The Art Of School Leadership

Discusses the importance of strong interpersonal skills to a successful leader and shares strategies for leading students, faculty, and parents in a productive and accountable school.

"English successfully challenges the established educational community to rethink the current state of research on school leadership in the social sciences...The inclusion of theory, discourse, and stories of recognized leaders followed by chapter learning extensions that include key concepts, movie recommendations, and prompted reflective journaling makes this book a most valuable resource for the educational leadership community." —H.J. Bultinck, CHOICE "The Art of Educational Leadership provides one of the most complete examinations of leadership that I have encountered. I admire the way it urges students to think and reflect. The format allows individual learners to focus on those materials that best fit their learning style while the numerous presentations of a single topic through the different modalities strengthens the learning. This text is a fresh, new look at leadership..." —Louise L MacKay, East Tennessee State University "Fenwick W. English returns to themes of leadership he explored in more than 20 earlier books and dozens of presentation to educator audiences. He favors "re-centering educational leadership in the humanities," rather than acting on the recommendation of the business literature, and he emphasizes the use of films as a way to humanize leadership concepts." —THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR "Excellent cogent analysis of key concepts of leadership are presented in a reader friendly style." —Saul B. Grossman, Temple University Moves beyond established notions of leadership to recognize that effective leading is about drama and performance—artistry! The Art of Educational Leadership: Balancing Performance and Accountability stresses the human side of leadership. No other text on this topic demonstrates so ably the importance of artistry in leadership in a field that has been lopsidedly dominated by concepts informed by science. Presenting the idea that leadership is an art, this book: Exemplifies a balance between the science and the art of educational leadership: The real improvement of practice is rooted in the art of application, which is about context and represents the key to leadership practice. Connects content material to self-discovery: Exercises at the end of each chapter include creating a personal, reflective journal to engage the reader in and reflect upon theories and practices presented in the book. Films are suggested for viewing to illustrate the interaction between context, culture, decisions, and outcomes. Portrays multicultural leadership in action: Biography boxes throughout the book share how multicultural educational and political leaders who have been recognized as "expert" practitioners learned the art of leadership in the public arena. This is the first book in educational leadership to sketch out a balance between the science and the art of the field. The text illustrates how performance and practice represent the art, while the delineation of the skills and conceptual models represent the science.

A must-have book for all principals! Principal Talk! provides 52 practical and useful scenarios to implement communication with teachers, parents, students, staff, and the community. Keep your cool and soar to new heights with insightful tips, worksheets, checklists, and sample letters for leadership success. Are you concerned about: Maintaining and sustaining a high caliber of student achievement? Communicating the school's successes in a positive way? Establishing credibility in the community? Promoting and maintaining a safe and positive learning environment? If you answered yes, then Principal Talk! is the book you need. For aspiring as well as veteran principals, this no-nonsense book summarizes how to be an educational leader and advocate in today's educational environment. "Principal Talk! provides simple communication strategies and advice to keep teachers, students, parents, staff and the community in your corner. A must-read for today's educational leader to be successful in today's reform climate." —Jack Canfield Co-author, Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul

"Practicing the Art of Leadership by Reginald Leon Green presents success-proven practices, processes, and procedures grounded in time-tested theories, current research, and the creative, innovative, real-life experiences of educators in the field who are transforming underperforming schools into thriving educational learning communities. "-Amazon.com.

Educational administrators know that leadership requires hundreds of judgments each day that require a sensitivity and understanding of various leadership strategies. Bridging the gap between the academic and practical world, A Guide to Effective School Leadership Theories provides an exploration of ten dominant leadership strategies to give school leaders a solid basis in theory and practical application. Demonstrating the advantages and drawbacks of each theory, readers are encouraged to discover the most appropriate strategy, or combination of strategies, that will best enable their school to achieve positive results. Each Chapter Includes: Introductory vignettes grounding the leadership theory in practice Discussion of the history, development, and utility of the strategy Research findings for further exploration of the theory End-of-chapter questions and activities designed to connect theory to practice This book is essential reading for aspiring and practicing school leaders who wish to have a better understanding of their leadership role. Providing a focused, up-to-date introduction to the current themes and dimensions of educational leadership, A Guide to Effective School Leadership Theories presents all the tools necessary to analyze and implement effective leadership in readers’ own settings.

Award-winning educator William Sterrett draws from research and interviews with distinguished practitioners to identify the most important issues facing today's school leaders and offer practical, effective strategies to help leaders realize growth in their schools.

The Art of Leadership, Fourth Edition, is more than a textbook; it is a "learning" book that actively involves the reader in the learning process. The text combines behavior theory with business practice to teach critical concepts and skills in leadership development. In addition self-evaluation questionnaires and practical exercises are integrated throughout to facilitate personal development and class involvement.

This timely and essential book provides a comprehensive guide for school leaders who desire to engage their school communities in transformative systemic change. Sharon I. Radd, Gretchen Givens Generett, Mark Anthony Gooden, and George Theoharis offer five practices to increase educational equity and eliminate marginalization based on race, disability, socioeconomics, language, gender and sexual identity, and religion. For each dimension of diversity, the authors provide background information for understanding the current realities in schools and beyond, and they suggest "disruptive practices" to replace the status quo in order to achieve full inclusion and educational excellence for every child. Assuming that leadership to create equity is a unique practice, the book offers * Clear explanations of foundational terms and concepts, such as equity, systemic inequity, paradigms and cognitive dissonance, and privilege; * Specific recommendations for how to build support and sustainability by engaging colleagues and other stakeholders in constructive dialogues with multiple perspectives; * Detailed descriptions of routines and roles for building effective equity-leadership teams; * Guidelines and tools for performing an equity audit, including environmental scans; * A change framework to skillfully transform your system; and * Reflection activities for self-discovery, understanding, and personal and professional growth. A call to action that is both passionate and practical, Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership is an indispensable roadmap for educators undertaking the journey toward an education system that acknowledges and advances the worth and potential of all students.

In Putting the Pieces Together: A Systems Approach to School Leadership, the author addresses the need for systems planning in school administration in an effort to assist principals and district leadership in the face of changing demands. In doing so, this describes the first two of the four major systems needed for effective school leadership: Curriculum and Instruction and Teacher Support Systems. This book will not only outline these systems and all of their component parts but will provide a “how to” approach to develop each system. In addition, a system for progress monitoring will be described and explained. Materials, such as forms, will be provided throughout as well as questions at the end of each chapter for reflection and planning. Creating these systems not only makes a principal’s job more manageable, thus preventing burnout, but also helps to put the focus where it belongs. Aspiring leaders, sitting principals and district officials will benefit from this system design in order to maximize effectiveness, teacher satisfaction, and student achievement.

If your people know you care about them, they will move mountains. Employee engagement and loyalty expert Heather Younger outlines nine ways to manifest the radical power of caring support in the workplace. Here's the thing: most leaders think of themselves as caring leaders, but not all of them act in alignment with what that means for employees. Leaders may not be able to identify the level of care they are extending to their employees, but all employees intuitively know whether their bosses or managers are caring for them. Heather Younger argues that if you are looking for increased productivity, customer satisfaction, or employee engagement, you need to care for your employees first. Genuinely caring for people means that you want to see them succeed for themselves, not just for what they can do for you, your team, or your organization. This book incorporates ten sections with breakout stories and interviews that outline the necessary steps to make all employees feel included and cared for, as well as a call to action for all leaders. Younger states that leaders who have the positive power to change the lives of those they lead shouldn't just want to care for them; they should see it as imperative for the success of their employees and their organization.