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Reviews

“What a great look into the professional and personal life of the principalship! The Principal’s Chair will help new principals prepare for their new leadership role.”

—Dr. Paul Cruz, Superintendent, Austin Independent School District, Austin, TX

 

“With 10,000 baby-boomers retiring each day in America, leadership transitions abound, and that makes The Principal’s Chair especially timely for rising school heads and principals. Written in a frank style that conveys the accumulated wisdom of the author’s many years as an educational leader, it reminds us all of on-the-ground realities that take time to learn and that are easy to forget— unless you keep company with sages like Judy Knotts. She avoids plodding theoretical abstractions and capitalizes on rich human experiences, using brief and telling anecdotes to illustrate central messages—which hold true for all of us who lead schools, whether public, private, religious, or independent. If you draw inspiration from listening to observant colleagues reflect on ‘lessons learned’ from their careers, this will be a very satisfying and uplifting read, as it reaffirms that our lives as leaders make a profound impact of those we serve in our schools.”

—James McManus, Executive Director, California Association of Independent Schools, Burbank, CA; Member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Board of Trustees, Washington DC

 

“We need great principals to have great schools. Enter Judy Knotts who writes with authenticity earned from her years as a highly successful principal. Her chapters are full of lessons learned on how to lead, build an effective team, treasure people, and how to rally, motivate and inspire the entire school community. Her book is easy to read and vibrantly alive with rich and memorable examples that illustrate the theories, methods, and practices that when implemented will help develop great principals, the kind that can create the outstanding schools our children need and deserve. It’s a terrific book— chock full of wonderful and practical ideas to help aspiring, new, and, experienced school leaders reach greatness.”

—Dr. Mary Grassa O’Neill, Faculty Director of the School Leadership Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA

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About the Author

Judith D. Knotts is a seasoned school head, leadership expert, and writer. She is adept at combining curated theories of being a CEO with vivid and varied examples of doing or not doing an outstanding job as a school leader. With experience gleaned from decades of observing principals in action, Dr. Knotts has been a consultant to schools, a member of the National Advisory Board for the Harvard Principals’ Center, and co-director of the Joan L. Curcio International Women’s Leadership Conferences at Oxford University. She has served on accreditation teams for the Independent School Association of the Southwest (ISAS) d is currently a commissioner for the Texas Catholic Conference Education Department.

 

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