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A Guide to Managing and Leading School Operations

The Principal's Field Manual

Jerome Cranston author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield

Published:23rd Feb '18

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A Guide to Managing and Leading School Operations cover

This book addresses the essential business operations needed for effective school leadership, covering personnel, finances, and risk management. It aims to bridge the gap between theory and practical application in educational leadership.

A Guide to Managing and Leading School Operations addresses a significant gap in the training of educational leaders, focusing on the essential business operations necessary for effective school management. As the demands on school leaders continue to grow, they face increasingly complex challenges, including personnel management, financial planning, and ensuring safe and legal facility operations. These complexities often lead school leaders to question their career choices, highlighting the need for more comprehensive training in these areas.

Despite the availability of courses and workshops offered by educational institutions and professional associations, many fail to bridge the divide between theoretical knowledge and practical application. This book serves as a valuable resource for school leaders seeking a practical manual for navigating the intricacies of school operations. It emphasizes the importance of developing management skills alongside leadership identity, ensuring that leaders are well-equipped to meet the expectations of teachers, parents, and the community.

Ultimately, A Guide to Managing and Leading School Operations is designed for both current school leaders and those involved in their preparation. It aims to rebalance the focus of principal preparation programs, advocating for a more integrated approach that values management acumen as much as leadership qualities. By addressing these critical aspects of school operations, the book empowers educational leaders to thrive in their roles and effectively contribute to their school communities.

Schools are complex and complicated human systems. As such, those who lead schools as principals need diverse and varied skills. A Guide to Managing and Leading School Operations: The Principal’s Field Manual by Dr. Jerome Cranston clearly recognizes and understands the complexity and nuance of this leadership position. By explaining the convergence of leadership and management, Dr. Cranston displays his unique understanding and experience as a principal. As educators, we often bring strong leadership and instructional skills to the position of principal but it is the management requirements that must be learned ‘on the job’. Dr. Cranston’s field manual will aid many a new principal in this highly specialized position and relieve much of the angst they feel in their first few years. -- Kevin Booth, assistant superintendent, St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division; former high school principal in three Canadian provinces and the United States
All readers, whatever their personal views on school leadership, will find much to deepen their thinking about school management in this book. Its breadth and scope, the variety of management principles covered, and the lucid presentation of the argument that school management matters will provoke much consideration and excitement. As he has done throughout his career, Jerome Cranston once again helps us think more clearly about important issues in educational leadership. -- Carmen Mombourquette, PhD, associate professor, Educational Administration, University of Lethbridge; former school principal, Alberta and Ontario
In the early 2000s the tutelage of then Principal Jerome Cranston was invaluable to help me transition from a classroom teacher to a young assistant principal. As an author and academic, he is on target once again as his mentorship-style book helps to clearly and concisely provide guidance to educational leaders through the promotion of the 'value of practical wisdom.' Professor Cranston provides real pathways to decoding the Rubic Cube-like complexities of balancing the demands of financial management, personnel, creative problem solving and policy development and implementation, which are invaluable to both current and also aspiring school leaders. -- Alan R. Carruthers, president, St. Louis University High School; former principal, Regis Jesuit High School, Aurora, Colorado

ISBN: 9781475839784

Dimensions: 230mm x 148mm x 11mm

Weight: 231g

144 pages