What Matters Most for School Leaders

Robert D. Ramsey is a lifelong educator who has served as a "leader of leaders" in three award-winning school districts in two different states. His frontline experience includes positions a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, curriculum director, assistant superintendent, acting superintendent, and adjunct professor. Most recently, he has served as associate superintendent in the St. Louis Park (MN) schools, where every school has been designated by the federal government as a National School of Excellence. Ramsey is now working full-time as a freelance writer in Minneapolis.

Preface: Why This Book? Why Now? Introduction: Some Things Never Change 1. What You Do Is Special 2. Primero Los Ninos: Children First 3. There Are No Throwaway Kids 4. Strong Schools Make a Strong Nation 5. Schools Are Sacred Places of Hope 6. Teaching is the Greatest Profession 7. Passion is the Engine That Drives School Leadership 8. What Matters Most Costs the Least 9. Schools Are Only as Strong as the Community Allows 10. When It's Your Own Kid, It's Different 11. That Pesky Golden Rule Still Works 12. Someone Has to Be the Grown-Up 13. Good Leaders Learn to "K.I.S.S." and Enjoy the Happiness of Subtraction 14. You Can't Have Too Much Integrity 15. Commonsense is Better Than a College Degree: The Grandma Test 16. Sometimes Kids Need Candy More Than Milk 17. A Chicken Doesn't Stop Scratching Just Because Worms Are Scarce 18. The Reverse Side Has a Reverse Side 19. The Best Leader Is a "Servant Leader" 20. Your Mother Didn't Raise You to Be a Bureaucrat 21. Politicians and Armchair Quarterbacks Don't Get It--So You Have To 22. If You're Not Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong 23. Things Are Never as Bad as You Think They Are; and You're Braver, Stronger and Smarter Than You Imagine 24. You Work to Live, Not Live to Work 25. It's Worth It! A Final Word: The Ouija Board Effect Resource A: What Others Say About What Matters Most (In School and In Life) Resource B: Other Books About What Matters Most Resource C: Other Lasting Truths That Couldn't Be Squeezed Into This Little Book Index

The author weaves quotes, inspirational messages, and stories in a masterful way. -- Gary McCartney, Superintendent of Schools The book's major strengths are its readability and its excellent number of practical, doable suggestions for busy principals and superintendents to implement. -- Sandra Harris, Associate Professor "This compact guide of 25 fundamental insights and baseline beliefs offers a common-sense approach to school leadership, providing practical tips and strategies." -- The School Administrator