Richard D. Sorenson – författare

Align your school budget with your vision for student achievement

Since 2006, The Principal's Guide to School Budgeting has been a best-seller, supporting thousands of principals in navigating the complex process of school budgeting. This fourth edition hones in on the message that a school budget should be a reflection of the school’s vision for student growth, an open culture, and a positive school climate. This edition offers new information on how national and state reform and political practices affect school allocations and emphasizes the need for appropriate budget visioning, planning, analysis, and needs assessment. Covering the budgeting process, effective budgeting practices, accounting and auditing procedures, and building the school budget within a collaborative decision-making context, this comprehensive guide includes:

In-chapter vignettes and discussion questionsCase study applications and experiential exercisesA budget development projectNew discussion of technology's impact on budgetary practices, phishing scams, and fundraising

The Principal's Guide to School Budgeting is an essential resource for practicing and aspiring school administrators who want to master their accounting and auditing procedures. By effectively managing the school budgeting process, principals can contribute to improved student achievement and strengthen connections with the school community.

"An excellent tool for aspiring principals as well as those who find it uplifting to be reassured that they are doing the right thing."—Gerard Dery, PrincipalNessacus Regional Middle School, Dalton, MA

"This book serves as a valuable tool for districts seeking to enhance the skill level of their principals and would be ideal for professional development."—Carolyn Banks, Regional Director of Teacher EducationUniversity of La Verne

A comprehensive guide to building successful relationships with all school personnel!

Inspiring faculty and support staff to perform their best is a key factor in developing a school culture that helps students thrive. This resource provides principals with the policies, procedures, and techniques to lead and manage school personnel and create an effective work environment.

The authors provide real-world scenarios and practical strategies to help define the principal's leadership role and strengthen personnel management skills. The book also offers reflective exercises in each chapter to assist administrators in evaluating their own schools and practices. Based on ISLLC and ELCC standards for school leadership, this book covers:

Shaping school culture to promote shared ownership of the school's visionRecruiting, selecting, and retaining qualified personnelEffective communication and conflict resolutionHandling challenging situations such as supervising marginal employees and addressing grievances

The Principal's Guide to Managing School Personnel is an indispensable reference for managing one of your school's most important resources: your staff.

"This handbook synthesizes the best of educational research in an easily accessible format. Educators will find it an effective roadmap for leading their schools to organizational excellence, effective instruction, and optimum student achievement."—Brenda P. Dean, Assistant SuperintendentHamblen County Schools, Morristown, TN

"The author clearly makes the case for the principal to be THE instructional and curricular leader of his or her school site. Principals who embrace this CAN and WILL make the difference for students!"—Marianne L. Lescher, PrincipalKyrene Elementary School District, Tempe, AZ

Practical guidance for spearheading curriculum development and change

This comprehensive guide walks principals through the curriculum development and renewal process with encouragement, hitting the hard issues of doing more with less, integrating technology, overcoming resistance to change, and improving student outcomes. The authors incorporate the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards for principals as they relate to curriculum leadership. Highlights include step-by-step guidance for:

Developing a culture that is conducive to curriculum advancementWorking collaboratively with personnelIntegrating state and national standards into school curriculum Maximizing professional development opportunities Connecting curriculum to instruction

The Principal's Guide to Curriculum Leadership is ideal for practicing and aspiring public and private school administrators. Special features include discussion questions, case studies, activities, specialized curriculum models, resources, and references.

Steps to Success: What Successful Principals Do Every Day is purposefully written for practicing and aspiring public and private school administrators who desire – on a daily basis – to gain relevant skills, specialized knowledge, and overall expertise associated with being a successful school principal. The text is organized into brief, single-topic-focused chapters and is intended to serve as an “essential necessity” providing current and prospective principal readership with relevant and practical applications as related to key daily “steps” a school administrator must master to ensure leadership success. Additionally, the text chapters reveal how successful principals must daily focus on quality, learn from others, make appropriate and effective decisions, solve problems, establish goals, develop highly competent teams, focus on students and instruction, inspire excellence, lead openly, honestly, and with transparency, and boost academic achievement. The book is designed and written to best ensure principals serve as visionary leaders who possess great ideas and who are honest, moral, ethical, and act legally in all actions.

Steps to Success: What Successful Principals Do Every Day is purposefully written for practicing and aspiring public and private school administrators who desire – on a daily basis – to gain relevant skills, specialized knowledge, and overall expertise associated with being a successful school principal. The text is organized into brief, single-topic-focused chapters and is intended to serve as an “essential necessity” providing current and prospective principal readership with relevant and practical applications as related to key daily “steps” a school administrator must master to ensure leadership success. Additionally, the text chapters reveal how successful principals must daily focus on quality, learn from others, make appropriate and effective decisions, solve problems, establish goals, develop highly competent teams, focus on students and instruction, inspire excellence, lead openly, honestly, and with transparency, and boost academic achievement. The book is designed and written to best ensure principals serve as visionary leaders who possess great ideas and who are honest, moral, ethical, and act legally in all actions.

