Mastering the Balance of the Principalship: How to Be a Compassionate and Decisive Leader

This unique resource helps new and veteran principals achieve a balance between serving as caring and collaborative leaders and maintaining unilateral authority.

Robert Ricken, EdD, served as Principal and Superintendent in the Mineola School District for twenty-two years and was interim Superintendent in the following districts: North Bellmore, Elmont, Bellmore, Smithtown Central School District and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. He has also been an interim Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent in the Half Hollow Hills Central School District. Presently, he teaches Educational Administration at Long Island University, C. W. Post.

Dr. Ricken has served as the Long Island Coordinator for the Anti-Defamation League′s A World of Difference Institute and conducted anti-bias workshops in over 100 school districts. In addition, he has been the Chairman of the Board of the Nassau Citizens Budget Committee, Board Officer of School Business Partnerships of Long Island, Vice-President of the Nassau County Superintendents Association and President of Phi Delta Kappa, C. W .Post Chapter. Additionally, he served as an Impartial Hearing Officer and a member of the American Arbitration Association. In this capacity, he has conducted 3020A, Section 75, and special education hearings.

Robert Ricken is the author of:

∅ Love Me When I′m Most Unlovable, published by the NASSP

∅ Book Two - The Kids′ View, NASSP

∅ The RA Guide to Nassau County Schools, Carlton Press, 1995

∅ The Middle Level Calendar: A Handbook for Practitioners, NASSP, 1996

∅ The High School Principal′s Calendar - A Month-By-Month Planner for the School Year, Corwin Press, 2000

∅ The Elementary School Principal′s Calendar – A Month-By-Month Planner for the School Year, Corwin Press, 2001

Other articles have been published in the New York Times, Newsday, Sports Illustrated, The Harvard Review, Harper′s Weekly and Single Parent Magazine. He is a frequent contributor to many educational journals, and has written a column on education for a local newspaper, Economic Times of Long Island.

Dr. Ricken has presented many workshops, and has recently been the keynote speaker for the NASSP in New Orleans, the National Association of Middle Schools in West Virginia, Baltimore, Denver, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. He has also spoken at the National School Boards Association in San Francisco and Rochester, as well as for Phi Delta Kappa at Hofstra, C. W. Post, and Molloy College.

Awards include the Administrator of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa of Hofstra University, Administrator of the Year by Nassau-Suffolk Educator′s Association, and recognition for his work in labor relations by the New York Council of Administrators and Supervisors. The National Public Relations Association honored him for his exemplary public relations practices. In 1992, he received the Outstanding Service Support Award from the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. In 1994, he was the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Recognition Award by Nassau County. In 2000, the New York State Middle School Association awarded him the Ross M. Burkhardt Award for his outstanding contribution to middle level education.