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Making Time to Lead
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Bestseller!

Making Time to Lead
How Principals Can Stay on Top of It All



September 2003 | 96 pages | Corwin
"This book would be a wonderful guide for someone new to the profession. The practical strategies and ideas will truly help that first year principal."
—Rick Doss, Principal
Brownsburg Junior High School, Indianapolis, IN

"The examples and suggested activities are great with lots of simple suggestions that are real and practical—very effective!"
—Kevin Peterson, Principal
Red Bank Elementary, Clovis, CA

Get organized and find the time to succeed in leadership and excel as a principal!

Do your days seem increasingly shorter and your to-do lists increasingly longer? Do you struggle to find time to meet students and interact with staff? Do you wonder if you will ever see the bottom of your "in" box? This essential reference offers a multitude of ideas, tips, and strategies for organizing every aspect of a principal's job—from controlling your calendar to creating newsletters.

Making Time to Lead shows the busy principal how to organize in order to lead more effectively. Simon and Newman introduce practical concepts to simplify managerial tasks:

  • Organize to-do lists for use as future planning tools
  • Customize your filing and scheduling systems to get more out of less
  • Maximize your summer break by learning how to plan for the coming year
  • Energize your staff with innovative ideas for faculty meetings
  • Realize your leadership potential while encouraging your students
  • Develop your faculty and build relationships with parents

In the complicated and demanding world of a principal, organization is the key to sanity—and successful leadership.


 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Introduction
 
1. Organizing
Setting Up Your Organizational System

 
Make To-Do Lists

 
Keep Up With Mail

 
Make Special Folders

 
Clip, Post, and Save Those Articles

 
Creating Your Own Filing System

 
Carry Your Desk With You

 
Technology Can Set You Free

 
Copying Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

 
Be Your School's Historian

 
Be Ready For Prospective Parents

 
Note Cards: The Best Invention Since Sliced Bread

 
The Master Key Is a Must

 
Student Planners

 
 
2. Time
Building Your Calendar

 
Being in Two Places at Once

 
Meetings

 
Getting Started

 
Coffee Shop Time

 
Telephone Time

 
Save Your Calendars

 
Accreditation

 
 
3. Communication
How to Use a Telephone

 
Visibility: Leading by Walking Around

 
The Working Lunch

 
Parents as Partners

 
Public Presentations

 
 
4. Delegation
Questions to Ask

 
Use Your Staff

 
Faculty Meetings Can Be Fun

 
 
5. Summer
Staff Selection

 
Save Those Resumes

 
Student Placement Records

 
Student Placement Procedures

 
Keeping Your Files Active

 
Getting Ready for the Year

 
Remember Your Own Professional Development

 
 
6. People
Know Your Faculty and Staff

 
Learn Those Student Names

 
Break Bread Together

 
The Little Things Do Matter

 
Buy Stock in Hallmark

 
Everyone Values a Break

 
Let Them Eat Ice Cream

 
 
7. Self
Keep a Journal

 
Conferences

 
Study Groups

 
Portfolios

 
Preparing Future Principals

 
Administrative Retreats

 
Pamper Yourself

 
Teach a Class

 
Reading and Sharing

 
 
Resource A: Today's Agenda
 
Resource B: Yearly Task List
 
Resource C: Faculty Note Cards
 
Resource D: Student Planner Memo
 
Resource E: Aspiring Administrator Training Brochure
 
Resource F: Administrative Retreat Memo

This book would be a wonderful guide for someone new to the profession. The practical strategies and ideas will truly help that first year principal.

Rick Doss, Principal
Brownsburg Junior High School, Indianapolis, IN

The examples and suggested activities are great with lots of simple suggestions that are real and practical--very effective!

Kevin Peterson, Principal
Red Bank Elementary, Clovis, CA

"This is not your ordinary time management tome. Making Time to Lead is a geared to the specialized needs of principals and will help you 'find the time to lead--as well as manage--schools.'"

Principal, September/October 2004
Key features
  • Helpful for all principals - elementary, middle, secondary
  • Should be popular addition to NAESP and NASSP mailers
  • Very good supplement or addition to leadership induction and training programs
  • This is the book principals really want - real-world, timesaving, simple tool
  • Principal management tool books typically sell well
  • Rick Simon received the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellow for School Leadership and received his Master's in Education from Harvard University.
  • Response to his ASCD presentation was very strong, leading ASCD to include a summary of the presentation on their website's reading room of education updates. ASCD has offered to sign the project.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Introduction

Chapter 1: Organizing


Purchasing options

For large school/district orders, volume discounts, availability and shipping times contact customer service at 800-233-9936
or order@corwin.com.

contact corwin

Please select a format:

ISBN: 9780761938651
CAD$ 40.95
ISBN: 9780761938644
CAD$ 76.95

For large school/district orders, volume discounts, availability and shipping times contact customer service at 800-233-9936
or order@corwin.com.

For instructors