John Dunford was general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders from 1998 to 2010. Prior to that, he was a member of the leadership team of three secondary schools in the north-east of England from 1974 to 1998, including 16 years as head of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, an 11-18 school with 1500 pupils. In this outstanding book, John reveals all that he has learned about teaching and leadership over a stellar 40-year career, interweaved with a series of enlightening stories about government education policy over the last 20 years and the way in which successful schools have navigated the changing policy landscape.

School leaders come in many forms - superintendents, principals and other building leaders, department heads, Board of Education members, heads of the Parent Teacher organizations, teachers’ union representatives, state and federal agency heads, and others. As leaders they are expected to make wise, expeditious and knowledgeable decisions. It is not acceptable to speculate and base decisions on qualitative input. Hard data is regarded as elementary to a school leader’s toolbox, and expertise with data is expected. This expectation will only intensify with the advent of social media, increased data accessibility, sophisticated technology and astute consumers of education. Statistics can make data-based decision-making efficient and ultimately support school leaders with the most critical task – accurately interpreting what is discovered. Why not make statistics your most potent tool? Statistics Made Simple for School Leaders: A New Approach for Using Student, Staff and Community Data can help. This book serves as a handbook for school leaders. With this book, they can confidently and successfully execute data-based decisions to the benefit of their schools, students, staff and community.

The Handbook of Research on the Education of School Leaders brings together empirical research on leadership preparation and development to provide a comprehensive overview and synthesis of what we know about preparing school leaders today. With contributions from the field’s foremost scholars, this new edition investigates the methodological foundations of leadership preparation research, reviews the pedagogical and curricular features of preparation programs, and presents valuable insights into the demographic, economic, and political factors affecting school leaders. This volume both mirrors the first edition’s macro-level approach to leadership preparation and presents the most up-to-date research in the field. Updates to this edition cover recent state and federal government efforts to improve leadership in education, new challenges for the field, and significant gaps and critical questions for framing, researching, evaluating, and improving the education of school leaders. Sponsored by the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA), this handbook is an essential resource for students and scholars of educational leadership, as well as practitioners, policymakers, and other educators interested in professional leadership. .

Keeping and Improving Today's school leaders examines the process of sustaining and retaining quality leaders at the school and district levels. Beginning with a foreword by Michelle D. Young on the importance of administrative leadership in schools, subsequent chapters address the following: six steps of critical organizational supports for leaders; the need for socializing assistant principals into their roles; administrators' perceptions of their administrative teams; school routines and rituals; the need for administrator mentoring of Latino/a leaders; and the relationship between superintendent leadership and principal job satisfaction and efficacy. Concluding with thoughts about retaining and sustaining the best leaders in dynamic environments, the chapters offer contemporary views on retaining and encouraging school administrators throughout the life cycle. The chapters provide needed insight into what should and must be done to develop the best leaders for U.S. schools. --From cover.

The unwavering culture of continuous improvement efforts to bring about school change has irrevocably changed the role expectations for the school leader. The school leader in the 21st century is increasingly perceived as an instructional leader expected to implement whole-school reform models that can shape teacher practice and influence student outcomes. The significant changes in role expectations for school leaders present considerable challenges to an educational system that was not designed to incorporate these conceptualizations. In light of the increased acceptance of changed leadership expectations, the elements that are needed for developing, supporting, and sustaining instructional leaders who can lead systemic change efforts are frequently not present, are fragmented, or are observed at various developmental stages throughout the pK-20 pipeline. This book is centered on the learning and changed behaviors of school leaders, who engaged in a sustained job-embedded professional learning community, facilitated through a university-district partnership. The learning from the findings, suggested that job-embedded learning with their peers, can be instrumental for these principals to build the capacity to lead systemic change efforts. The findings further suggested that creating conditions for new understanding to occur, and sustained opportunities to apply new learning in context to their role, entailed a collaborative effort by a partnership involving two separate institutions with different priorities. The author makes a case for the educational pipeline, to prioritize the support and understanding of complex systemic change efforts and innovations, as they are linked to school improvement.

Strategies for Developing and Supporting School Leaders assists personnel in school districts to deliver appropriate development and support practices for aspiring and current school leaders. This book explores a variety of research-based and best-practice processes that can be implemented in school districts to prepare leaders to meet the technical and adaptive demands of school leadership and the needs of a diverse student population. Sanzo lays out a cohesive framework of key processes and activities that range from the very simple and immediately implementable, to the more complex and nuanced. Providing both the "how," and "why," this important resource shares ideas, strategies, tools, and systems to develop effective and meaningful professional learning opportunities to help promote highly effective schools and districts.

"Jorgenson has designed an amazingly easy-to-use tool that captures the complexity of the principalship in a precise, yet personal manner. This user-friendly resource significantly impacts day-to-day practice." —Christopher Peal, Principal Meadowbrook Elementary School, Novi, MI "An ideal gift for superintendents to give to their principals. It can be used for administrator mentoring, especially for interactive collaboration between colleagues. This book supports the critical survival habit of today′s administrators: reflection." —Rick Miller, Superintendent Oxnard School District, CA Find resilience and optimism in your role as a school principal! Today′s school principals face increasing pressure and new challenges every day. However, by setting aside time for personal reflection and planning, both novice and seasoned administrators can build on their individual strengths and achieve important professional goals. Written in a concise, practical format, A Reflective Planning Journal for School Leaders is part planning calendar, part reflective journal, and part inspirational guide to help principals become focused, proactive leaders. Olaf Jorgenson has organized this step-by-step resource around the school year and offers numerous suggestions, reflective exercises, and features, including: Month-by-month themes that guide individual professional development and reflective practice Advice from award-winning elementary and secondary school principals Space for weekly and monthly planning and goal setting Guidelines for focusing on priorities Tips for increasing parent involvement, initiating change in schools, and making time for professional development Strengthen your professional practice and leadership effectiveness by making personal reflection and planning a daily priority.

This book captures the lived experiences of school principals engaged in meeting the standards of practice inherent in the Professional Practice Competencies for School Leaders in Alberta. These principals tell their own stories of how they meet the competencies mandate of building relationships, establishing and living a school vision, leading a learning community, providing instructional leadership, developing leadership in others, managing the organization, and responding to the societal needs of the context within which the schools are located. In addition, as authors, we provide a theoretical framework for the competencies and situate them within scholarly research.

"This is an updated edition of the best-selling, seminal book on school leadership, equity, and social justice. George Theoharis draws on the experiences and words of successful public-school principals committed to advancing equity and social justice. Through the work of these principals, Theoharis shows why social justice leadership is needed and how it can be effective in creating more equitable schools. Although facing tremendous barriers, these principals made important strides toward closing both the outcome and opportunity gaps in their schools through the use of inclusive, and equitable practices. Updated with examples and frameworks for today's leaders, this edition features a mix of theory and practical strategies. In current context of national resistance to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, this timely book portrays how real school leaders seek, create, and sustain equitable schools, especially for marginalized students. The author identifies seven "keys" that are crucial for social justice leadership: Key 1: Acquire Broad, Reconceptualized Consciousness/Knowledge/Skill Base Key 2: Possess Core Leadership Traits Key 3: Advance Inclusion, Access, and Opportunity for All Key 4: Improve the Core Learning Context - Both the Teaching and the Curriculum Key 5: Create a Climate of Belonging Key 6: Increase Student Learning Key 7: Sustain Oneself Professionally and Personally"--