Tried and true strategies for every principal From a turnaround principal who has been there comes clear strategies for positive, collaborative, and all-inclusive school environments. Far from a standalone anecdote for success, this guide features tools that can be used in any school. Offering true-life stories, examples, and interviews with award-winning turnaround princ Tried and true strategies for every principal From a turnaround principal who has been there comes clear strategies for positive, collaborative, and all-inclusive school environments.

Offering true-life stories, examples, and interviews with award-winning turnaround principals, the author helps you focus on strategies that produce measurable results, such as: Meeting the needs of the at-risk student Improving attendance and student achievement Being a true visible leader Incorporating successful business practices Celebrating success, and Adopting a coaching mindset To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. May 10, Mleander23 rated it liked it. Insightful perspective about building the various supports to begin the turnaround process. Nice focus on culture,teamwork, open leadership, and using the tools of every teacher to meet the needs of the school. May 31, Brett Wedlund rated it really liked it. This was a good read. There were not many new or earth shattering ideas about educational leadership, but it was a good quick review of the basics.

Lori Fuller rated it it was ok Apr 20, Chris Brewer rated it it was amazing Aug 30, Alecia Cobb rated it it was amazing Jan 15, Shanna marked it as to-read Aug 24, Erin marked it as to-read Sep 19, Login or create a profile above so that you can save clips, playlists, and searches. Please log in from an authenticated institution or log into your member profile to access the email feature.


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I'm in the Principal's Seat, Now What? Allan Bonilla is the kind of book that appears once in a decade. Bonilla became the principal of a large failing school in Dade County, Florida, succeeded in turning the school into an exemplary school, remained in that school for fourteen years, and tells his story through evidence-based examples of team building, school culture, principal visibility, and so much more.

This book will appeal to any school administrator interested in leadership and practical options for helping a failing school become better, making a gifted school better, and anything in between. It is destined to become a landmark book. In this immensely practical and powerful book, Dr.

Allan Bonilla avoids the typical slogans about school culture and instead provides readers with the hard truths of leadership. Although Bonilla is a successful turnaround school leader, this book is valuable for leaders of high-performing schools as well as those in need of significant change.

Moreover, both new and experienced leaders will benefit from the relentless emphasis on human connections in these pages. I particularly appreciate the author's iconoclastic approach to leadership visibility as he demonstrates that visibility in the lunchroom, hallways, and sidewalks is as important as visibility in the classroom. Looking through the eyes of the student, Bonilla appeals to leaders to make a human connection, preferring relationships over checklists and impact over appearances.

I'm in the Principal's Seat, Now What?: The Story of a Turnaround Principal

Finally, this book provides an impressive mandate for the support of elective subjects, including arts and athletics, to save students from academic failure. Bonilla poignantly reminds us that electives are not a competitor for academic achievement, but a necessary support for them. I hope that it will generate vigorous discussions, constructive controversy, and as the author suggests, a few tears, all in the pursuit of a better understanding of helping our students. This book is sure to be a must-have for every beginning and experienced principal.

With Allan's experience as a successful principal in a struggling school, combined with his knowledge of leadership coaching, readers will gain inspiration and solid strategies to be equally successful. This is a thought-provoking work—one from which we can all learn.


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  • The power of the ideas and strategies is seen in the success of the school! This book is a must-read for those studying to be a principal or newly placed in a principalship. The significant strategies are a visual road map for leading change and providing a quality education and high achievement for all students. It has been a privilege and pleasure over the past two years to listen to Allan as he shared with me his dream of writing a book that would assist in the transformation of low-performing schools.

    I'm in the Principal's Seat, Now What?: The Story of a Turnaround Principal by Allan R. Bonilla

    I quickly realized how much value this book would be to leaders of the many low-performing schools I was visiting as a turnaround consultant. I look forward to recommending this book to all my clients! This back-to-basics book is designed to help school leaders create a culture of academic excellence.

    I quickly learned that creating a positive culture, establishing a mission of academic success, and being visible are essential keys to being an effective school leader. Bonilla uses simple and pragmatic approaches to organizational leadership that promotes universal buy-in from all stakeholders. Allan Bonilla has done a masterful job of depicting responsibilities and duties that a school principal faces on a daily basis in the performance of his or her duties. I consider this book a must-read for every aspiring school principal who wishes to gain an insight into the role that he or she will play as a school principal.

    For ten years I've had the personal and professional gratification of closely and enthusiastically observing Dr. As his consultant on instruction, curriculum, and student learning, I found that his leadership engendered one of the most exciting and productive learning communities I've encountered as a consultant, teacher, leader, and professor. As a professor in the graduate school of education, I find that these strategies would be an excellent addition to teacher education courses, school operations, and management.

    Allan Bonilla is one prime example of an administrator who did just that in turning around a school that was at the lower rungs of a ladder and who elevated the staff and students through the prescription he set forth.

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    The triad of relationships, collaboration, and team building are the key ingredients to changing a school's culture. Allan orchestrated and coordinated the faculty, the staff, and all of the stakeholders so the students could achieve their best. His plan was carried out daily by being visible throughout the day morning, afternoons, evenings, and weekends to parents, teachers, students, and community leaders, and I saw this as one of Dr.

