Description
`Theodore Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking ‘below the surface’ at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative’ – Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor, Florida State University Having served as teacher, principal, and superintendent before moving into higher education, Theodore Creighton is acutely aware that theoretical leadership theories often lack direction for working with the immediacy necessary for practical decision making in schools and on campuses. Often decisions are made from behind the scenes, under the radar, and occasionally require the bending of rules. The book presents a new model of school leadership that addresses and makes room for the more functional, real-world considerations that principals face, which includes understanding data and factors that are also “below the surface.” The book also demonstrates practical examples, leadership practices, building political capital, e-communication, and time management, while continuing to emphasize leadership in the context of the “blurry” lines of practice Theodore B. Creighton is currently a Professor and Program Leader in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, he served as Director of the Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and as a Professor in Educational Leadership at Idaho State University. His background includes teaching atall grade levels in Washington, D.C.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Los Angeles, California. His administrative experience includes serving as principal and superintendent in both Fresno and Kern Counties, California. He holds a BS degree in teacher educationfrom Indiana University of Pennsylvania,a master’s degree in educational administration fromCalifornia State University Long Beach,and a doctorate from the University of California Davis. Though active in many professional organizations, he devotes considerable time to his role as Executive Director of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration. He also serves as a member of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA), and as a Stafford Faculty Fellow for the National Institute on Leadership, Disabilities and Students Placed at Risk (NILDSPAR). He recently was appointed as Project Director of the Connexions Knowledge Base Project, an international initiative in collaboration with Rice University charged with assembling the knowledge base in educational administration. His research includes examining the forces of the school principalship, and he is widely published in the area of schools with alternative forms of school leadership.
