1st Edition
Building a Culture of Support Strategies for School Leaders
Written in a down-to-earth and people-first style, this book is for principals and aspiring school leaders. Caposey shares insightful advice and meaningful examples for building a healthy school culture. Learn the essential strategies that will help you transform and improve your school by embodying a service mindset and focusing on supporting the mission and vision, the professionals in the building, the students, and the community as a whole.
This is also an ideal guide for students in a principal preparation course—demonstrating how a culture of support is at the heart of all successful school improvement efforts.
Vision, Mission, and Goals
The Professionals
The Students
The Community
2. The Vision, Mission, and Goals
Starting from the Ground Up
School Improvement Plans
3. The Professionals
Define Expectations
Difficult Conversations
Lead Professional Development
Everybody Is a Leader (Shared Leadership)
Relationships
Evaluation
4. The Students
Lead Instruction
Rigor
Students’ Social and Emotional Challenges
Learner-Focused Education
Classroom Management
Intervention
5. The Community
Schools Are Central to Community Pride
Communication
Community Service
Call to Action: Lead Change
References
Biography
PJ Caposey’s educational career began in high school when he received the Golden Apple Scholarship, which supports students pursuing their dream to teach by providing financial aid and training in return for a commitment to teach in a needs-based area. Mr. Caposey did just that after completing his studies at Eastern Illinois University by teaching at Percy Lavon Julian High School in Chicago.After completing his administrative certification at National Louis University, Mr. Caposey served as an Assistant Principal in Rockford Public Schools before becoming the principal of Oregon High School at the age of 28. Since arriving at Oregon High School, Mr. Caposey and the school have received many honors, including winning the Illinois Principal’s Association/Horace Mann Partners in Education Award and being named one of the nation’s top high schools by U.S. News and World Report. Mr. Caposey has received the Award of Merit from the Those Who Excel program, sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education. He has also been honored as an exemplar candidate for the ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award.Currently, Mr. Caposey is pursuing his doctoral degree at Western Illinois University and continuing to write and guest blog for many websites such as ASCD, Edutopia, and Test Soup. He has also presented at many local, state, and national conferences and has served in different consultative capacities for schools and other organizations. In addition, Mr. Caposey is an adjunct professor for the educational leadership department at Aurora University.Mr. Caposey still serves as the Oregon High School principal. He is married with two children and resides in the Northwestern part of Illinois. He can be reached at [email protected] or @principalpc on Twitter.
"PJ breaks down the complex concepts of school culture and school improvement into easily digestible pieces with concrete suggestions for implementation. Building a Culture of Support is an excellent resource for any current or aspiring school leader."
—Dr. Todd Whitaker, noted education expert and author of the best-selling book, What Great Principals Do Differently
