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Breakthrough Principals: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Stronger Schools
Bridge the achievement gap with proven strategies for student success Breakthrough Principals debunks the myth of the 'superhero' principal by detailing the common actions and practices of leaders at our nation's fastest-gaining public schools. Based on the authors' Transformational Leadership Framework, which they developed through in-depth study of more than 100 high-gaining, high-poverty schools, the book distills findings into a practical, action-focused plan for diagnosing school needs and implementing structures, systems and practices that accelerate student achievement.
Brought to life by case studies of principals who have led dramatic gains in student achievement, the book is a how-to guide for increasing the quality of teaching and learning; improving school culture; attracting and supporting high-performing teachers; and involving parents and community to help students achieve. You'll learn how breakthrough principals make the school's mission a real part of both strategy and practice, and set up sustainable systems that support consistent, ongoing improvement. High-impact practices are organized into five broad learning and teaching, school-wide culture, aligned staff, operations and systems, and personal leadership.
The primary job of school leadership is to help students succeed. It begins with first recognizing and prioritizing areas of need, then finding and implementing the most effective solutions. Whether you work in a turn around environment, or want to make a good school better, this book will give you a set of concrete practices—illustrated through examples of real principals in real schools—that have been proven to work.
Discover the primary drivers of student achievement Work toward the school's vision in staffing, operations, and systems Set the tone for all relationships and practices with good leadership Closing the achievement gap is a major goal of educational leadership, and principals are forever searching for viable methods that help them better serve their students. Breakthrough Principals unveils the details behind the success stories from across the nation to provide a roadmap to transformative gains.
Brought to life by case studies of principals who have led dramatic gains in student achievement, the book is a how-to guide for increasing the quality of teaching and learning; improving school culture; attracting and supporting high-performing teachers; and involving parents and community to help students achieve. You'll learn how breakthrough principals make the school's mission a real part of both strategy and practice, and set up sustainable systems that support consistent, ongoing improvement. High-impact practices are organized into five broad learning and teaching, school-wide culture, aligned staff, operations and systems, and personal leadership.
The primary job of school leadership is to help students succeed. It begins with first recognizing and prioritizing areas of need, then finding and implementing the most effective solutions. Whether you work in a turn around environment, or want to make a good school better, this book will give you a set of concrete practices—illustrated through examples of real principals in real schools—that have been proven to work.
Discover the primary drivers of student achievement Work toward the school's vision in staffing, operations, and systems Set the tone for all relationships and practices with good leadership Closing the achievement gap is a major goal of educational leadership, and principals are forever searching for viable methods that help them better serve their students. Breakthrough Principals unveils the details behind the success stories from across the nation to provide a roadmap to transformative gains.
327 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2016
110 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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March 11, 2025read for grad school… I enjoyed this and found it extremely helpful
December 4, 2018
A name that fits
I enjoyed reading this book because it gives detailed scenarios to help one visualize and understand what it looks like from a leadership perspective. It is literally a step-by-step guidebook.
I enjoyed reading this book because it gives detailed scenarios to help one visualize and understand what it looks like from a leadership perspective. It is literally a step-by-step guidebook.
January 4, 2021
One of the better textbooks I have had to go through. I will keep it on my shelf for reference, but it is honestly hard for me to imagine having the time to refer back to anything with the way school is today. So many good ideas in here to help though
August 24, 2025
Enjoyed this leadership book that I read throughout grad school this summer.
--reviews will be brief and exact dates read in 2025 may not be 100% accurate, because while I have been reading much this summer, I have not taken the time to update my reviews here.
--reviews will be brief and exact dates read in 2025 may not be 100% accurate, because while I have been reading much this summer, I have not taken the time to update my reviews here.
December 20, 2020
Another book from my graduate school program. It was very insightful, and gave good examples of how to be an effective principal and make effective changes in a school.
January 11, 2022
One of three must- have books for educational leaders, and those who plan to take the Principal as an Educational Leader exam.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews