Click on the images below to read more about each source
Good to Great
By Jim Collins
This book analyzes the practices and attitudes of several fortune 500 companies who have made their business transform from good to great. While not a book on education, Collins outlines several mechanisms to create change that can easily be applied to public schools like the use of data, systems thinking, and developing human capital.
Switch
by Chip and Dan Heath
Switch explores how the mind can be one of the largest barriers to progress for any organization. By examining the internal conflict between the emotional and rational parts of the brain, the Heath Brothers identify ways in which a leader can harness the power of emotion to create lasting change
What Great Principals Do Differently
by Todd Whitaker
This book by Todd Whitaker provides a pragmatic view of educational leadership with each chapter addressing common issues in public education from climate and culture, to instruction and discipline. Each chapter contains several lessons, tips, and stories that depict what change looks like in real time, and without turning a blind eye to his own mistakes and perceived failures.
The Assistant Principal 50
by Baruti K. Kafele
One of many books, podcasts, and webinars from Principal Kafele who encourages deep reflection while imparting wisdom from his many years of experience in New Jersey. This book provides a list of expectations, best practices, and insight into the reality of being an assistant Principal.
Hacking School Discipline
by Nathan Maynard
and Brad Weinstein
As educators continue to move away from punitive disciplinary practices, Maynard and Weinstein provide 9 ways to not only handle these infractions in schools, but also provide several ways to use school climate to prevent them from even happening. With a focus on restorative justice, this book will provide a crash course on the practice and explains how educators can begin using it in their classrooms immediately.
What They Don't Tell You in Schools of Education About School Administration
by John A. Black
and Fenwick W. English
This book was published in the mid 1980s, and provides a different view from the other books on this list. Acting like a benchmark for school administrators, readers will be able to judge the growth of the American public school system. This book provides a raw vision of school administration highlighting the real pressures that we will face, and how to best handle them.
Self- Compassion
for Educators
By Lisa Baylis, MEd
I was gifted this book during the Covid-19 Pandemic by my wife Natalie, an exceptional teacher in New York City District 75, to help us retrain our minds for the hardships during remote learning. Dr. Bylis provides an authentic look at the mental hardships experience as they face an unprecedented level of stress, anxiety, and depression. She continues to provide coping strategies and space for the reader to respond to therapeutic writing prompts.
If You Don't Feed the Teachers,
They Eat the Students!
By Nella A. Connors
As a self-proclaimed foodie, I rather enjoyed reading this book by Nella Connors as she draws many parallels between education and the culinary world. This book, written for administrators, provides best practices for school improvements in a light hearted manner.
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Principal Matters
With William D. Parker
The first episode that grabbed my immediate attention was Episode 197: 10 Tips for New Assistant Principals and quickly became part of my morning routine during my commute. This podcast examines many topics within education through many different lenses, helping educators reflect on their current reality, and inspire them to make actionable change in what ever capacity they current hold.
The Modern Principal
With Christy Lamb and Karen Hile
Christy and Karen bring levity and joy to educational leadership professional development. As two current principals, they are able to speak to real world challenges and success stories that provide a genuine viewpoint of educational leadership. Often less than 20 minutes, these episodes effectively address topics through storytelling, and they provide analysis through three lenses: scholar, systems, and soul.
Education Matters SC
with Marques Whitmire, Lindsey Jacobs, and Robert Lominack
Even though this podcast is focused on South Carolina schools, the subject matter that they discuss can be universally recognized by educators. This group of young leaders have the hard conversations about hard topics, and do so with the reference that they deserve.
Virtual AP Leadership Academy
with Baruti K. Kafele
During the Covid-19 Pandemic when everyone was under lockdown, Principal Kafele viewed this time at home as an opportunity to give back to educators. He developed his Virtual Leadership Academy to provide guidance for new and current school administrators in a series of weekly podcast sessions on Youtube. The passion and enthusiasm he has regarding education shines while creating an intimate setting, usually recorded in his home. Despite many people watching during the live broadcast, it feels like a conversation with the mentor that every leader wishes they had.