The main ideas of the book:
- It’s not experience, education, or expertise that sets the best principals apart from other school leaders; it’s what they do.
- By choosing the most effective principals as their role models, any school leader can become great!
Why I chose this book:
For many in the education world, Todd Whitaker needs no introduction. He’s a leading authority on educator effectiveness and motivation. The 1st edition of What Great Principals Do Differently came out more than 20 years ago, and now he has released his updated 3rd edition. It contains new sections on hiring, retention, and shaping school culture along with timeless insights from the author’s participation in research studies with thousands of school leaders from around the globe.
Like the business classic, Good to Great, this book is an education classic that shows school leaders how to make the leap to greatness. It’s one of those books you can keep on your shelf and reread every summer for fresh inspiration and needed reminders of the skills you want to build or renew. Every skill presented is something that any school leader can learn to do. There’s no secret magic to becoming one of the best principals. There’s a straightforward set of everyday actions — I love how do-able that is. I hope you’ll read and believe that you can be one of the best principals, too!
