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Radical Principals is a guidebook for K-12 leaders looking for creative ways, beyond the status quo, to support and nurture school communities in the wake of unprecedented obstacles. In-service principals understandably rely on existing protocols and district policies to solve day-to-day problems, but do you ever wonder whether these quick fixes are preventing you from making a more lasting, transformative change? Radical Principals are those school leaders who recognize that every child, especially disadvantaged ones living through inequities, need adults lighting their path with inventive and evidence-based opportunities for success.
This inspirational yet pragmatic book provides novel strategies and solutions for balancing common concerns-curriculum, school safety, high-stakes testing, parental concerns, among others-while advancing your long-term vision for your school. These audacious, yet controlled approaches will help you maneuver around both the stubborn obstacles facing children in the greatest need of supports and your own blind spots and unintended biases. Spanning bureaucratic roadblocks, systemic injustice, communication breakdowns, and more, each chapter is rich with scenario-based challenges and leadership practices that don't merely resolve the issues at hand but further help you advance your school towards a holistically equitable and supportive climate.
List of contents
1. Why be radical? 2. How do I Become Radical? 3. Radical Timing and Stacking 4. Radical Efficiency- Get Everything You Can Out of All You've Got 5. Radical Communication= Radical Change Radical Networking 7. Radical Loyalty 8. Institutionalizing Equity- Applying practices to reverse cycles of injustice 9. Bringing it all together Appendices
About the author
Michael S. Gaskell is Principal of Hammarskjold Middle School in East Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, and the author of Leading Schools Through Trauma: A Data-Driven Approach to Helping Children Heal.
Summary
Radical Principals is a guidebook for K-12 leaders looking for creative ways, beyond the status quo, to support and nurture school communities in the wake of unprecedented obstacles.
