Beyond Books, Butts, and Buses: Ten Steps to Help Assistant Principals Become Effective Instructional Leaders is intended for ambitious future principals who recognize the importance of researching and preparing for that esteemed position. It contains ten steps that will lead those who are stuck in the duty world of books, butts, and buses to find ways to prepare for instructional leadership.

This book lays out strategies, suggestions, and checklists that will help support the learning. There are scripts, organizational tools, and rationales for following through on the implementation of these steps. There are also samples of different types of walk-throughs, agendas, and planners to help one get and stay organized. A campus administrator position is a hectic, crisis-of-the-moment type of job, and these chapters address how to handle these moments (or how to head them off!). The need for balance in one's life is spoken to as well, with a chapter devoted to how to avoid burnout. This is a must-read for assistant principals serious about wanting to prepare themselves for the top position in a school.

Dr. Rebecca B. Good, with almost three decades of educational experience, has had the unique opportunity to be part of many branches of the education world. She has taught children and adults in elementary, secondary, and higher education settings, and she has had campus leadership experience both as the principal and as the supervisor of principals for many years.

Foreword
Introduction: Prepare for the Principalship
Chapter 1: Understand School Accountability Systems
Chapter 2: Stay Current with Educational Trends
Chapter 3: Increase Instructional Leadership Capacity
Chapter 4: Set a Walk-Through Goal
Chapter 5: Get Assessment Literature
Chapter 6: Organize Yourself
Chapter 7: Embrace Instructional Technology
Chapter 8: Learn to Say Tough Things to Nice People with Grace
Chapter 9: Find a Mentor
Chapter 10: Avoid Burnout
Chapter 11: Sum It Up
Appendix A: Vocabulary Strategies
Appendix B: Bloom's Taxonomy
Appendix C: Student Accommodations Plan for English Language Learners
Appendix D: Weekly Administrative Planner
Appendix E: Suggested Pyramid Response to Intervention (PRtI)
Appendix F: Testing Tips
Appendix G: Walk-Thrus Templates
References