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Leader Ready

Four Pathways to Prepare Aspiring School Leaders

By: Tim Cusack, Vince Bustamante

Foreword by Peter DeWitt
Afterword by John Hattie

This research-based framework uses professional knowledge, modeling, coaching, and guided and mastery experiences to create a clear path from support roles to confident, independent leadership.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781071916797
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2023
Page Count: 168
Publication date: June 06, 2023

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Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

Description

The solution for preparing excellent school leaders is right in front of you

The best way to prepare aspiring leaders for principalship is to offer hands-on opportunities to develop the skills they’ll need when they’re in charge. Being a principal calls for originality, innovation, and the ability to work under pressure. Yet so few assistant principals and other aspiring leaders actually get to develop these competencies in meaningful ways that prepare them to lead a school with confidence.

Leader Ready presents a framework that walks aspiring school leaders along the path to strong and independent principalship by using a mix of professional knowledge, modeling, coaching, guided experiences, and mastery experiences. Full of processes, action steps, and examples from the field, features include;

A research-based plan for creating better conditions for aspiring leaders
Guidance for achieving systemic professional growth throughout the school year
Analysis of school-leadership standards to inform practice
Voices of leaders, aspiring leaders, and experts from the field

The role of the principal is far more complex and challenging than ever before! It is critical that we guide more aspiring leaders to the role of principal. Leader Ready has the tools to help you achieve this! This book will provide aspiring leaders, principals, and district leaders with the know-how to build new generations of successful school leaders.

Author(s)

Tim Cusack

Timothy P. Cusack , Ed.D. is an educator with thirty years of experience as a classroom teacher, department head, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent of learning services (curriculum, assessment, professional development) and currently serves as deputy superintendent of Edmonton Catholic Schools (Leadership Support Services). In his current role, he directly supports the daily work of school leadership teams and aspiring leaders across almost 100 schools.

Tim is passionate about leadership development, mentorship, systems change and improvement. His doctoral work through the University of Portland centered upon the self-efficacy of assistant principals and how to better prepare them for principalship.

Additionally, Tim has over 30 years of experience as a Naval Warfare Officer with the Royal Canadian Navy (Reserve) including four years as executive officer and three years as commanding officer of HMCS NONSUCH in Edmonton. Tim has delivered many presentations and keynote addresses across Canada and in the United States. This book is his first with Corwin.

Vince Bustamante

Dr. Vince Bustamante, Ed.D., is a Calgary-based instructional coach, curriculum content developer, and author. Vince specializes in working with teachers, leadership teams, schools, and school districts in implementing high impact strategies and systems. With a strong background in implementation, assessment and deep learning, he is passionate about understanding and evaluating teachers' impact. Having worked with schools and school districts across North America and internationally he brings a wide variety of experience and perspectives when looking at school improvement, pedagogical and leadership development, and implementation of high impact strategies across school environments. Vince’s doctoral research focused on the sustainable implementation of professional learning across school districts, and the impact of long-term school partnerships.

Vince has co-authored two bestselling books with Corwin Press: Great Teaching by Design and The Assessment Playbook for Distance and Blended Learning. His most current title: Leader Ready: Four Pathways to Prepare Aspiring School Leaders is also available from Corwin Press. You can find more information about Vince at: www.vincebustamante.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Peter M. DeWitt

Your Guide to This Book

Chapter 1: An Answer to Leadership in Crisis

Chapter 2: Raising the Bar of Leadership Standard

Chapter 3: Creating a Culture for Implementation

Chapter 4: Planning Guided Leadership Experiences

Chapter 5: Attaining Mastery Experiences

Conclusion: Implementing the Four Roots

Appendices

Afterword

Reviews

Leader Ready gets to the root of what is holding back aspiring leaders from pursuing the role of principal and provides a blueprint for supporting our future leaders. Cusack and Bustamante draw from their many years in leadership to bring us this great advice. Leader Ready is a must for every principal’s bookshelf!

Carmen Markowski
St. Joseph Catholic School

We owe emerging school leaders the conditions, strategies, and opportunities necessary to grow and succeed. Cusack and Bustamante’s work is a major step forward in the right direction!

Wayne Davies
Nelson McIntyre Collegiate Institute

Leader Ready is a must-have resource for anyone supporting the development of aspiring leaders. Cusack and Bustamante’s Universal Leadership Standards, leadership development model, and templates provide a road map for building leadership capacity.

Kelli Leavell
Bremerton School District

Any leader at any stage in their career can gain something from this book. Cusack and Bustamante’s Universal Leadership Standards provide a framework that can be utilized by even the most seasoned educational leaders for years to come!

Ryan Persaud
The International School of Curitiba

Cusack and Bustamante provide us with a vision for inspiring the most opportune yet underserved school leaders: assistant principals. The authors’
focus on informed and strategic professional growth encourages aspiring leaders to engage with the challenges of today’s school systems with confidence and wisdom.

Sam Jordan
Alaska Council of School Administrators

This book will develop great principals who support assistant principals to become great future principals. Cusack and Bustamante deliver a path to
connect potential and intention and move to dynamic implementation. Their interactive approach is rooted in standards and supported by lived experience.

Randy Hetherington
University of Portland

This book offers practical strategies and tools for developing leadership skills in aspiring and novice school and district leaders. Cusack and Bustamante synthesize the research and issues relevant to assistant principals differentiated by level of experience, something rarely accomplished.

Andrea Kane
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

Other Titles in: Principalship | Principal Mentoring, Induction & Coaching | Superintendents & District Administration

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Related Professional Learning

Related Webinars

A Framework for Preparing School Leaders

Related Resources

Are Our Leaders Ready? [Podcast]
How to Help Leaders Stick Around [Podcast]
Levels of Experience Template [Checklists and Assessments]
Sphere of Self-Efficacy Template [Checklists and Assessments]
The Four Roots of School Leadership Preperation [Book Excerpt]
Use Universal Leadership Standards to Inform Training [Book Excerpt]