"A powerful template for crafting responsible and humane schools." --Educational Leadership "Reading this book will make educators feel they have come home to familiar land and can still build anew from there." --Michael Huberman, professor, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University "Sergiovanni's alternative vision of schools as caring, intimate places built on mutual respect, civic responsibility, and shared purposes gets to the heart of excellence in education." --Ernest L. Boyer, president, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Best-selling author and education guru Thomas J. Sergiovanni debunks the popular notion that corporate leadership strategies can be applied to schools. He presents a leadership model based on the specific mission, goals, and rhythms of schools everywhere. This unique framework invites caring and thoughtful educators to build educational communities that are more democratic and responsive to human nature and student development. Filled with practical ideas and real-life examples from a variety of schools, Leadership for the Schoolhouse offers a compelling picture of schooling and leadership at their best.

Children in today's world are inundated with information about who to be, what to do and how to live. But what if there was a way to teach children how to manage priorities, focus on goals and be a positive influence on the world around them? The Leader in Meis that programme. It's based on a hugely successful initiative carried out at the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina. To hear the parents of A. B Combs talk about the school is to be amazed. In 1999, the school debuted a programme that taught The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleto a pilot group of students. The parents reported an incredible change in their children, who blossomed under the programme. By the end of the following year the average end-of-grade scores had leapt from 84 to 94. This book will launch the message onto a much larger platform. Stephen R. Covey takes the 7 Habits, that have already changed the lives of millions of people, and shows how children can use them as they develop. Those habits -- be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw -- are critical skills to learn at a young age and bring incredible results, proving that it's never too early to teach someone how to live well.

Are schools really special places, or simply organizations that share the features and characteristics of all other organizations? In Leadership for the Schoolhouse, Thomas J. Sergiovanni shows that schools are indeed unique places that require their own theories and practices. And, if schools are to improve, these theories and practices cannot be imported from corporations or business schools, but must emerge from and be central to what schools are like, what they are trying to do, and who they serve. This book provides school administrators and reform activists with a comprehensive framework for creating unique leadership for the schoolhouse that is more community-like, more democratic, and more responsive both to what we know about human nature and what know about how students learn and develop. This can be accomplised, Sergiovanni shows, by replacing the politics of division—which emphasize contracts and deals, and winning and losing—with the politics of virtue which emphasize a shared commitment to the common good. Arguing that teacher development is the single most important key to improving schools in the long run, Sergiovanni explains how we can change school cultures so that they become learning and inquiring communities for teachers as well as students. Throughout the book, Sergiovanni draws on numerous ideas and real-life examples from a variety of schools and school districts to sort out what does and does not make sense when thinking about leadership for our schools.

"A vision of what could (and probably should) be. . . . The reader may want to revisit some sections for further reflection." --Educational Leadership "An excellent book that offers much to the seasoned administrator and should be on the list of required reading for introductory administration classes." --NASSP Bulletin Moral Leadership shows how creating a new leadership practice--one with a moral dimension built around purpose, values, and beliefs--can transform a school from an organization to a community and inspire the kinds of commitment, devotion, and service that can make our schools great. Sergiovanni explains the importance of legitimizing emotion and getting in touch with basic values and connections with others. He reveals how true collegiality, based on shared work and common goals, leads to a natural interdepAndence among teachers and shows how a public declaration of values and purpose can help turn schools into virtuous communities where teachers are self-managers and professionalism is considered an ideal.

The call for entrepreneurial leadership in education has never been stronger, but there is little descriptive information about this kind of leadership and even less advice on how a leader might grow in this dimension. Beginning with the constant need for innovation in every learning organization, the author makes a case for an entrepreneurial style of leadership in education. The author paints a multi-faceted picture of entrepreneurial leadership using stories of real leaders in combination with writings from the social sciences, education, natural sciences, business and the arts. The incursion of business practices in education is also addressed head-on. The author defends the historic, democratic tradition of education against 21st century neoliberal trends, while allowing room to learn from best practices in other fields. The role of risk-taking and incentives is examined along with leadership motives. The goal of this book is not just better leaders, but educational organizations that are entrepreneurial in nature. The author offers practical advice to educational leaders, from teachers to principals to superintendents, on practical steps toward a more innovative organization. Specific chapters on the school leader, teacher leaders and school partnerships offer practical wisdom for out-of-the-box thinking.

Keep these heartfelt gems top of mind This gold mine of wisdom from top education researcher and the best-selling author of Turning Around Failing Schools and Connecting Teacher Leadership and School Improvement contains key tips and strategies every school leader should know. Award-winning professor and former school administrator Joseph F. Murphy′s concise and instructive lessons will help you stay focused on what matters most as you navigate the hectic world of high-stakes testing and accountability: It really is all about the kids Optimism is essential Caring counts a lot Listen—let people finish talking Don′t confuse excuses and explanations Each lesson is coupled with context in a few sentences taken from Murphy′s extensive real-world experiences. This collection is ideal for use in daily reflections, speeches, staff meetings, presentations, or as a gift to anyone who works with children.

Study after study has concluded that no matter how competently managed a school may be, it is the bringing together of leadership and learning that makes the difference between ordinary and extraordinary performance. Strengthening the Heartbeat offers leaders a clear and compelling way to help their schools achieve extraordinary results. The proven principles outlined in this book can help any school build a culture of leadership and learning. Thomas J. Sergiovanni?a leading thinker in the educational leadership arena?shows how a strong heartbeat is a school's best defense against the obstacles leaders face as they work to change schools for the better. But strengthening the heartbeat of schools requires that we rethink what leadership is, how leadership works, what leadership's relationship is to learning, and why we need to practice both leadership and learning together. Filled with illustrative examples, Strengthening the Heartbeat shows how to build trust that leads to the creation of a vision and the building of a covenant that brings together principals, teachers, parents, and students to honor shared values, goals, and beliefs. When leaders are able to strengthen the heartbeat, their schools become stronger and more resilient. These qualities help leaders to share the burdens of leadership with others, to create collaborative cultures, and to be continuous learners. Leadership inevitably involves change and change inevitably involves learning. Using this book, school leaders will have the tools they need to make their schools the best they can be.

Leadership for Green Schools provides aspiring and practicing leaders with the tools they need to facilitate the design, leadership, and management of greener, more sustainable schools. Framed by theory and research, this text draws from the fields of sustainability science, built learning environment, and educational leadership to explain what green schools look like, what role school buildings play in advancing sustainable organizational and instructional practices, and why school leaders are "greening" their leadership. Sustainability can often seem like an unreachable, utopian set of goals, but this important resource uses illustrative examples of successful schools and leaders to show how establishing and managing green schools aligns with the work they are already doing to restore engaged learning within their schools and communities. Leadership for Green Schools is a unique and important resource to help leaders reduce the environmental impact of school buildings and immerse students in purposeful, meaningful learning for a sustainable, just future. Special Features: Examples from award-winning schools and leaders—best-practices and illustrative examples throughout make whole school sustainability come to life and show how green leadership is a real possibility for the reader. Aligned with Professional Standards for Educational Leadership—provides the tools necessary for leaders to advance sustainability goals while at the same time fulfilling the core purposes of their job. End-of-chapter discussion questions—valuable pedagogical tools invite personal reflection and conversation.

Discusses the friendship between Booker T. Wahington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company and how, through their friendship, they were able to build five thousand schools for African Americans in the Southern states.