

	Professional Readings Recommended Professional Links Political Landscape Monthly Checklist Archives



	May Checklist: Classified Staff Evaluations: Complete evaluations for your clerical and custodial staff as required to meet the time stipulations in the Master Contract. Budget for Next Year: Know the cutoff dates for processing requisitions from this year’s funds. Collect all requests or as many as possible and monitor the requisition process. Approve, sign, and deliver your requisitions personally to the district office. Student Supply List: Have departments or grade-level teams review the current list and make any revisions or additions for the next school year. If your parent organization runs the back-to-school supply sale, make sure the list gets to the right person well before June. (This can be a great fundraiser and gives parents a one-stop shopping opportunity.) School Safety: Develop a special duty roster for the last few days of school. Every teacher should have a specific location that covers the following: all exterior doors, restrooms, fire alarms, pass throughs, bus areas, parking lots, and bike racks. Celebrations: Communicate your appreciation loud and clear to teachers, classified staff, parents, and students. Write notes, bring in goodies, and have acknowledgments to celebrate all of the hard work during the year. Staff Vacancies: Monitor and/or verify postings of vacancies. Identify and recruit qualified candidates. Select and employ new personnel. Student Handbook: Review and revise the current handbook. Do this as a team. Submit it to the district office in a timely way for approval and printing. Summer Facility Care: Make sure the staff knows how to prepare their rooms to accommodate the summer building crew. Develop timelines and schedules letting staff know when they have access to their rooms. Special Events: Make sure all special events are noted on the district calendar. Principals’ Reports: Complete all principals’ reports in a timely way. >View Other Months

Professional Readings

Professional Readings archives>>

From the 2007 Professional Reading Archives, the editorial board earlier recommended the following books for your summer enjoyment. As the Principal’s Office takes a break for awhile, we leave you with these books once again.

Maxwell, John C. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998
I found this book to be an easy read. It is an invaluable resource for anyone in a leadership role and is not specific to education. The laws serve as tools to develop a blueprint for success. Each law has its own message such as respect, empowerment, intuition, etc. I like the fact that throughout the book you can find thought provoking quotes, often motivational in nature. This is a great choice for you lifelong learners to add to your library.

Cottrell, David. Monday Morning Leadership. CornerStone Leadership Institute, 2002
This book is a quick and enjoyable read of eight “mentoring sessions” (chapters) that include anecdotes to further explain the concepts. This book offers good, concise, and practical advice for becoming a more effective leader.

Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Crown Publishers, 2006
The author gives a well-reasoned discussion on issues such as Values, Family, Opportunity, Race, The World beyond Our Borders, and other relevant topics. He offers hope for our relationships in our country and world.

Payne, Ruby. Bridges out of Poverty. Aha Process Inc., 2nd ed., 2000
This author is well known for her work on understanding issues of schooling as they relate to children of poverty.

Friedman, Thomas L. The World Is Flat. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005
In addition to explaining his concept of a “flattened world” that has been created by forces generally referred to as globalization, the author forces us to think about what our students are going to have to know to compete in this ever-changing world.

Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Riverhead, 2007
This book is the second by the author of the acclaimed The Kite Runner. The setting is Afghanistan and the book tells the stories about the lives of two women spanning unfathomable wars and hardships. You will never forget these characters. In addition to offering a glimpse into another cultural world, it reminds us of those who are forgotten when a country is torn apart by war and strife. This book is a page-turner.

Professional Readings

Recommended Professional Links