Athens, Ga. – A book written by two University of Georgia education professors and a doctoral graduate focuses on how principals develop the leadership qualities and school contexts that support school-wide achievement.
Jo Blase and Joe Blase, professors in the College of Education’s department of workforce education, leadership, and social foundations; and Dana Phillips, a graduate of the doctoral program in educational leadership and a middle school administrator, recently published the Handbook of School Improvement: How High-Performing Principals Create High-Performing School (Sage Publications).
The Handbook includes perspectives from 20 successful principals, representing a range of urban and rural schools. Intended for school and district administrators, staff developers, and university faculty teaching courses in school improvement, the book provides real-life strategies and best practices of principals who use a systems-development approach to integrate administrative and instructional leadership activities to build empowered teams and productive schools.
In this comprehensive resource for school improvement, the authors describe the key characteristics of extraordinary principals and high-performing schools, including nine crucial actions that drive positive change. They demonstrate how to actively involve teachers, staff, and families in school improvement with individual and group activities. In addition, they offer tips and suggestions from these highly regarded principals, along with recommended resources for further study and team trainings. The authors also review and critique existing and emerging research on achievement and school improvement.
Jo Blase joined the UGA faculty in 1989. She received her Ph.D. in educational administration, curriculum, and supervision from the University of Colorado in 1983.
Joe Blase joined the UGA faculty in 1986. He received his Ph.D. in educational administration:organizational behavior, theory and development from Syracuse University in 1980.
Dana Phillips has been a middle and elementary school administrator since 2004 and has taught at Piedmont College and in the UGA educational leadership program. She received her Ed.D. in educational leadership from UGA in 2004.
