The Principal's Companion

Pam Robbins earned her doctorate in educational administration from the University of California, Berkeley. Currently, she consults with school systems, professional organizations, State Departments of Education, leadership academies, and corporations throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Asia, and South America. Her presentation topics include professional learning communities, effective teaching, how the brain learns, emotional intelligence, leadership, teaching in the block schedule, peer coaching, school culture, and presentation skills. Pam has served as a teacher, high school basketball coach, administrator, director of special projects and research, and director of training for the North Bay California Leadership Academy. She has lectured at several universities, authored and co-authored books, and developed training materials for several principals’ academies.

"As educators we are so fortunate that Pam Robbins and Harvey Alvy continue to update The Principal′s Companion.  It has always been one of the "must read" books I refer to principals, and this latest edition makes it even more important and helpful to principals who face one of the toughest jobs in education today. Pam and Harvey combine research, practitioner expertise, and personal experiences to provide principals with a resource that will serve them well throughout their career.  The topics, insights, and reflection questions make it a text that principals will find themselves returning to when they are confronting a new challenge or opportunity and seeking new information and insights. Give the gift of The Principal′s Companion to your principals.  You will have given them a compact resource that touches their most pressing issues with suggestions, insights, and findings grounded in research, experience, and practice."

• Foreword - Kent D. PetersonPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsPart I. The Principal′s Many Roles1. Leader as LearnerPrincipal as Lifelong LearnerLearning in Many ContextsThe Expanding Role of the PrincipalA Global PerspectiveWhen Old and New Ideas ConvergeReflections2. Leader as ManagerInstructional Leadership Requires Effective ManagementManagement Responsibilities and StrategiesCrisis Management PlanningA Final Observation Regarding School ManagementReflections3. Leader as Shaper of School CultureCore Values and Beliefs Are the Heart of CultureThe Physical Environment Reflects Core Values: Portraits of PracticeRituals Display Core Values and Call Attention to What Is ImportantCelebrations Call Attention to What Is ImportantHow People Spend Time Reflects Core ValuesNorms Are the Unwritten Rules of CulturePowerful Stories Communicate and Reinforce Cultural ValuesReading, Transforming, or Shaping a CultureFinal Thoughts on CultureReflectionsPart II. Critical Skills for Effective Leadership4. The Art of Human Relations: Getting the Job DoneTask and Relationship BehaviorsDifferentiated SupportPersonality StylesRecommendations for Skillful Human RelationsThe Role of Emotions in the Organization: Remembering the HeartReflections5. Managing Time: Leading With PurposeBrevity, Fragmentation, and VarietyTechniques for Time ManagementManaging BifocallyMultitasking: A Modern-Day Solution or Hazard?Final Thoughts on Using TimeReflections6. Effectively Working With the Central Office: Coordinating Teaching, Learning, and Professional DevelopmentCaught in the MiddleHow Is the School District Governed?Communication Between the Schools and the Central OfficeThe District Office as a Teaching and Learning CenterThe District Office and Principal Evaluations: Partnering for SuccessManagement Tips for Working With the Central OfficeMaintaining a Strong Relationship Between the Central Office and the SchoolForging a School and Central Office Partnership: Putting Staff and Student Learning FirstReflectionsPart III. Honoring the School′s Mission7. Understanding, Planning, and Implementing ChangeGuiding the Change Journey: Three QuestionsUnderstanding ChangeChange Brings Loss and ResistanceChange Influences Individuals and the OrganizationFailure, Risk-Taking, and Conflict: Ingredients for ChangeStrategies to Promote TrustClassical Insights Regarding Change and Continuous ImprovementThree Phases of ChangeA Look at Change From the Individual′s PerspectiveStages of ConcernSome Final Thoughts on ChangeReflections8. Building a Vision and a Mission TogetherReflecting on Vision and MissionWhy Have a Shared School Vision and Mission?School Activities That Highlight the MissionMission-Building ActivityDeveloping Yearly School Improvement Goals to Accomplish the MissionReflectionsPart IV. Working Together to Build a Learning Community9. Enhancing Teacher Growth Through Supervision and Evaluation Practices Designed to Promote Student LearningIssues and DilemmasEssential Ingredients for Successful SupervisionEffective Instructional StrategiesBrain-Compatible Teaching PracticesGuidelines to Successfully