Leadership: School Board Superintendent Principal

By Fayette B Nick EdD

This book provides a practical look into the essence of leadership in a K12 educational environment, including the five mistakes school boards make in hiring a superintendent, the jealousy and envy pitfall, and the importance of having the right people in your inner circle. Also discussed is the role of the school district attorney, the puppet principal, the default leaders, the charter school leader dilemma, and the sixty-five things you should know and do to become an effective K12 education leader.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781503512030

Fayette B Nick EdD

Fayette B. Nick, EdD, is an independent education consultant. She has served in a number of leadership positions, including interim superintendent. She is the author of Involving Parents in the Common Core State Standards: Through a Family-School Partnership Program. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University; an education specialist degree in education administration and a master of science in education from Jacksonville State University, Alabama; and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Austin Peay State University. She is a sought-after education presenter, consultant and speaker. She resides in Columbia, South Carolina. You can visit her website at www.fayettebnick.com.

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Copyright © 2014 by Fayette B. Nick, EdD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 11/03/2014

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Contents

Prologue

Section I School Board Leadership

Chapter 1 The School Board Members

The Most Important Job of the School Board

Hiring a Leader by Default

School Boards Superintendent Hiring Mistakes

The Board’s Relationship with the Superintendent

The School Board’s Attorney

Public Participation and Comments

School Board and Standing Committees

Section II Superintendent Leadership

Chapter 2 The Superintendent and District-Level Staff

Smoke and Mirrors Illusion

Your Inner Circle

Jealousy and Envy Pitfall

A Word about Courage

School, Public, and Community Relations and ROPE

Adopt-a-School Program

Section III Principal Leadership

Chapter 3 The Principalship

The Puppet Principal

Principal and Legal Counsel

Select Your Own Staff

Parent Advisory Council

Look at the Correlates of Effective Schools

Parental Involvement

The Charter School Leader

Section IV Moving Forward

Chapter 4 Moving Forward: Sixty-Five Things to Know and Do

The Sixty-Five Things

Reference

To my spouse, Henry Nick Jr., who has encouraged and

supported my work in education, thank you. Also, to my first

grade teacher Miss Fordham, who first taught me about leadership, thank you.

PROLOGUE

A s a practicing education leader or aspiring education leader, you have read many books on leading a school and a school district. In addition, you have studied a number of leadership theories. This book is designed not to review information you already know but to provide practical insight into the essence of leadership in K–12 educational institutions. As you are aware, there are many definitions of leadership. My definition of leadership is simply to influence others to do the work that you want done in your school or school district. The major work of schools and school districts is to prepare students for postsecondary education and/or for a career upon leaving high school and the ability to function in a highly technological society, which includes the entire world.

Several years ago, I read a groundbreaking book called Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Heifetz and Linsky (2002). Well, leadership is more on the line today than ever before in this environment of high-stake testing, accountability, and low parental involvement in secondary education and our technological global society. As an education leader, you should be aware of the reality of leading at every level: school board, superintendent, and the principalship. This book provides a fresh, practical, and realistic look at leadership in K–12 education in the twenty-first century.

The book is divided into four sections. Section I: The School Board discusses major issues that plague every school board, such as hiring an effective superintendent and other leadership personnel, public participation and public comments in school board meetings, the correct role of the school board attorney, and five mistakes made by school boards in hiring a superintendent. Section II: The Superintendent describes and discusses the smoke and mirrors illusion, the jealousy and envy pitfall, having courage to do the job, and more. Section III: The Principalship describes and discusses the puppet principalship, having your own legal counsel, selecting your own staff, and more. Section IV: Moving Forward