Walter S. Polka – författare

This book is based on the professional experiences and research findings of Drs. Litchka, Polka, and Calzi who possess a combined total professional experience of over 100 years as educators in the United States, including over 75 years as public school administrators and over 30 years as chief school officers. The authors have also spent a combined 30 plus years in researching and roles, responsibilities, and stresses of school district leadership. They are committed to appropriately preparing current and aspiring leaders to survive and thrive as superintendents.The authors know the topic of school leadership very well from both the practical “lived experiences” to the various theoretical research conceptual frameworks. This book reflects actual stories collected via their most recent research associated with school district leadership, decision-making, politics, and “living on the horns of dilemmas.”

This book is based on the professional experiences and research findings of Drs. Litchka, Polka, and Calzi who possess a combined total professional experience of over 100 years as educators in the United States, including over 75 years as public school administrators and over 30 years as chief school officers. The authors have also spent a combined 30 plus years in researching and roles, responsibilities, and stresses of school district leadership. They are committed to appropriately preparing current and aspiring leaders to survive and thrive as superintendents.The authors know the topic of school leadership very well from both the practical “lived experiences” to the various theoretical research conceptual frameworks. This book reflects actual stories collected via their most recent research associated with school district leadership, decision-making, politics, and “living on the horns of dilemmas.”

This book is about doing what’s right for public education in the United States in this age of intensive curriculum convergence, planned instructional standardization, and oppressive accountability procedures. Information is presented about why and how educators, parents, students, community members, and policy-makers have decided to protest against current state and federal educational policies and procedures. The practical experiences of parents, teachers, principals, school superintendents, school board members, and professors are analyzed in chapters of this book. Their first-hand experiences with the various components of the current reform movement are poignantly presented. Through their voices the frustrations with the serious flaws associated with this reform agenda are passionately and logically articulated. They comprehensively explain their personal and professional motivations for organizing and fomenting a rethinking in school reform implementation procedures and they advocate their “smarter approach” to school reforms in our country. The book includes key references that elucidate the need to seriously re-think the directions and strategies of contemporary schooling in order to maintain enlightened creative instruction based on exciting student-centered curriculum experiences and professional educational judgments.

This book is about doing what’s right for public education in the United States in this age of intensive curriculum convergence, planned instructional standardization, and oppressive accountability procedures. Information is presented about why and how educators, parents, students, community members, and policy-makers have decided to protest against current state and federal educational policies and procedures. The practical experiences of parents, teachers, principals, school superintendents, school board members, and professors are analyzed in chapters of this book. Their first-hand experiences with the various components of the current reform movement are poignantly presented. Through their voices the frustrations with the serious flaws associated with this reform agenda are passionately and logically articulated. They comprehensively explain their personal and professional motivations for organizing and fomenting a rethinking in school reform implementation procedures and they advocate their “smarter approach” to school reforms in our country. The book includes key references that elucidate the need to seriously re-think the directions and strategies of contemporary schooling in order to maintain enlightened creative instruction based on exciting student-centered curriculum experiences and professional educational judgments.

Managing Yourself and Others During Crises: Key Leadership Visions, Approaches, and Dispositions to Survive and Thrive is about managing yourself and others during crisis situations like the recent unprecedented global pandemic that promulgated chaos in the operations of most human societies and institutions including family structures, educational procedures and practices, work relationships and settings, religious observances, governmental functions, protocols, and processes. This book provides insights based on the knowledge and experiences of practicing leadership and policy experts about keeping organizations functioning, as best as possible, during crises situations. They articulate practical approaches based on sound leadership research for ensuring that the people, things, and ideas of seminal societal institutions like education not only survive the crisis but also continue to thrive. Key leadership visions, approaches, and personal dispositions to cope with such monumental and unexpected changes are presented by chapter authors who not only studied crises situations but also personally lived through them and appropriately managed themselves and others using various comprehensive strategies, techniques, and coping mechanisms based on leadership best practices in educational organizations.