Navigate Through Required State and District Teacher Evaluations FrameworksIncreasing Teacher and Administrative Understanding Through Reflective Clinical SupervisionTips for Conferencing and ObservingWalk-Throughs, Instructional Rounds, Snapshots, or Drive-BysGuidelines Related to Evaluation and Legal ConcernsFinal Thoughts on Supervision and EvaluationReflections10. Maximizing Feedback About Teaching: Differentiated Professional Growth OptionsReflections on FeedbackCreating the Environment for Maximizing FeedbackBuilding a Foundation: Getting StartedMoving Toward Collaborative FeedbackDifferentiated Professional Growth Options: How the System WorksSources of Feedback: Categories and ApproachesSelf-Assessment: Establishing Benchmarks of ProgressIndividual Reflection and Institutional RenewalReflections11. Building a Collaborative School: The Power of Teacher Leadership and CommunityPortrait of a Collaborative School: A Professional Learning CommunityAn Image of Reality: Obstacles to CollaborationThe Case for CollaborationMoving Toward CollaborationNecessary Conditions for a Collaborative SchoolTeacher Leadership and the Collaborative SchoolThe Principal and CollaborationSome Final Thoughts on CollaborationReflections12. Fueling the Learning Organization Through Professional DevelopmentWhy Professional Development?Professional Development DefinedStandards for Professional LearningCreating a Context Where Professional Learning Thrives: Some GuidelinesLeadership Teams and Professional LearningOptimizing the Individual′s Professional Learning ExperienceCentral Office Support for Professional LearningFinal Thoughts on Professional LearningReflections13. Faculty Meetings: A Tool for Capacity BuildingFaculty Meetings as Learning Opportunities--Getting StartedThe School Mission and Faculty MeetingsIncreasing Teachers′ Roles in Faculty MeetingsSome Successful Faculty Meeting Strategies: Stories of PracticeFaculty Meeting Strategies That Work!A Final ThoughtReflections14. Asking the Right Questions About Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Getting to Know the C.I.A.We Live in Interesting TimesAsking the Right QuestionsContinuing the Curriculum DiscussionReflectionsPart V. Starting Effectively and Staying the Course15. First Days of SchoolLogistical ConcernsBeginning-of-the-Year Faculty Meetings Set a ToneDepartmental and Grade-Level MeetingsOrienting Teachers Who Are New to the SchoolTeacher Time in the ClassroomWelcoming Students and ParentsBe Visible on the First Days of SchoolReflections16. Tips: Ideas That Work and Align With the School′s MissionOrganizing Your TimeAdditional Helpful Ideas to Stay On TaskTips From a Superintendent: What Makes a Successful 21st Century PrincipalThe School Budget: Common Sense Efficiency Tips Based on the MissionProviding Experiences to Celebrate the School′s CultureTips on Opening a New SchoolTips on Using Technology to Enhance a Principal′s PerformanceUsing Tips in Your SettingReflectionsPart VI. Embracing Your Constituencies17. Working With Parents and Partnering With the Greater CommunityEffectively Communicating With ParentsBuilding Bridges With the Parent CommunityAdditional Ways to Bring Parents and Community Members Into SchoolBroadening School Support and PartnershipsCommunity-Based OrganizationsSeeking School Support Through Educational GrantsReaching Out and Working With the MediaA Reflection on Partnering With Parents and the CommunityReflections18. Making a Difference for Students: The Heart of the SchoolThe Challenge of Excellence and Equality, Social Justice, and School Leadership"Those Kids" and Their StoriesThe Right to Be a Child and to Make MistakesMaximizing Opportunities for Students With DisabilitiesResponse to Intervention (RTI)School Discipline: The Principal′s Role, the Discipline Gap, and Promising OptionsBroad Disciplinary GuidelinesReducing Bullying BehaviorCyberbullying and Social ResponsibilitySupporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender YouthGraduating America′s Youth: Making Progress on a Long RoadStudent and Teacher ResiliencyFinal Thoughts on "Those Kids"ReflectionsVII. The Principal′s Professional and Personal Worlds19. The Newcomer to the PrincipalshipProblems That Challenge New PrincipalsA Profile of the New PrincipalHelping Prospective and New Principals Make the GradePractical Suggestions for NewcomersFinal Thoughts on the Newcomer ExperienceReflections20. Taking Care of YourselfAchieving Success Over StressTaking Control of TimeTowards Realizing the Vision: A Personal Mission StatementGaining Perspective by Spending Time With StudentsBody and Mind: Healthy and Ill TogetherReflections21. Keeping the Professional Candle LitInstitutionalizing Professional LearningReflection as a ToolA Principal′s PortfolioOther Growth OpportunitiesReflections22. Reflections on the PrincipalshipServing the School CommunityWhere Do We Go From Here?The Good SchoolTake Time to Smell the RosesReflectionsReferences and Additional ReadingsIndex