In "Navigating the Principalship," James P. Spillane and Rebecca Lowenhaupt look at the major challenges of the principal position, examining how new principals adapt to the role, set an instructional agenda, and build cooperation and collaboration. They focus in particular on the dilemmas that mark the principalship--the inevitable,…

"Using Data for Continuous Improvement in Educator Preparation" provides case studies that illuminate and contextualize the ways in which educator preparation programs determine the data they need to improve, collect data, analyze data, share data with stakeholders, and close the loop by making focused improvements based on the data.…

This book analyzes educational management in the context of developing effective schools in SouthEastern European countries and situates the discussion within ongoing education debates in EU countries. The book revolves around the specific role and practices of school principals, who are positioned as a nexus of educational management in each…

"Instructional Rounds in Action" is an invaluable guide for those involved in implementing instructional rounds as the foundation and framework for systemic improvement in schools. Over the past few years, districts across the United States, Canada, and Australia have begun implementing "instructional rounds," a set of ideas…

Turn your school into a place where every child achieves. This book provides leaders with all that they need to promote differentiation in their schools and districts. Through research and first-hand experience, the authors have identified effective strategies for hiring differentiation-minded staff members, communicating the need for…

"The Strategic Management of Charter Schools" addresses the challenges facing such schools by mapping out, in straightforward and highly pragmatic terms, a management framework for them. The first charter school law in the United States was enacted in Minnesota in 1991. In the twenty years since that modest beginning, the movement has burgeoned…

Transformation of public education requires the reawakening of the sleeping giant in the room: the learners. Students, teachers, and principals must develop a learner-centric, standards-driven school. "Reawakening the Learner" is a guide to creating just such an environment. Continua describe the journey of teachers, teacher leaders, and…

Investigating University-School Partnerships: A Volume in Professional Development School Research, the fourth book in the PDS Research Series developed by the same editors, includes a collection of organized papers that represent the best and latest examples of practitioner thinking, research, and program design and evaluation in the field at the…

In this memoir, a principal recounts the story of his 2 years at Edison Elementary School in San Francisco (CA), a school that was called the worst school in California. The students had the worst standardized test scores in the district, and racial discord and playground violence were common. The school was facing the threat of reconstitution,…