Managing Yourself and Others During Crises: Key Leadership Visions, Approaches, and Dispositions to Survive and Thrive is about managing yourself and others during crisis situations like the recent unprecedented global pandemic that promulgated chaos in the operations of most human societies and institutions including family structures, educational procedures and practices, work relationships and settings, religious observances, governmental functions, protocols, and processes. This book provides insights based on the knowledge and experiences of practicing leadership and policy experts about keeping organizations functioning, as best as possible, during crises situations. They articulate practical approaches based on sound leadership research for ensuring that the people, things, and ideas of seminal societal institutions like education not only survive the crisis but also continue to thrive. Key leadership visions, approaches, and personal dispositions to cope with such monumental and unexpected changes are presented by chapter authors who not only studied crises situations but also personally lived through them and appropriately managed themselves and others using various comprehensive strategies, techniques, and coping mechanisms based on leadership best practices in educational organizations.

Coping with Educational Crises: Approaches from School Leaders Who Did It provides readers with perspectives and research-based strategies regarding the leadership approaches employed by school district administrators at all levels of organizational responsibility including superintendents of schools; assistant superintendents; program directors and coordinators; principals; assistant principals; and teacher leaders to confront unexpected major crises in school operations such as that created by the COVID-19 global pandemic.This book consists of eight chapters written by practicing administrators, leadership researchers, and experienced educators who present their analyses and insights about managing the people, things, and ideas of educational organizations during crisis situations. They articulate various approaches that they and other educational leaders employed to abate the deleterious impact of crises on their respective organizations.Coping with Educational Crises also provides recommendations to current and future school leaders who may face similar crises during their careers. Additionally, the editors and contributing authors offer sage advice to educational policymakers, school administrators, parents, and community leaders to recognize the collateral opportunities associated with any crisis including reforms to the pre-crisis traditional educational system since some of its key foundations, procedures, and expectations may have been significantly changed forever.

Coping with Educational Crises: Approaches from School Leaders Who Did It provides readers with perspectives and research-based strategies regarding the leadership approaches employed by school district administrators at all levels of organizational responsibility including superintendents of schools; assistant superintendents; program directors and coordinators; principals; assistant principals; and teacher leaders to confront unexpected major crises in school operations such as that created by the COVID-19 global pandemic.This book consists of eight chapters written by practicing administrators, leadership researchers, and experienced educators who present their analyses and insights about managing the people, things, and ideas of educational organizations during crisis situations. They articulate various approaches that they and other educational leaders employed to abate the deleterious impact of crises on their respective organizations.Coping with Educational Crises also provides recommendations to current and future school leaders who may face similar crises during their careers. Additionally, the editors and contributing authors offer sage advice to educational policymakers, school administrators, parents, and community leaders to recognize the collateral opportunities associated with any crisis including reforms to the pre-crisis traditional educational system since some of its key foundations, procedures, and expectations may have been significantly changed forever.

Dealing with the Urgent Educational Challenge: Promoting Social-Emotional Well-Being among Teachers, Students, and Families provides readers with key research-based and pragmatically tested approaches and processes to deal with the unprecedented mental health issues prevalent in today’s schools, families, and communities. Practicing educators and researchers representing various backgrounds, leadership roles, and learning contexts provide insights about appropriate and effective personal, professional, and organizational programs, projects, and activities that may be implemented to address the social-emotional learning needs of people within school communities.

Dealing with the Urgent Educational Challenge: Promoting Social-Emotional Well-Being among Teachers, Students, and Families provides readers with key research-based and pragmatically tested approaches and processes to deal with the unprecedented mental health issues prevalent in today’s schools, families, and communities. Practicing educators and researchers representing various backgrounds, leadership roles, and learning contexts provide insights about appropriate and effective personal, professional, and organizational programs, projects, and activities that may be implemented to address the social-emotional learning needs of people within school communities.

A valuable resource to institutions of higher education and various state and national superintendent organizations and agencies, The Dark Side of Educational Leadership provides valuable insights into specific resiliency behaviors that contribute to superintendents' abilities to overcome the trauma associated with being a professional victim. Specifically illuminating those issues that contribute most often to the victimization of superintendents, well-researched chapters demonstrate strategies employed by superintendents to prevent similar issues from causing additional pain.Polka and Litchka identify resiliency factors of most significance to superintendents in dealing with the professional victim syndrome, helping superintendents to better prepare for the professional victim syndrome during their professional career.