Principal must be aware that there are individual teacher resistors who have a reason to voice their concerns about a proposed instructional change or reform. Therefore, a critical question must be contemplated: “What’s a principal to do?” Does the school leader dismiss resistors as whiners who are forever griping? Or, must a principal seriously contemplate the voices of discontent? Are the campus grumblings, within the context of change, real in nature? If so, what is the message that a principal must be attuned to, and then, in response, handle, if not overcome? These serious queries are the underlying basis for the seven principal tactics addressed in the book.Typically, teacher resistance is a function of disruption aimed at a change employees believe will alter their current work habits and impact teaching or instructional patterns. Teachers, in general, are accepting of the status quo. The more variation or modification to the status quo, or to the current working process and/or the teaching and learning environment, the more resistance. Responding to Resistors: Principal Tactics that Work! is purposefully written to aid the campus leader in answering the school leadership call when confronting teacher resistance as related to essential, if not critical change.

Principal must be aware that there are individual teacher resistors who have a reason to voice their concerns about a proposed instructional change or reform. Therefore, a critical question must be contemplated: “What’s a principal to do?” Does the school leader dismiss resistors as whiners who are forever griping? Or, must a principal seriously contemplate the voices of discontent? Are the campus grumblings, within the context of change, real in nature? If so, what is the message that a principal must be attuned to, and then, in response, handle, if not overcome? These serious queries are the underlying basis for the seven principal tactics addressed in the book.Typically, teacher resistance is a function of disruption aimed at a change employees believe will alter their current work habits and impact teaching or instructional patterns. Teachers, in general, are accepting of the status quo. The more variation or modification to the status quo, or to the current working process and/or the teaching and learning environment, the more resistance. Responding to Resistors: Principal Tactics that Work! is purposefully written to aid the campus leader in answering the school leadership call when confronting teacher resistance as related to essential, if not critical change.

Equity, Equality, and Empathy: What Principals Can Do for the Well-Being of the Learning Community presents seven principal actions detailing how to develop a successful well-being program. Moreover, leadership processes are advanced to aid principals in embracing, encouraging, and amplifying equity, equality, and empathy, as well as social and emotional learning.This book is written to guide principals in understanding that far too many social injustices plague not only the nation but school systems as well. Revealed are TOP-10 Steps to Quality Leadership effective in guiding campus leaders when working with others in overcoming biases, prejudices, and discriminatory actions and practices. Additionally, fourteen school-oriented processes to eradicating racism in schools are identified and addressed.Equity, Equality, and Empathy promotes seven elements of empathy and how they are critical tools for effective school leadership. Seven habits of highly empathetic principals are explored along with five-steps to a principal establishing and maintaining a learning community culture of empathy. Finally, this book provides school leaders with a critical skills inventory which investigates how principals personally react to social and emotional learning, organizational well-being, and empathy, equity, and equality leadership.

Equity, Equality, and Empathy: What Principals Can Do for the Well-Being of the Learning Community presents seven principal actions detailing how to develop a successful well-being program. Moreover, leadership processes are advanced to aid principals in embracing, encouraging, and amplifying equity, equality, and empathy, as well as social and emotional learning.This book is written to guide principals in understanding that far too many social injustices plague not only the nation but school systems as well. Revealed are TOP-10 Steps to Quality Leadership effective in guiding campus leaders when working with others in overcoming biases, prejudices, and discriminatory actions and practices. Additionally, fourteen school-oriented processes to eradicating racism in schools are identified and addressed.Equity, Equality, and Empathy promotes seven elements of empathy and how they are critical tools for effective school leadership. Seven habits of highly empathetic principals are explored along with five-steps to a principal establishing and maintaining a learning community culture of empathy. Finally, this book provides school leaders with a critical skills inventory which investigates how principals personally react to social and emotional learning, organizational well-being, and empathy, equity, and equality leadership.

Essentials for New Principals: Seven Steps to Becoming Successful – Key Expectations and Skills presents seven new principal steps revealing how first-year principals can develop into a successful school leaders. Moreover, essential leadership skills and key expectations are advanced to aid new principals.Each of the seven steps are identified, clarified, exemplified, and amplified in what serves as a most informative, instructive, and compelling text.

Essentials for New Principals: Seven Steps to Becoming Successful – Key Expectations and Skills presents seven new principal steps revealing how first-year principals can develop into a successful school leaders. Moreover, essential leadership skills and key expectations are advanced to aid new principals.Each of the seven steps are identified, clarified, exemplified, and amplified in what serves as a most informative, instructive, and compelling text.