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Educational administrators are faced with making decisions daily that affect the operations of their district, building, or organization. Nearly all these decisions are based on the needs and influence of local stakeholders and constituent groups. Calling a Snow Day: How Local Politics Influence School Decisions is a tool to help leaders in education identify, understand, and maneuver around all obstacles that would influence decisions based on the needs of the constituent and stakeholder group and not just the system as a whole. These decisions, which impact the stakeholders of an educational system, can be influenced by a political landscape that can be both beneficial and detrimental to the progress that the administrator is looking to make in consideration of their tenure in the district.
List of contents
Acknowledgement
Educational Leadership Defined
You Make the Call!
The Coaches Corner
Chapter 1: Calling a Snow Day
Chapter 2: The Decision-Making Process
Chapter 3: Influencing Matters
Chapter 4: Avoiding the Political Tsunami
Chapter 5: Navigating Local Politics
Chapter 6: Considerations for Polioptics in Local Decision Making
Chapter 7: Forming Local Alliances
Chapter 8: Building Partnerships
Chapter 9: Directed Informational Leadership
Chapter 10: Stakeholders as Defined in Educational Settings
Chapter 11: How to Engage Stakeholder Groups
Chapter 12: The Importance of Feedforward and Feedback Loops
Chapter 13: Gadflies
Chapter 14: How to Spot Political Machines
Chapter 15: Surveying and Surviving Political Trends
Chapter 16: The Playbook of Politics for Educational Leaders
Chapter 17: The Importance of Protecting Others
Chapter 18: Transparency 101
Chapter 19: Et tu, Brute?
Chapter 20: Knowing When to and Planning Your Exit
About the Author
About the author
Richard Tomko has been a school administrator for the last 24 years in both private and public educational systems. He was recognized by Education Week in 2023 as a Leader to Learn from for exhibiting innovative solutions to fix some of the most pressing challenges facing K-12 schools in this critical period of our history.
