In Steady and Strong: People Skills for Principals, Russ Thompson describes his experiences as the successful principal of three urban high schools. The challenges he faced ranged from gang activity and racial conflicts, to low expectations and ineffective teaching. Most of these challenges involved people issues. No matter what went wrong, he had to find a way to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward. Thompson takes you behind the scenes to learn from his mistakes and examine the strategies he used to solve problems and make improvements. He also provides important tools that will help you to achieve success and create a school where every student learns at high levels every day.
Russ Thompson served for eleven years as the principal of three comprehensive high schools. He is now a director of high schools at an urban school district in California.
Part 1 AcknowledgementsChapter 2 IntroductionPart 3 Part One: DisciplineChapter 4 Are You Going to Quit Too?Chapter 5 Class Time Was Like Lunch TimeChapter 6 It Was the Best He Had SeenChapter 7 Saturday SchoolChapter 8 The First Award of His Entire LifeChapter 9 After SchoolChapter 10 It Was Almost a Real EmergencyChapter 11 RiotPart 12 Part Two: LeadershipChapter 13 Always Watching YouChapter 14 PrioritiesChapter 15 Also Listen to the Quiet VoicesChapter 16 We Are Not as Bad As...Chapter 17 Making People Happy Is Not Your JobChapter 18 I Went Over to My ShelfChapter 19 Pick Up the PhoneChapter 20 A Leader Who Got Things DoneChapter 21 The Learning in ClassroomsChapter 22 The Real ProblemChapter 23 I Had Firmly BelievedChapter 24 It Is People Who Solve ProblemsChapter 25 The Right Kind of Faculty MeetingChapter 26 Focus on the SolutionsChapter 27 Now We Are a Good SchoolPart 28 Part Three: ManagementChapter 29 So WrongChapter 30 The Foundation of Your Entire SchoolChapter 31 You Have to Go Out and Look for ProblemsChapter 32 TragedyChapter 33 Another TragedyChapter 34 ExhaustionChapter 35 The Best Way to Spend Your TimeChapter 36 It Is Not a Perfect WorldChapter 37 Almost a DisasterChapter 38 DelegationChapter 39 Delegation Gone BadChapter 40 DeadlinesChapter 41 Ask QuestionsChapter 42 It Was His First DayChapter 43 The Real AnswerChapter 44 What to Fix FirstChapter 45 Will It Help Students Learn Better?Chapter 46 What Do I Do Now?Chapter 47 Phone CallsChapter 48 The Entire ContractChapter 49 A Sacrifice You Must MakePart 50 Part Four: PeopleChapter 51 In the Middle of KidsChapter 52 A Positive Learning EnvironmentChapter 53 It Was Distorted and Very NegativeChapter 54 A Mistake I Could Not FixChapter 55 You Must Also Be PersuasiveChapter 56 Take Time with PeopleChapter 57 Saved by a Tape RecorderChapter 58 It's Who Listens that CountsChapter 59 It Happened Behind My BackChapter 60 He Lied to Me and I Believed HimChapter 61 I Was Highly UpsetChapter 62 GossipChapter 63 Don't Say ItChapter 64 Delay Makes It WorseChapter 65 Talk to the Person in PersonChapter 66 Target PracticeChapter 67 Ask for AdviceChapter 68 A Very Big DifferenceChapter 69 Remember the PositivesChapter 70 Steady and StrongPart 71 IndexPart 72 About the Author
I enjoyed every part of this book. It has good suggestions for principals on effective leadership. I wish I could have read it before I became a principal.
