For Principals

I just got done reading Michael Fullan's, "What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship." I highly recommend it for any new administrator or for someone contemplating a profession in administration. In fact, we'll probably use it in next year's administrator's meetings.

The book is in a format that would be easy to use for staff development because there are priority lists of what to focus on and what makes the greatest impact. The entire book appears to be "the bottom line" of what's essential rather than long, drawn-out explanations. It's concise and to the point.

Fullan talks about specific issues that may arise for principals and suggests solutions. He says that when a school needs drastic reform measures, the focus should be on early wins and improvement in the areas that need it the most. But he doesn't suggest being a principal is ever easy. In fact, quite the opposite. At the conclusion of the book I was glad I wasn't a principal because there are so many different responsibilities to juggle. This is especially true for a charter school principal who also acts like a district superintendent in many ways.