The majority of public school principals are now required to supervise and evaluate early childhood teachers and classrooms, yet many do not have a sufficient understanding of child development and early childhood pedagogy to lead for equity. This practical and comprehensive resource addresses this critical gap by presenting current research on child development, an understanding of the elements of high-quality early childhood classrooms, essential information on trauma-responsive practices, and strategies for reducing bias and preventing the use of exclusionary discipline with young children. School leaders learn about the pivotal role they can play in improving equity for young children, their families, and the early childhood workforce. Each chapter includes key take-aways and central questions that can be used for individual reflection or to guide group discussions. Authentic examples, illustrations, and actionable strategies help readers to successfully implement the content in their school. Principals as Early Learning Leaders is essential reading for principals, vice principals, administrators, and others responsible for leading preschool and pre–K programs for equity. Book Features: Supports elementary school principals to better understand the role early education plays in their school.Addresses essential issues of equity in all aspects of early learning programs that require focus and leadership.Provides current research and practical strategies that principals can put into practice immediately to be effective instructional leaders. Uses authentic examples and vignettes throughout to help readers see the ideas in the context of real preschool classrooms. Includes reflection questions and key takeaways to help principals think about how the information presented can inform the work they do.

This book uses a series of dialogues between a novice and a master teacher, and between a new and seasoned principal to view common challenges and to solve their most difficult problems. The authors demonstrate how framing, and then reframing challenges brings clarity, helps to anticipate problems, and leads to more comprehensive and powerful leadership strategies.

Build transformational leadership using social media! Close the gap of knowledge and experience between educators and learn how you really can find the time to connect with other leaders using social media. This highly instructive and conversational guide makes it easy. Filled with real-world experiences from leaders all over the country, you’ll build balanced and effective leadership skills, grow a network of support, and model your vision for a thriving community of learners. Includes a handy start-up guide to help busy principals: Connect virtually with K-12 leaders Model continuous learning Find solutions using Twitter, Google Hangouts, and more

Grounded in current research and theory, this practical book guides program leaders and staff developers to design and implement engaging professional development and coaching approaches. It focuses on early educator competencies essential for high-quality learning and teaching--executive functions, emotion regulation, relationship skills, and talk for learning. Illustrated with an extended vignette of an early learning center, the book highlights how addressing educators' professional needs is a pathway to children's cognitive, social–emotional, and academic growth. User-friendly features include 24 reproducible checklists, handouts, and self-study and planning tools. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Early childhood educators are keenly aware of the importance of a child’s transition to “real school.” This transition is occurring earlier in a child’s life now that school districts nationwide are moving to pre-kindergarten experiences for 3- and 4-year olds. Annually, more than one million children attend public school pre-k programs overseen by elementary school principals who, although veteran educational leaders, were not trained to oversee these programs. Although pre-k classrooms are rapidly growing and deserve special attention, school leaders must be reminded that early childhood means more than pre-kindergarten; it extends through third grade. School leadership needs to understand the principles of early childhood education to effectively support all children age three to grade three. Professional and Ethical Consideration for Early Childhood Leaders is a collection of innovative research that crafts an overall understanding of the importance of early childhood leadership in today’s schools. The book employs strategies to improve support for children in early childhood years, examines the different roles of early childhood leadership, analyzes best practices for implementation in early childhood contexts, and explores improvements for leadership preparation for schools with pre-k through third-grade children. While highlighting a wide range of topics including advocacy, cultural responses, and professional development, this publication is ideally designed for educators, administrators, principals, early childhood development teachers, daycare instructors, curriculum developers, advocates, researchers, academicians, and students.

