Why the Principalship Making the Leap from the Classroom [Paperback]

This is the book I should have had when I began my graduate program in educational administration. The authors give me advice as to what I should do next to be successful in the program and as an assistant principal. The book has professional development materials that I can use as a teacher leader in my school. I strongly recommend this book to all graduate students who want to be school administrators and educational leaders who work with these graduate students.Dale Brubaker and Misti Williams have written a very practical guide that will help the aspiring administrator move smoothly into the role of school leader. The header quotes that introduce and guide the chapters are especially meaningful, and the questions for discussion at the end of each chapter will aid professional development communities as administrative interns, mentors, and school leaders come together to talk about what is best for students and teachers.This book is brilliant in its simplicity. The main steps facing the aspiring administrator are made plain. Brubaker's writing is in the middle ground between theory and practice, where each informs the other. Williams' contribution is to anchor powerful ideas with her own experiences as well as those of graduate students she leads toward principal certification. It is a coauthorship that works, a gift to us as readers. This book offers guidance that is rarely found in any other source than in a successful personal mentor. It is a highly readable and compact book that is hard to put down because of its engaging content.Why the Principalship? is just the book for people beginning their journey to school leadership. It shares the experiences of many who have made the transition by incorporating a set of 'snapshots'the actual words of certification students, assistant principals, and principals. These vignettes lessen the isolation that many feel and provide concrete examples of how to deal with the ambiguity generated by beginning to step out of lCÇ