School Leadership ′Grounded in solid knowledge base and profound lived experience, Dean Fink′s Leadership for Mortals provides deep insights on how ordinary practitioners could become great and sustainable leaders of learning. Fink′s book is not a "quick-fix" how-to-do-it manual. It stimulates us to reflect on education leadership both as a personalized, value-laden journey and an art as well as reminds us of the imperative issues of extraordinary commitment, effort and determination in making a difference on leading students and teachers′ learning. This is a must-read book for aspiring and serving leaders in the field of education′ - Professor John Chi-kin Lee, Dean of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong ′Its style is conversational and unpatronizing, yet it makes powerful statements about the key components that contribute to successful leadership. It is always practical, and readers will come away from this book knowing they have learned something that they will be keen to try out for themselves...Readers will recognise leaders good and bad that they have come across, at times being reassured that they are getting it right and at others despairing as they identify situations in which they, too, got it wrong. Fink′s writing makes it clear that leadership is not exact science! He reminds us that, although we are mortals, with good mentoring and better training our own potential has a better chance of being realised, and that this is the best way to enable our students to achieve their own potential.′ Journal of Research in International Education Leadership in recent years has become a growth industry. Politicians demand more of it, academics decry the lack of it, and potential school leaders are deciding ′to hell with it′ .....we are making the business of leadership so complicated that we seem to need John Wayne at his mythological best or Xena the Warrior Princess to run a school. Most educational leaders are not ′heroic′ but rather ordinary people who through extraordinary commitment, effort, and determination have become extraordinary, and have made the people around them exceptional. Educational leadership is more art than science; it is more about character than technique; it is more about inspiration than charisma; it is more about leading students and teachers′ learning than the management of things This resource for prospective and practising school leaders: - motivates and inspires - addresses the challenges of contemporary school leadership - presents a model for leadership development, selection and succession - challenges existing and prospective leaders to develop and live by a set of core values based on students′ learning - describes and explains the ′learnings′ required by effective leaders of learning - describes the intellectual ′tool kit′ that leaders can develop - describes the trajectories through which leaders proceed, and the ′learnings′ required at each stage of the leaders evolution - presents a template for leadership development and succession.
Bridge the achievement gap with proven strategies for student success Breakthrough Principals debunks the myth of the 'superhero' principal by detailing the common actions and practices of leaders at our nation's fastest-gaining public schools. Based on the authors' Transformational Leadership Framework, which they developed through in-depth study of more than 100 high-gaining, high-poverty schools, the book distills findings into a practical, action-focused plan for diagnosing school needs and implementing structures, systems and practices that accelerate student achievement. Brought to life by case studies of principals who have led dramatic gains in student achievement, the book is a how-to guide for increasing the quality of teaching and learning; improving school culture; attracting and supporting high-performing teachers; and involving parents and community to help students achieve. You'll learn how breakthrough principals make the school's mission a real part of both strategy and practice, and set up sustainable systems that support consistent, ongoing improvement. High-impact practices are organized into five broad categories: learning and teaching, school-wide culture, aligned staff, operations and systems, and personal leadership. The primary job of school leadership is to help students succeed. It begins with first recognizing and prioritizing areas of need, then finding and implementing the most effective solutions. Whether you work in a turn around environment, or want to make a good school better, this book will give you a set of concrete practices—illustrated through examples of real principals in real schools—that have been proven to work. Discover the primary drivers of student achievement Work toward the school's vision in staffing, operations, and systems Set the tone for all relationships and practices with good leadership Closing the achievement gap is a major goal of educational leadership, and principals are forever searching for viable methods that help them better serve their students. Breakthrough Principals unveils the details behind the success stories from across the nation to provide a roadmap to transformative gains.
In this book, McLaughlin examines the eight strategies expert principals utilize to lead equitable, high achieving schools. Each chapter will include strategies, case studies, reflective questions and a chapter summary.
Alarmed by mounting evidence of a national shortage of qualified and willing principals, the authors surveyed or interviewed over 200 school principals from across the country to find out why so many are leaving the profession and how those who stay manage their work. They discovered that regardless of a principal's race, gender, school level, geographic region, or tenure, there was a remarkable consistency in the challenges identified and suggestions given for revamping the role of the American principal. Featuring stories shared by practicing principals, this timely volume: offers fresh insights on ways to both attract and retain good principals; shows how successful principals reconcile their expectations and hopes with the realities and disappointments encountered in their work; examines issues common to all principals, such as time management, staff evaluations, keeping the focus on instruction, community expectations, and pursuing a balanced life; presents strategies that principals have used to make their role more effective and more attractive; and provides practical ideas for coping with the present and envisioning the future, including alternative principal models.
