The Principal’s Office | The Ohio State University

Professional Readings archives

Professional Readings includes reviews of recent publications and highlights of reports on current issues that affect schools.

A Framework for Understanding Poverty: A book by Ruby Payne highlights some of the main areas of focus for defining poverty and how schools can work to improve a student’s chances of success
Administrative Performance Skills: A look at the book The Inner Game of Work and how to improve performance and satisfaction in your job
Being in the Zone: Community Mapping as the First Step toward Mobilizing Your Community: Identifies some ways to break down a community map to identify patterns and improve the impact of educational development and reform for an area
Books on Cyberbullying: Reviews two books outlining issues and solutions for administrators and teachers
“Bracketing” Your Requests to Influence External Forces: A look at interpersonal communication between principals and employees, and how to improve understanding between individuals
Classroom Instruction that Works: Book used by Columbus City Schools to improve practices and develop a system of support for educators
Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap: A look at professional learning communities and some of the common barriers to success in implementation and organization
Collaboration in Schools: Combating the Problem of Bullying with a Team Approach: Another bullying article, focused on incorporating parents and community members as well as educators in the battle
Collaborative Professional Development Process for School Leaders: Step-by-step plan for evaluating yourself as an administrator using the six standards determined by the ISLLC
Creating Safe Schools: Combating the Problem of Bullying by “Fighting Back” in Different Ways: A collection of ideas in order to reduce the incidents of bullying in a school district, and establish a method and hierarchy for dealing with problems of bullying
Critical Issues in Family and Community Involvement: A summary of different ways to inspire parental involvement into school activities and development, as well as support learning at home
Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders: Book by Lindsey, Robins, and Terrell discusses the process of developing cultural proficiency, including scenarios and activities
Differentiated Instruction: One District’s Journey: A pair of teachers explain how they use differentiated education techniques to reach students of all levels
Ethical Leadership: A look at ethical issues faced by administrators, and learning how to deal with ethical issues as well as the virtues needed in administrators
Evaluating Professional Development: A look at a guide that creates a model for evaluating professional development gauging improvement of student learning
Framework for Parent/Family Involvement: resources to help principals develop standards-based family involvement programs
Full-Service Schools: Explanation and discussion of full-service schools and how they incorporate community agencies into educational development
Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6: Discussion of the text used by Springfield City Schools to tackle literacy issues
High School Professional Learning Community: It Does Work!: A high school principal discusses his experiences with establishing and working through a professional learning community
Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium: Standards for School Leaders: A discussion of the set of standards developed by the ISLLC and why they’re important
Leading the Way: Principals and Superintendents Look at Math Instruction: Overview of a text that looks at strategies for improving math instruction, from the perspective of the principal
Leading with a Vision for Effective Collaboration: Discusses ways to expand an administrator’s collaborative efforts to improve communication and cooperation with staff members
NSDC Standards for Staff Development: developed by the National Staff Development Council to promote high-quality learning for all educators
National Reports on Education (January 2009): a roundup of research reports
National Reports on Education (February 2009): a roundup of research reports
On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities: Discussion of the benefits of professional learning communities, as well as how this approach differs from traditional methods
Panel on Civic Responsibility: Columbus, Ohio: An overview of the goals and mission of the interprofessional panel created in Columbus to educate the masses about civic responsibility
Professional Code of Ethics: Principles and Principals: Identifies some of the reasons for ethical responsibility, as well as sources for creating an ethical code and a general outline of ethical behavior for educators
Professional Reading Suggestions from the PO Editorial Board (June 2006): Various articles suggested by the PO board, including maximizing earnings for educators, community building through urban planting/development, school integration, and dividing leadership among many individuals
Professional Reading Suggestions from the PO Editorial Board (June 2007): An overview of several books on topics ranging from leadership, relationships, poverty, and globalization.
Queen Bees and Wannabes: review of a book describing the world of adolescent girls and how parents and educators can communicate with them
Reports on Education, August 2009: charter schools, arts education, graduation rates, and vouchers
Reports on Education, November 2009: charter schools, achievement gap, state assessments, pre-Kindergarten, arts and graduation rates, teacher survey, community schools, state standards, STEM careers
Reports on Educational Research, May 2009: learning teams, NCLB restructuring, and the state of preschool
Reports on School Funding in Ohio (March 2009): Reports and analyses of the state tax code, budgeting formulas, and charter school system.
Response to Intervention: A look at the Response to Intervention approach to education for disabled students
Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement: Based on a book that discusses how to use rubric-oriented methods to improve performance for both students and teachers
School Leadership for Arts Integrated Education: Defines the principal’s role in maintaining and developing the arts for educational development
Selling Your School without Selling Your Soul: A look at the new concept of competition among schools and how to advertise effectively without acting like a salesman
Short-Term Student Crisis: An Educator/Parent’s Plea to the School: A list of possible solutions to helping students and parents dealing with special situations such as student injury or illness
So You Have to Teach Math? Sound Advice for K-6 Teachers: Overview of a text that looks at new methods of math education and delineates strategies for math instruction, including math writing assignments, portfolios, worksheets, etc.
Success for All Students: Highlights of a publication describing research on school improvement and student achievement
Systems for Change in Literacy Education: Highlights a 10-step process as a framework for staff professional development in literacy education
Teacher Evaluation to Enhance Professional Practice: Retooling differentiation as a method of evaluating teachers
The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners: Discusses the importance of differentiating education according to the needs of the learners and how to implement it effectively
The Failures of Integration: A discussion of the current state of separatism, some of the causes as well as some ways to limit or reduce the impact of race/class separation
The First Days of School: Overview of resource book that is useful for both teachers and administrators to improve teacher effectiveness and school-based professional development
The “Vision Thing”: How to create an appropriate vision, and the elements that make your vision inspirational and effective
The What, When, How, and Why of High-Quality Principals: Discusses the role of case methodology in leadership development, and links to an article that discusses its use
The World Is Flat: A look at the changing world and how to incorporate developments in technology and the political landscape into the classroom environment
Through the Eyes of Children: A report looks at the education of urban children and teenagers and identifies actions and investments to improving their learning experiences
What Research Shows about School-Based Service: Findings of the Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey
What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship, Part 1: Overview of text outlines how a principal can fill the roles needed as administrator and leader of a school business, but also can keep the focus on education and learning
What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship, Part 2: A continuation of the above article; focuses on fundamentals of the job of principal
Why African American Children Are Not Achieving: An overview of a book that discusses the barriers African American children are experiencing in achieving academic success
Who Cares about Public Education?: summary of a forum on Do Americans Care if Politicians Care about Public Education? by the Public Education Network and Gallup
Word Journeys: Assessment-Guided Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary Instruction: A practical discussion of how to implement recommendations of a book to improve spelling and literacy among students

See the Subject Index to find articles organized by subject, or use the Search box on the right.

An annotated list with brief descriptions of the Archives contents is available (Word document).