Six Steps to Preparing Exemplary Principals and Superintendents

John R. Hoyle is a senior professor at Texas A&M University and has served as a public school and university teacher and administrator for fifty-two years. He has authored over 150 scholarly publications, including the AASA Guidelines for the Preparation of School Administrators and the AASA Professional Standards for the Superintendency.Mario S. Torres, Jr., is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University and a former urban school educator specializing in education law and policy. He has published in the field's premier journals including Educational Administration Quarterly, Education and Urban Society, and the BYU Education and Law Journal.

• Chapter 1 The Ground FloorChapter 2 Step One: Selecting the Best and Brightest StudentsChapter 3 Step Two: Pretesting Entering Master's and Doctoral StudentsChapter 4 Step Three: Aligning Master's Degree Programs with The 2008 ISLLC Education Policy Standards and Doctoral Level Programs with the Canons of Research and Best PracticesChapter 5 Step Four: Creating and Maintaining Effective Student Advisory CommitteesChapter 6 Step Five: Creating and Maintaining an Effective Support StaffChapter 7 Step Six: Conducting Annual Reviews with Graduates Serving as Principals or SuperintendentsChapter 8 Final Words

Some fifteen years ago, three professors from Scandinavia visited me to find out how to create a new, university-based principal development program at their university. If I had had a copy of Six Steps to Preparing Exemplary Principals and Superintendents by John R. Hoyle and Mario S. Torres, Jr., my task would have been much easier. Hoyle and Torres provide a focused and straightforward case to policy makers, practitioners, and university professors as they consider program standards, program delivery models, and program outcomes in the education of exemplary educational leaders. The text has two especially strong features. First, the authors anchor their analysis and recommendations in research. Second, the examples for program design and delivery currently exist in selected universities and are not hypothetical cases. Thus, those professionals wanting to enhance their current programs have vital exemplars from which they can learn.