Beyond Books, Butts, and Buses

Book excerpt: Beyond Books, Butts, and Buses: Ten Steps to Help Assistant Principals Become Effective Instructional Leaders is intended for ambitious future principals who recognize the importance of researching and preparing for that esteemed position. It contains ten steps that will lead those who are stuck in the duty world of books, butts, and buses to find ways to prepare for instructional leadership. This book lays out strategies, suggestions, and checklists that will help support the learning. There are scripts, organizational tools, and rationales for following through on the implementation of these steps. There are also samples of different types of walk-throughs, agendas, and planners to help one get and stay organized. A campus administrator position is a hectic, crisis-of-the-moment type of job, and these chapters address how to handle these moments (or how to head them off!). The need for balance in one’s life is spoken to as well, with a chapter devoted to how to avoid burnout. This is a must-read for assistant principals serious about wanting to prepare themselves for the top position in a school.