'I applaud Gupton's focus on the learner. This is the most important tenet for a school administrator's decision making. Each chapter describes a portion of school leadership that the successful principal needs to master' - Sharon Madsen Redfern, Principal, Highland Park Elementary School, Lewistown, MT Every headteacher needs a toolbox of strategies for improving teaching and learning schoolwide. In this second edition of The Instructional Leadership Toolbox, Sandra Lee Gupton examines the role of headteachers in leading instruction and provides practical ways for leaders to reflect on and improve their practice. Emphasizing a democratic approach that involves stakeholders in instructional leadership, this resource offers a compendium of helpful skills and strategies drawn from current research and theory in school administration. The book provides: - Updated standards from NAESP and ISLLC - New research that shows how a headteacher's actions can affect student achievement - Questions for reflective practice - Quotes and examples of instructional leadership strategies by practicing headteachers and veteran educators - Additional resources such as Web sites, workbooks, books, and articles This valuable guide provides a blueprint that demonstrates how school leaders can focus on student learning, while using specific tools to empower others and build teams for a common goal: increased student achievement.
Sandra Lee Gupton, EdD, is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, where she has been serving for the past six years as Chairperson of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Before coming to UNF, she was Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi for eleven years. Her experiences before coming to higher education include more than twenty years in various positions in PreK-12 public schools, including English and reading teacher, high school principal, director of instruction, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and superintendent in Georgia and North Carolina schools. Sandra's professional interests are centered on leadership issues related to PreK-12 and higher education leadership effectiveness, gender equity, program reform, and school improvement. Her early research on gender equity in educational leadership led to many presentations, the publication of several articles, and the 1996 Corwin publication Highly Successful Women Administrators: The Inside Stories of How They Got There, offering advice to prospective women administrators in education. Her research and writing in recent years have been focused on the role of academic chairpersons and leadership in higher education.
Preface Acknowledgments About the Author 1. A School Leader's Compass: In Who's Interest? Introspection: Clarifying Core Beliefs and Values Personal Skills Assessment Professional Skills Assessment Sampling of Published Assessment Instruments Pointers for the Principal 2. The Nuts and Bolts of School Leadership Leadership for Today's Schools: What the Literature Says Accountability and the Principalship: Making the Grade Standards for Today's School Leaders: Measuring Up! Defining Instructional Leadership Pointers for the Principal 3. Blueprints for Success Mission Vision Goals and Objectives Strategies Pointers for the Principal 4. A School's Organizational Superglue Assessing School Climate and Culture Leadership Essential to Positive School Cultures From Classrooms and Cubby Holes to School Community Pointers for the Principal 5. Organizational Conduits: Communication Strategies for Effective Instructional Leadership Seeking First to Understand Facilitating Collaboration Within the School Connecting With Parents and the Community as Partners Pointers for the Principal 6. A Learning Organization's Whetstones: Best Leadership Practices for Facilitating Professional Growth and Development Reflective Practice Supportive Supervision Cooperative Evaluation Collaborative Professional Development Pointers for the Principal 7. The Lens of Instructional Leadership Focusing on Learners and Learning Creating a Climate for Learning Communicating High Expectations for Learning Looking for Indicators of Effective Teaching and Learning Pointers for the Principal 8. Tape Measures, Plumb Lines, and Common Sense: What Counts in Accountability Assuming the Accountability Reins Making Good Sense and Best Use of Standards Focusing on Classrooms for Accountability and Students' Achievement Pointers for the Principal 9. The Instructional Leader's Power Tools: Cutting-Edge Leadership Strategies The Leader as Architect of Change Putting Data to Work Tapping Into the Power of Technology Pointers for the Principal 10. The Ultimate Leadership Tool: Personal Fitness Investing in Personal Fitness Common Pitfalls of the Principalship In Conclusion Recommended Toolbox Resources References Index
"Provides a solid base to understand the many hats that must be worn to provide for all facets of a school setting. I applaud Gupton's focus on the learner. This is the most important tenet for a school administrator's decision making. Each chapter describes a portion of school leadership that the successful principal needs to master." -- Sharon Madsen Redfern, Principal "This is a text for curriculum leaders who prize learning in themselves and others. Sandra Gupton's love of learning and ability to frame issues are evident in each chapter with the instructional toolbox metaphor graphically holding the reader's attention each step of the way." -- Dale Brubaker, Professor of Education "I really really liked the book. In fact, I am going to suggest this book to be read as a bookshare for the 52 principals in our district." -- Barbara Gerard, Secretary "Highly Recommended. This is a book that administrators should read and keep on their bookshelf." -- Kathy Zachel
