Beginning the Principalship: A Practical Guide for New School Leaders

The Ultimate Resource to cultivate self-awareness and excellence in Today’s Principals

A commitment to continuous improvement paves the road to true leadership. New and veteran principals who understand this will translate thoughts into sound decisions and inspire a vision that can nurture others. They will drive progress and invite innovation. These are today’s newest superheroes, leading by example and cultivating greatness in others. 
But every superhero needs a mentor. In this updated bestseller, Beginning the Principalship, Daresh and Alexander offer intensive encouragement and help in a practical hands-on guide to help principals navigate the challenges of school leadership. The strategies and cases included here will inspire all school leaders and nurture their passion for the immense responsibility they have undertaken.

Practical Questions, Points to Ponder, and numerous examples in every chapter help foster reflection and collaboration to build a shared vision for campus improvement. Plus, discover how to:

• Drive student learning as the primary mission of the school
• Deal with others’ expectations of you as principal
• Master the technical skills needed to run an efficient school
• Create and clarify a personal professional growth plan
• Work effectively with the greater community and parents
• Celebrate instructional and non-instructional staff in a positive school culture

Don’t just survive your years as principal. Read this guide and thrive!

"Novice and seasoned principals, and new and seasoned administrators would really benefit from reading this book for skill building and improvement. Each chapter provides a wealth of information and has a space to record one’s own plan for self-improvement."
Delsia Easley, Principal
Gadsden City Schools, Gadsden, AL

"I am disappointed that I didn’t own this book when I started as a principal. This book would have answered some of my pressing questions and guided the work I did my first few years. I will recommend this to any friend or colleague starting a new principalship."
Kelly VanLaeken, Principal
Ruben A. Cirillo High School, Walworth, NY 

John C. Daresh is professor of educational leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso. Over the years, he has held faculty or administrative appointments at the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, the University of Northern Colorado, and Illinois State University. He has also worked as a consultant on high school reform and administrator professional development for universities, state departments of education, national and state professional associations, and individual schools and districts across the United States, and also in Barbados, Canada, France, Holland, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, and Taiwan. By far, the bulk of Daresh’s international service has been in the United Kingdom where he served an advisor and trainer for the School Management Task Force that developed and promoted support programs for beginning headteachers, the National College for School Leadership, the Welsh Office of Education, the North West Network for Diploma Development in Cheshire, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Lincoln, the University of Hull, CREATE Consultancies, and literally dozens of Local Education Authorities and individual schools across England and Wales.

Daresh recently completed three years of service as the lead consultant on principal mentoring programs for the Chicago Public Schools as that megadistrict was faced with the challenge of bringing in mostly inexperienced principals to serve in nearly of the school system’s elementary and high schools.