ELI has educational leadership centers in each borough. Within each center there is a professional library with books and periodicals related to workshop topics and educational issues. Most were recommended by ELI coordinators and consultants, who keep up-to date with the literature so they can better serve CSA members while mentoring and facilitating workshops.
Just as ELI houses such libraries, so also should principals, assistant principals and educational administrators consider the development of professional libraries for their schools and offices. These resources should be available to all staff members so they may stay up to date with the latest educational trends. Membership in professional organizations is an important resource for developing these libraries. School leaders may want to consider joining organizations, as the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and Phi Delta Kappa. Such organizations have monthly publications, newsletters and online materials. Memberships are available to most schools and offices.
We reached out to our coordinators and consultants regarding which books and articles they feel would be of value for setting up such a library. They recommend:
• Canan, Russel, Gregory Mize and Frederick Weisberg, eds. Tough Cases: Judges Tell the Stories of Some of the Hardest Decisions They’ve
• Dove, Maria and Andrea Honigsfeld, Co-Teaching for English Learners: A Guide to Collaborative Planning, Instruction, Assessment and Reflection (Corwin Press, 2017);
• Fisher, Doug and Nancy Frey, Word Wise Content Rich, Grades 7-12: Five Essential Steps to Teaching Academic Vocabulary Heinemann, 2008;
• Fullan, Michael, The Moral Imperative of School Leadership (Corwin Press, 2013).
• Phillips, Barbara E., Take a Praise Walk Educational Leadership. Nov., 2018 (Volume 76, Issue 3);
• Tomlinson, Carol Ann, Help Teachers Become Master Learners: Professional Development Needs Greater Vision and Clarity Educational Leadership November, 2018 (Volume 76, Issue 3);
• Wagner, Tony, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need – And What We Can Do About It (Revised Edition)., Basic Books, 2014. And finally, several consultants recommended:
• The Oct., 2018 issue of Kappan, devoted to a national look at inclusion – Sex, Gender and Schooling;
• The Oct., 2018 issue of Educational Leadership devoted to the many aspects of social-emotional learning.
(Special thanks to all the consultants who made recommendations: Gerry Beirne, Jayne Godlewski, Marilyn Hirschfield, Mary Petrone, Mitch Pinsky, Betty Soto and Carol Wertheimer)