R&L Education / American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
Pages: 304
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Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-1-60709-343-5 • Hardback • January 2010 • $158.00 • (£123.00)
978-1-60709-344-2 • Paperback • January 2010 • $79.00 • (£61.00)
978-1-60709-345-9 • eBook • January 2010 • $75.00 • (£58.00)
Matthew J. Pepper is coordinator of research and data quality for the Metro-Nashville Public Schools and is also on staff at the National Center on Performance Incentives at Peabody College. He has lately worked on district data quality issues and a university-district research partnership.
Tim London is a teaching fellow in the School of Education at Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, focusing on educational leadership. He has been a teacher and school administrator in the United States and abroad and has worked with the American Federation of Teachers and a nonprofit foundation that provides educational opportunities to underserved families.
Mike Dishman is an associate professor of educational leadership at Kennesaw State University and an attorney whose practice concentrates on the representation of public schools. He is the coauthor of six books on school law and leadership and serves on the editorial board of the Peabody Journal of Education.
Jessica Lewis is a research associate at the National Center on Performance Incentives of Peabody College and currently heads the center's evaluations of performance incentive programs in Texas.
Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Understanding Leadership During Crisis
Part 3 External-Unpredictable
Chapter 4 "The Birds Were on Fire"
Chapter 5 "It was an area that was highly devastated—it . . . received 8 or 9 feet of water."
Chapter 6 "A student [came] down and said there's a . . . guy in the . . . English classroom with a gun."
Part 7 Internal-Unpredictable
Chapter 8 "I thought, 'Oh, God. This is bad.' Then I found out it was much, much worse."
Chapter 9 "[H]e kept returning to, 'She cost me a cow!'"
Part 10 Internal-Predictable
Chapter 11 "I think that we finally have the people that we need to get the job done."
Part 12 External-Predictable
Chapter 13 "[V]ery typical teaching within a large district - dysfunctional and comfortable."
Chapter 14 "There weren't enough affluent white kids to spread out."
Chapter 15 "If you want to do good, but you don't want to fight for it, then go raise puppies."
Chapter 16 "You're not going to need that money this year, right?"
Chapter 17 "You begin to make progress after three years, and, all of a sudden, that is taken away from you."
Chapter 18 "It was like a steamroller. We sort of saw things coming and we couldn't prevent . . . it."
Chapter 19 Six Principles for Leading Schools during Crisis
Leading Schools During Crisis is a great and timely book. As principals, our decisions are critical in determining how well our schools will come through a crisis. This book presents an array of leadership skills that are not all wrapped up in single theories, and it puts identified theories to work through authentic school crisis case studies. Leading Schools During Crisis should be required reading for anyone before they become a school principal.
— Molly Howard, principal, Jefferson County High School, Georgia, and 2008 Metlife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year
Principals, teachers, parents and children may face terrible circumstances that throw their school and community into a crisis. Today, we can no longer anticipate the precise nature of these school emergencies, making preparation very difficult. This book does an excellent job of providing theory along with twelve case studies to assist school leaders prepare for and survive school crises.
— Anna Switzer, principal of P.S. 234 on September 11, 2001
A remarkably wise and useful book—a major contribution to the art and practice of leading schools in tough times.
— Joseph F. Murphy, associate dean, Peabody College and Frank W. Mayborn Professor of Education, Vanderbilt University
This book will be a valuable addition to administrative preparation and continuing education. I can think of no other source that provides this type of information and analysis for school leaders.
— Gene Hollenberg, director of high schools, South Bend Community Schools
Leaders in any field risk being overwhelmed by the priorities of the moment, to the neglect of enduring issues of importance. This important collection of case studies illustrates how education leaders have responded to this challenge when faced with crises of various kinds. The authors are to be especially commended for drawing key lessons from their experiences in what, I am sure, will become an essential resource for future leaders.
— Tony Gallagher, professor and head of School of Education at Queen's University Belfast
A great book that can guide school leaders on difficult issues whether planned or unexpected.
— Gary Nixon, executive director, Tennessee State Board of Education
Schools are in for hard times. How will school leaders manage these crises? I predict that school leaders who study this volume will be more successful than those who don't.
— Andrew Porter
Leading Schools During Crisis should be required reading for anyone before they become a school principal.
— Molly Howard, principal, Jefferson County (GA) High School; 2008 Metlife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year
No school district or administrator can be fully prepared to deal with a true crisis, and that crisis may be a career builder or a career terminator. That fact alone is enough reason for a school administrator to study this book and keep it on the shelf for future reference.
— School Administrator