Being a Successful Principal: Riding the Wave of Change Without Drowning [Paperback]

David R. Schumaker (Author), William A. Sommers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0803967691 | ISBN-13: 978-0803967694 | Publication Date: October 25, 2000 | Edition: 1

This collection of insights, anecdotes, gifts, and guidance on shared leadership in schools is written by principals for principals.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Schumaker has been a public school teacher for 21 years, a principal of a high school and middle school for over ten years, and a staff develop for the past four years as the Director of the Central Coast Consortium for Professional Development, Region V in Santa Clara County, California. David is also a mentor on assignment for the National School Conference Institute in Phoenix; his workshops explore brain-based education, teaching strategies, assessment, thinking skills and many other subjects.

 

William A. Sommers is currently the Learning Alternatives director and leadership coach for Spring Lake Park District 12 in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, consultant, and author. He is the former director of leadership & organizational development for Manor ISD in Texas, the former executive director for secondary curriculum and professional learning for Minneapolis Public Schools, and a school administrator for over 30 years. He has also been a Senior Fellow for the Urban Leadership Academy at the University of Minnesota. Sommers also has served as an adjunct faculty member at Texas State University, Hamline University, University of St. Thomas, St. Mary's University, Union Institute, and Capella University.

Sommers was on the Board of Trustees for five years and past-president for the National Staff Development Council. He has been a presenter in preconferences and conference sessions for 12 consecutive years and continues to work as a senior consultant for NSDC.

Since 1990, he has been an associate trainer for the Center for Cognitive Coaching based in Denver, Colorado. He has been a program director for an adolescent chemical dependency treatment center and on the board of a halfway house for 20 years.

Sommers has co-authored seven books, Living on a Tightrope: A Survival Handbook for Principals, Becoming a Successful Principal: How to Ride the Wave of Change Without Drowning, Reflective Practice to Improve Schools, a Trainer’s Companion, Energizing Staff Development Using Video Clips, Leading Professional Learning Communities, and Principal’s Field Manual. He is currently working on Trainer’s Companion for Habits of Mind (2009).

In addition to writing many articles regarding coaching, assessment, and reflective thinking, he also does training in reflective practice, leadership, organizational development, conflict management, poverty, thinking skills, brain research, and classroom management. From 1970 to the present, he has been in K-12 education as a teacher and principal in urban, suburban, and rural schools. Sommers is a practitioner who integrates theory into the learning opportunities he facilitates.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Corwin Press; 1 edition (October 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803967691
• ISBN-13: 978-0803967694
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,153,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Being a Successful Principal:Riding the Wave of Change Without Drowning, March 17, 2010

By 

Angela Edgar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Being a Successful Principal: Riding the Wave of Change Without Drowning (Paperback)

Being a Successful Principal is an excellent book full of great advice for a beginning principal or a refresher for those who have been in the field a long time.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful guide, May 21, 2007

By 

D. Kaatz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Being a Successful Principal: Riding the Wave of Change Without Drowning (Paperback)

This book gives new principals (and probably others too) a reference for dealing with the challenges of the job.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Surfer's Guide for Survival, February 5, 2001

By 

Becky Stetson (Hayfork, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Being a Successful Principal: Riding the Wave of Change Without Drowning (Hardcover)

This book was written with humor and insight. It makes you realize that being a principal with heart and humor is possible. It's not a high-handed theory book; it's a book that you can read and put into immediate practice for success. The situations used in the book strike home with "everyprincipal" realism. I enjoyed it tremendously and found it very useful.