Susan Stone Kessler - The Principals Survival Guide: Where Do I Start? How Do I Succeed? When Do I Sleep?

Copyright 2015 by Susan Stone Kessler, Ed.D., April M. Snodgrass, M.Ed., and Andrew T. Davis, Ed.D.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kessler, Susan Stone.

The principals survival guide : where do I start? how do I succeed? when do I sleep? / Susan Stone Kessler, April M. Snodgrass, Andrew T. Davis.

1 online resource.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN 978-1-57542-519-1 (Web PDF) ISBN 978-1-63198-008-4 (ePUB) ISBN 978-1-57542-491-0 (paperback) 1. School principalsHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. School management and organization. I. Snodgrass, April M. II. Davis, Andrew T. III. Title.

LB2831.9

371.2012dc23

2014046227

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This book is dedicated to our children Bradley, Daniel, Ellie, Lauren, Logan, Marit, Sarah, Wynne, and Zachary, whose existence in this world compels us to demand good teachers, good principals, and good schools.

INTRODUCTION

Seriously, When Do I Sleep?

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

You wanted to be a principal. Maybe you worked under superior leaders who inspired you to follow their example. Or maybe you worked under a bunch of goofballs who couldnt find an eraser on a chalk rail with both handsyou thought kids deserved better, and you are the better. However you got here, you may now feel a combination of nausea, paralysis, fear... and excitement. Its time for you to put up or shut up, as the saying goes.

Heres the good news: You will put up. (Sometimes you may shut up, too.) You will be a great leader in some moments. In other moments, you will make not-so-great decisions in front of people who told you not to do what you did. And you will have sleepless nights.

Until you dont. Because one day the principalship will stop being terrifying. One day being a principal will seem intuitive, predictable, and even somewhat routine. One day the little things wont blossom into big things. People will trust your advice and follow your lead. One day people will believe in your ability to lead them through a difficult situation. You will lead them, and they will be glad you were there. And so will you.

You Are the Principal

This book was born out of our conference presentation, When Do I Sleep? Surviving the Principalship. At these conferences, we have met hundreds of new and veteran principals who were drawn to the presentation because the title resonated with them regardless of how many years of experience they had. In talking with many of these enthusiastic but exhausted principals, we learned that the feeling of being overwhelmed by the job is universalfrom coast to coast and from preK to high schooland were all grateful to meet other principals who share it.

As the demands on principals have increased over the last decade, it can feel like we need to be all things to all people at all times. Some might ask, Who would want to be a principal in this day and age? Between school violence, helicopter parents, teen pregnancy, student drug use, high accountability, limited resources, and the easy scapegoating of educators for all societal ills, many educators think being a principal would be a terrible job.

But it isnt. Being a principal is a great job, and we know this because its the most important job we have ever done. Schools need effective leaders. Kids need effective leaders. Leading them is both deadly serious and downright fun.

This book is about how to solve the problems that occur in schools with rational logic, balanced emotion, and experience. It is written by three principals who share the goal of remaining principals. The principal job isnt a stepping stone for us. We do not aspire to be central office administrators or full-time university professors once we have mastered the principalship. We arent headed to our state capitol to be legislators, and we arent searching for our next gig. We have the jobs we want, and we want to keep growing as individuals and professionals. Together we have over four decades of experience in elementary, middle, and high schools as teachers, assistant principals, and principals in rural, suburban, and inner-city public schools. We have worked in large and small schools. We have been department heads, team leaders, PTO/PTA members, athletic coaches, and drama sponsors. We have been colleagues, and we have been subordinates, and among us we are parents to eight children. As parents, we have been challenged to look at leading a school not just through the eyes of the leader, but through the important eyes of the student and the parent.

What we have learned, again and again, is that for every challenge a principal faces, there are at least twice as many benefitslike working with adults who adore children. After all, true teachers almost always happen to be truly wonderful individuals, individuals who like working with and learning from kids. Every day we get to see the future of the world forming in front of us. And we get to learn more about ourselves as we make difficult decisions every day.

We wrote this book to help you rise to the challenges so you can enjoy the benefits.

Your Guiding Principles

One of the challenges that all principals face is that we perform in front of an audience, so all our mistakes are public. Teachers, students, parents, and district personnel judge your performance without understanding the complexity of your job or the difficulties you face. You will be second-guessed, doubted, compared to unrealistic examples of best practice, criticized, and even mocked by many of the stakeholders you serveand this is especially true for first-year principals. Every mistake you makefrom a mispronounced name to a spelling error on a memo to toilet paper stuck on the bottom of your shoe when exiting a restroomwill be noticed and discussed.

How do you maintain your sanity, confidence, and reputation in this kind of fishbowl? You have to be a leader.