The solution for preparing excellent school leaders is right in front of you. The best way to prepare aspiring leaders for principalship is to offer hands-on opportunities to develop the skills they'll need when they're in charge. Being a principal calls for originality, innovation, and the ability to work under pressure. Yet so few assistant principals and other aspiring leaders actually get to develop these competencies in meaningful ways that prepare them to lead a school with confidence. Leader Ready presents a framework that walks aspiring school leaders along the path to strong and independent principalship by using a mix of professional knowledge, modeling, coaching, guided experiences, and mastery experiences. Full of processes, action steps, and examples from the field, features include; A research-based plan for creating better conditions for aspiring leaders Guidance for achieving systemic professional growth throughout the school year Analysis of school-leadership standards to inform practice Voices of leaders, aspiring leaders, and experts from the field
Timothy P. Cusack , Ed.D. is an educator with thirty years of experience as a classroom teacher, department head, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent of learning services (curriculum, assessment, professional development) and currently serves as deputy superintendent of Edmonton Catholic Schools (Leadership Support Services). In his current role, he directly supports the daily work of school leadership teams and aspiring leaders across almost 100 schools. Tim is passionate about leadership development, mentorship, systems change and improvement. His doctoral work through the University of Portland centered upon the self-efficacy of assistant principals and how to better prepare them for principalship. Additionally, Tim has over 30 years of experience as a Naval Warfare Officer with the Royal Canadian Navy (Reserve) including four years as executive officer and three years as commanding officer of HMCS NONSUCH in Edmonton. Tim has delivered many presentations and keynote addresses across Canada and in the United States. This book is his first with Corwin. Vince Bustamante, M.Ed., is a Calgary-based instructional coach, curriculum content developer, and author. Formerly focused on school improvement, Vince now specializes in working with teachers, leadership teams, schools, and school districts in implementing high impact strategies and systems. With a strong background in assessment and deep learning experiences, he is passionate about understanding and evaluating teachers' impact. Vince holds a Master of Education degree and has co-authored two bestselling books with Corwin Press: Great Teaching by Design and The Assessment Playbook for Distance and Blended Learning. He can be found on Twitter under the handle @Vincebusta.
Foreword by Peter M. DeWitt Your Guide to This Book Chapter 1: An Answer to Leadership in Crisis Chapter 2: Raising the Bar of Leadership Standard Chapter 3: Creating a Culture for Implementation Chapter 4: Planning Guided Leadership Experiences Chapter 5: Attaining Mastery Experiences Conclusion: Implementing the Four Roots Appendices Afterword
Leader Ready gets to the root of what is holding back aspiring leaders from pursuing the role of principal and provides a blueprint for supporting our future leaders. Cusack and Bustamante draw from their many years in leadership to bring us this great advice. Leader Ready is a must for every principal's bookshelf! -- Carmen Markowski * Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada * We owe emerging school leaders the conditions, strategies, and opportunities necessary to grow and succeed. Cusack and Bustamante's work is a major step forward in the right direction! -- Wayne Davies * East St. Paul, Manitoba, Canada * Leader Ready is a must-have resource for anyone supporting the development of aspiring leaders. Cusack and Bustamante's Universal Leadership Standards, leadership development model, and templates provide a road map for building leadership capacity. -- Kelli Leavell * Bremerton, Washington * Any leader at any stage in their career can gain something from this book. Cusack and Bustamante's Universal Leadership Standards provide a framework that can be utilized by even the most seasoned educational leaders for years to come! -- Ryan Persaud * Curitiba, Brazil * Cusack and Bustamante provide us with a vision for inspiring the most opportune yet underserved school leaders: assistant principals. The authors' focus on informed and strategic professional growth encourages aspiring leaders to engage with the challenges of today's school systems with confidence and wisdom. -- Sam Jordan * Juneau, Alaska * This book will develop great principals who support assistant principals to become great future principals. Cusack and Bustamante deliver a path to connect potential and intention and move to dynamic implementation. Their interactive approach is rooted in standards and supported by lived experience. -- Randy Hetherington * Portland, Oregon * This book offers practical strategies and tools for developing leadership skills in aspiring and novice school and district leaders. Cusack and Bustamante synthesize the research and issues relevant to assistant principals differentiated by level of experience, something rarely accomplished. -- Andrea Kane * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
