Full Description
The primary focus of the book is to emphasize the major changes in the leadership responsibilities of the school principal and to underscore the necessity for them to gain new knowledge and skills in order to direct their leadership toward meeting the new changes in school-community goals and objectives. M. Scott Norton emphasizes the fact that contemporary issues and problems must be viewed as symptoms of change. The symptoms represent administrative tasks that must be attacked by implementing the primary reason that the school principal is hired, that of leading on-going change. The leader's responsibility focuses on school purposes as set forth in a viable school mission statement. The school's mission statement, that all too often is set forth as a public relations perspective, must instead set forth answers to questions such as, "What is our purpose?" "Why does our school exist?" "What is our reason for being here?" "How do we meet the on-going changes that face us educationally?" The leadership of the school principal "attacks" the symptoms of change by collaborating with the school's faculty to set forth a mission to which all members can commit. Collaboration infers a unification of members' commitments toward the primary purposes of the school. Collaboration and opportunities to confer on an on-going basis are established. Although the school principal's hands are often tied by such factors as lack of resources, underfunded/unfunded mandates, inability to hire and retain highly qualified personnel and constantly changing program requirements related to student testing and teacher performance evaluation, this book places emphasis on the principal's need to become a visionary change agent in order to "attack" the ever changing symptoms of educational change.
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1: What's Happened in the Responsibilities of School Principals in the Ten Years from 2004 to 2015
The Focus of Chapter 1
Living the School's Vision
Meeting the Challenges of On-going Change
Pre-quiz
Discussion of the Answers for the Pre-quiz
Status of Today's School Principal: Retaining Principals on the Job
Student Attitudes and Behaviors
Student Achievement and Accountability
Inclusion-Meeting the Needs of All Students
Effective Time Management and Effective Administration
The Inadequacy of Preparation Programs for School Leaders
Distributive Leadership Models for Meeting Program Changes
Snapshot #1-Using Teacher Talent for Resolving School Problems
Unfunded and Underfunded Mandates
Job Complexity-Job Stress—Job Satisfaction
Summary
Discussion Questions
Case Studies
References
Chapter 2: Recalibrating the Principalship as a Leader of Change
What Does a Viable Mission Statement Look LIke?
Examples of School Mission Statements
The Characteristics of Visionary Leaders
The Internal and External Environments in Which the School is Embedded
The Specific Benefits of Developing and Implementing the School's Vision Statement
A Mission Statement Quiz (MSQ)
Discussion of the Mission Statement Quiz
Scoring the MSQ
Development of the School's Mission Improvement Guide
Tying the School's Mission Statement and the Improvement Guide
School Board Policy: Guiding School Improvement Practices
Local School Improvement Standards
Examples of Mission Improvement Guides
Summary
Discussion Questions
Case Studies
References
Chapter 3: Guiding the Role Changes for the Work of the School Principal
Want Major Changes and Improvements? Then we must pay for them
Involvement of Educators in Politics is to be Avoided. Or is It?
Recalibrating the Position Description of the School Principal
The Primary Contents of a Principal's Position Analysis
Leadership for School Program Improvement
Implications for the Recalibration of the School Principalship
The School and Power Structure Analysis
Using an Issue Analysis Approach
Being the Catalyst for Developing a Learning Culture in the School
How to Know a Learning Leader When You See One
The Learning Leadership Quiz (LLQ)
Discussion of the LLQ
The School Principal as the Primary Source for Providing Faculty Growth and Development
Establishing a Mentoring Program
The Benefits of a Mentoring for Both the Protégé and Mentor
Qualities of an Effective Mentor
Establishing an Effective Mentor Training Program
Summary
Discussion Questions
Case Studies
References
Chapter 4: Preparation and Licensing of School Principals: Reversing the Downhill Trend
Snapshot #1-Football Practices On-line: Just Kidding
The History of Preparation Programs for School Principals: Help Wanted!
New Procedures for Recruiting and Selecting School Leaders
A Model for Principal Preparation Improvement Programs
Clarification of the Preparation Model
A New Look at Financing Education in America
The Bachelor's Degree Does Deserve Priority Attention
The Master's Degree Program for Potential Administrator Candidates
The Continuous Improvement Program within the Administrator Academy
Examples of Administrator Academy Programs
Checking Your Progress
Polices, Administrative Regulations and School Rules
The NEPN/NSBA Policy Codification System
The Davies/Brickell Codification System
Summary
Discussion Questions
Case Studies
References
Chapter 5: Major Issues/Tasks, Challenges, Issues and Leadership Strategies for Attacking Them
Demands for Accountability and Leadership strategies
Leadership in Action
Lightbulb Experience #1-Let's Just Wait and See
Attacking External Mandates and Other Program Requirements
Snapshot #5.1-Let's Just Wait and See
Improving School Climate: A Key for Student Academic Success
Establishing a Balanced Work-life for School Principals
Parent Involvement and Support: Now It's Controversial
Teacher Personnel Issues/Problems: On the Attack
Hiring High Quality Teachers
The Troubled and/or Marginal Teacher Problem
Collegiality /Collaboration Time for Improving School Programs
Collaboration and Special Project Teams
Students with Special Needs: Inclusion
Dealing with the School Principal's Increasing Work Load
A Procedure for Analyzing Just How Your Time is Being Spent
Summary
Discussion Questions
Case Studies
References
About the Author