Equitable schools equal high achievement for all students! This invaluable book provides an expanding awareness of equity issues to not only principals and district leaders, but also school equity committees. From the novice to the experienced school leader, readers will discover how to create a learning community that erases achievement gaps and welcomes students of all backgrounds. This new volume in the Leading Achievement Series provides action steps for: Establishing a climate that promotes equity Empowering and supervising staff to accelerate change Garnering support and involvement from students and the community Assessing progress toward equity and sustaining growth

Early childhood practitioners are often reluctant to see themselves as leaders and managers. However, all those who work with young children and their families, whatever their level of experience and competence, have to undertake both of these roles on a daily basis. This book encourages practitioners to recognise their active involvement in leadership and management in relation to their work as team leader or team member, and in their work with parents and other professionals, to ensure appropriate and effective provision for young children. The authors identify a number of key principles involved in effective early years leadership and management, which focus on the idea that: Leadership is about influencing others to improve and enhance children’s care, learning and development Leadership is only effective if it develops the leadership of others by supporting a team or group in meeting their declared aims or vision Leadership is ultimately distributed, shared and dispersed in early childhood settings These principles are supported by a detailed exploration of the statutory demands made on practitioners working with young children and their families, and reference to relevant literature drawn from both early childhood studies and leadership theories. As well as providing guidance on the roles, responsibilities and tasks facing early childhood leaders, the book features a number of case studies and practical tasks, giving life to concepts and ideas and enabling readers to apply theories and policies to their own work settings. Additional activities at the end of each chapter further support practitioners in fulfilling their leadership and management roles in practice. Leadership and Management in the Early Years is an essential text for early years and early childhood studies students as well as practitioners particularly those who are aiming for Early Years Professional Status.

As a principal, you know how challenging it is to build a dedicated staff, encourage parental support, help students get excited about learning, and create a working school culture. You know that it takes a more than a few years (and surviving a few school events gone awry) to gain the trust of staff, students, and community. And you probably think that once these elements are in place, you'll be able to relax and let your school run like a well-oiled machine, right? Wrong. Even the most successful principals can become stuck in tired routines that inhibit collaboration and shut down opportunities for learning and change. In Principals Who Learn: Asking the Right Questions, Seeking the Best Solutions, former principals Barbara Kohm and Beverly Nance encourage principals to step out of their comfort zone and pursue learning with their staff. Kohm and Nance give principals the tools to shift from being top-down, authoritarian leaders to becoming open collaborators and continual learners. The authors show principals how to *Learn to listen to all voices. *Turn "bad guys" into allies. *Develop an open and collaborative culture. *Redesign staff meetings for more effectiveness. *Resolve conflicts and solve problems. *Turn mistakes into learning opportunities. Engaging scenarios and reflection questions further help principals re-examine their leadership practices and look at their school from new vantage points. Whether you are a new principal seeking guidance or a seasoned veteran looking to make a change, Principals Who Learn will reinvigorate your work and help you develop and adapt your skills to meet the ever-changing needs of your school. Barbara Kohm worked for 14 years as an elementary school principal and for 10 years as an early childhood program director. She now works as a consultant to principals in a variety of school districts. Beverly Nance worked as a high school assistant principal and a middle school principal. She is now the co-director of the St. Louis Principals Academy and a leadership consultant and mentor for principals in a variety of school districts.

This book focuses on what school leaders need to know and understand about leadership for learning, and for learning to read in particular. It brings together theory, research and practice on leadership for literacy. The book reports on the findings from six studies that followed school principals from their involvement in a professional learning program consisting of five modules on leadership and the teaching of reading, to implementation action in their schools. It describes how they applied a range of strategies to create leadership partnerships with their teachers, pursuing eight related dimensions from a Leadership for Learning framework or blueprint. The early chapters of the book feature the use of practical tools as a focus for leadership activity. These chapters consider, for example, how principals and teachers can develop deeper understandings of their schools’ contexts; how professional discussions can be conducted with a process called ‘disciplined dialogue’; and how principals might encourage approaches to shared leadership with their teachers. The overall findings presented in this book emphasise five positive positions on leadership for learning to read: the importance of an agreed moral purpose; sharing leadership for improvement; understanding what learning to read involves; implementing and evaluating reading interventions; and recognising the need for support for leaders’ learning on-the-job.