Preparing Principals for a Changing World provides a hands-on resource for creating and implementing effective policies and programs for developing expert school leaders. Written by acclaimed author and educator Linda Darling-Hammond and experts Debra Meyerson, Michelle LaPointe, and Margaret Terry Orr, this important book examines the characteristics of successful educational leadership programs and offers concrete recommendations to improve programs nationwide. In a study funded by the Wallace Foundation, Darling-Hammond and the team examined eight exemplary principal development programs, as well as state policies and principals' experiences across the country. Using the data from the study, they reveal how successful programs are structured, the skills and knowledge participants gain, and what they are able to do in practice as school leaders as a result. What do these exemplary programs have in common? Aggressive recruitment; close ties with schools in the community; on-the-ground training under the wing of expert principals, and a strong emphasis on the cutting-edge theories of instructional and transformational leadership. In addition to highlighting the programs' similarities, the study also explains the differences among the programs and sheds light on the effectiveness of approaches and models from different states and contexts?East, West, North, and South; urban and rural; pre-service and in-service. The authors analyze program outcomes for principals and their schools, including illustrative case studies and educators' voices on the influence of programs' strategies for recruitment, internships, mentoring, and coursework. The ideas and suggestions outlined in Preparing Principals for a Changing World are presented with the goal of increasing the number of highly qualified, thoughtful, and innovative educational leaders.
Build better schools by training better leaders A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership answers the question that district leaders have been asking across the country: if Leverage Leadership is a roadmap for principals on how to lead great schools, what can principal managers and districts do to support them on that path? A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership offers a step-by-step guide to coaching principals to the highest levels of achievement, and it is rooted in studying the most successful principal managers and districts across the country. It can be used by principal managers/supervisors, superintendents, district and state leadership, and principal training organizations to accelerate the growth of principals in your community. Used in conjunction with Leverage Leadership 2.0, this book identifies the key actions principal managers should take to create exceptional school leaders, integrating the seven levers of leadership into district culture from the principal manager on up. With a particular emphasis on the two “super-levers” of data-driven instruction and student culture, this book is packed with advice, professional development materials, and real-world videos of principal managers in action, offering principal managers a valuable resource for bringing about change. A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership introduces a new unifying approach that is also highlighted in Leverage Leadership 2.0: See It, Name It, Do It. It gives you the tools to See it (see models of effective practice and identify gaps), Name it (name concrete actions for improvement) and Do it (provide means to practice these action steps until a principal masters them) With A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership in hand, principal managers, superintendents and principal training organizations can facilitate district-wide and state-wide transformations and hasten the benefit to the students and community as a whole.
Leadership Through Mentoring: The Key to Improving the Principals Confidence and Skill lays out the case for the development of robust mentorship programs to support new school leaders. With principal turnover at an all-time high, it is urgent that schools and districts find ways to help newly appointed leaders grow into effective supervisors, managers, and strategic thinkers who can also find personal and professional satisfaction in their careers. Using examples from several established and successful state programs, Leadership Through Mentoring shows how new school leaders’ effectiveness, vision, and engagement can be grown through intentionally designed and executed programs that offer supportive guidance and wise counsel from experienced leaders. Thoughtfully created and appropriately resourced, such programs can pave the way to longer and more successful principal tenures, which research shows lead directly to significant improvements in schools’ cultures, educational efficacy, and teacher and student performance. This is a book for leaders and governing bodies in all kinds of schools.
This book provides insights into the everyday practices of school leaders as told through the real-life stories of principals. The editors and their contributors blend practice with theory, helping aspiring leaders to discover that school leadership is not simply putting prescribed solutions into action, but a constant encounter with quandaries that demand thinking, responding, and adjusting to the situations at hand. Readers build their capacities to view quandaries from multiple lenses, consider a variety of responses, and draw conclusions based on perspectives that may vary from those initially identified. The chapter authors encourage a sharper self-awareness of what scholars value and envision about education, encouraging them to think about how to navigate decision-making through a variety of theoretical frameworks and practices while balancing their own leadership platform development.