    It is a prescription that will work at any school, any business, or any place where teamwork is the key to success. The principles Allan sets forth are the key ingredients for success in any setting where people working together can achieve anything if they work as a team. I, for one, am proud to have been a part of the success that Dr.

    Allan Bonilla achieved through his vision many years before this educational trend came into being. The book focuses on developing and implementing effective strategies that will transform schools from ordinary to exemplary learning institutions. The book was authored by Dr. Allan Bonilla, who distinguished himself serving as principal of one of the district's most challenging schools. Bonilla is recognized as an effective principal, having received the Principal of the Year distinction from the nation's fourth largest school district.

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    Bonilla's book is a true and refreshing account and how-to guide. His extensive experience and knowledge result in a powerful combination that guarantees achievement and educational excellence. The how-to guide, coupled with practical experience, adds authority to the author's voice. With essential questions at the end of the chapters, this work will provide a thoughtful and compelling read for new and veteran administrators alike. It has helped me to see gaps and holes that may have been there.

    I am taken by Allan's approach to learning and leadership. He recognizes that culture matters—a lot—and he offers specific strategies to help everyone in a school learn and grow. Given the right organizational structure and climate, teachers will take ownership of problems; will implement proven, practical solutions; and will grow from good to great when they are supported by their principals. Middle grades and high school principals serving in low-performing, challenging schools will gain great wisdom and insight for creating a high-touch, high-performance culture for students and teachers that will result in improved outcomes in attendance, performance, and student engagement.

    This book provides a vision for making parents a partner in the process, celebrating student and faculty growth experiences, and building healthy competition. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized 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 publisher.

    All trade names and trademarks recited, referenced, or reflected herein are the property of their respective owners who retain all rights thereto. It was my pleasure to have served as principal of a large urban middle school in the nation's fourth largest school district for some fourteen years.

    During those years, my faculty and I were able to transform a failing and unwanted school into one that was sought after, even by those from outside our attendance zone. The needs of at-risk students were met through a program that reduced the drop-out rate to a point at which it was recognized in a national Harvard University study. The daily attendance rate went from thirty-eighth to first in a district with fifty middle schools. Student achievement on standardized testing increased to the level of A as rated by the Florida Department of Education.

    Gifted student enrollment increased sufficiently to provide for a complete Gifted team at each grade level as well as a Gifted class for English language learners. The contents of this book will assist a school leader in reaching success through the building of a positive school culture.

    Collaboration and team building and relationships form the foundation for what will bring about student achievement and teacher effectiveness. As I go about my current work as a conference speaker and leadership coach, I realize more and more that today's school leaders are being distracted from what is truly important in creating a great school. This is a book to be read and discussed by veteran principals, district educators, administrative teams, school board members, and, I hope, college students studying educational leadership and administration.

    The strategies presented are equally relevant for high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools, and for traditional as well as charter schools. Successful business practices can and should be emulated by school leaders. Without a doubt, the ideas outlined in this book will help the reader create an exemplary school, which should be the goal of all principals. An exemplary school is one in which everyone is successful. Teachers are highly effective, motivated, and happy; students are meeting with success, whatever their levels; support staff are appreciated and contributing; and of course community involvement is evident.

    I was most fortunate to be recognized as Miami-Dade County's Principal of the Year for doing exactly what is discussed in this book. This award is presented annually, after a rigorous round of school-site visits and interviews, and goes to only 1 principal among the more than K—12 principals in the district.

    Each chapter focuses on a significant strategy: Such things as a visibility checklist and a delegation chart and study questions will offer useful follow-up. In addition to business references from companies such as Google, Apple, and Facebook, there are links to useful references found on the Internet. There would be no story to tell were it not for the faculty members of Palm Springs Middle School, who so warmly welcomed me to their school at the start of this journey.

    They were eager for change and welcomed the opportunity to form what became a collaborative and caring family. To this day, some ten years after my departure, we are still connected and communicate regularly. I was fortunate to work with three superior assistant principals as we began our journey. Booker Long was one of the most diplomatic individuals I ever had the pleasure of working with. Booker was a master at handling parental concerns. Howie Popowitz set us on the right curricular road and was my right hand in many ways.

    Melissa Wolin, our rookie assistant principal, took over the reins of our large exceptional education department and our program in English as a second language. I may not have thought of writing a book on our turnaround success had I not met Arnis Burvikovs, executive editor at Corwin. It was Arnis who heard me speak at an ASCD convention and asked if I might be interested in preparing a book proposal.

    The years have passed since that meeting, and thoughts have become reality. Mark and I had much in common, as we were both principals and had New York backgrounds. However, he was the author of several successful books on school leadership, and I was not. Mark became my mentor and walked me through the process of submitting a book proposal and then getting started on the actual writing. My coaching colleague, Mike Cave, a former principal in the Dripping Springs, Texas, school district, has been my coach for several years and has been with me since the start of my book-writing goal setting.