Insider's Guide to School Leadership: Getting Things Done Without Losing Your Mind.

Insider's Guide to School Leadership: Getting Things Done Without Losing Your Mind

by Mark F. Goldberg, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Calif., 2006, 110 pp. with index, $29 soft cover

In his book Insider's Guide to School Leadership: Getting Things Done Without Losing Your Mind, Mark F. Goldberg offers practical, easy-to-follow suggestions from his 24 years as an administrator on Long Island, N.Y.

Goldberg, now retired, provides advice on developing practical staff development sessions, running efficient meetings and hiring and retaining quality staff members.

One of the common themes running throughout the book is Goldberg's emphasis on the importance of communication. Each chapter concludes with a brief summary and a list of key words.

On the topic of staff development, Goldberg extols the importance of a narrow focus of topic. In the age of acronyms (NCLB, AIS, ELA, MST, IEP, IDEA, et al.), this is not always simple advice. To accomplish this, he suggests schools form professional development committees comprised of stakeholders who will develop learning communities and work with the administration to determine their focus.

Goldberg says this process should begin by outlining the issues and the expected goals in writing. The goals should be manageable and relevant to the staff.

As a central-office administrator completing my first year, I found this book to be a valuable tool as I reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and plan ahead. As the author states, many administrators "will mentor younger or less experienced colleagues, write articles, make presentations at meetings and conferences and even write books that will help other administrators do their work more effectively and efficiently."

Insider's Guide to School Leadership is a quick read with real-life advice that can be applied the next day.

Reviewed by Stephanie MacIntosh, administrator for federal funds, research and development, Sachem Central School District, Holbrook, N.Y.