Fall Down, Stand Up: Advice for Aspiring Principals

Starting out as a principal is a lot like starting out as a new teacher. You feel alone. You need guidance. And you have to provide leadership even when you don’t feel sure of yourself. You also make mistakes. In Fall Down, Stand Up: Advice for Aspiring Principals, Russ Thompson provides guidance for future principals based upon his experiences as the principal of three urban high schools in Los Angeles. Practical suggestions are provided for creating an orderly school climate, improving classroom instruction, ensuring effective school operations, providing thoughtful leadership, and working with people. Every principal makes mistakes and falls down. This book is about standing up, becoming better, and working to create schools where all students learn at the highest levels.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Discipline 1.The Problem Was Now Worse 2.Class Time Was Like Lunch Time 3.It Was the Best He Had Seen 4.Simple Detention 5.He Had to Change His Mentality 6.Saturday School 7.Lunch Supervision 8.A Fight that Was Prevented 9.The Problem with Suspensions 10.The First Award of His Entire Life 11.It Was Almost a Real Emergency 12.Riot and Recovery 13.Section Review Classroom Instruction 14.The Learning in Classrooms 15.The Reason It Worked 16.A Sustained Process 17.He Had Firmly Believed 18.You Have to Go Out and Look for Problems 19.The Best Way to Spend Your Time 20.It Was His First Day 21.An Opinion Is Not Research 22.Your Presence in Classrooms 23.Will It Help Students Learn Better? 24.The Power of a Positive Learning Environment 25.The Common Core State Standards 26.A Model Lesson 27.Section Review School Operations 28.Cleaning Needed 29.The Foundation of Your Entire School 30.Tragedy 31.Another Tragedy 32.Almost a Disaster 33.Phone Calls 34.The Entire Contract 35.The Right Kind of Faculty Meeting 36.Section Review Leadership 37.Delegation 38.Delegation Gone Bad 39.Deadlines 40.Ask Questions 41.A Sacrifice You Must Make 42.Priorities 43.Also Listen to the Quiet Voices 44.We Are Not as Bad As... 45.Making People Happy Is Not Your Job 46.He Went Over to His Shelf 47.Pick Up the Phone 48.A Leader Who Got Things Done 49.Do Not Let the Obstacle Overcome You 50.Exhaustion 51.A Mistake He Would Never Forget 52.Advice from a Pro 53.Target Practice 54.Ask for Advice 55.A Big Difference 56.Always Watching You 57.Section Review People 58.In the Middle of Kids 59.It Was Distorted and Very Negative 60.People Need Time 61.Suggestion or Requirement? 62.Saved by a Recording Device 63.Necessary Action 64.It Was Said Behind His Back 65.It Was a Lie and the Principal Believed Him 66.Gossip 67.Delay Makes It Worse 68.Talk to the Person in Person 69.You Must Also Be Persuasive 70.Remember the Positives 71.A Good School Again 72.Section Review About the Author Index