Running Head: STAR Principals: Serving Children in Poverty 1

STAR Principals: Serving Children in Poverty AiMe Sims University of St. Thomas

! Administrative Internship II "r. #irginia $ei%er

STAR Principals Serving Children in Poverty 2

Introduction There are reso&rces all over the 'ord that are created to help administrators. These reso&rces range from comp&ter soft'are applications to everyday (oo%s. The reso&rce that ) chose to &se is entitled STAR Principals: Serving Children in Poverty. ) chose this (oo% (eca&se ) one day aspire to (e a principal. )t is important that a principal &nderstand ho' to help and serve all children. ) 'ill &se this (oo% as my g&ide to help me &nderstand ho' to effectively help st&dents 'ho are living in poverty. Why Was the Book Written Many people 'rite (oo%s to help administrators. )t is important to %no' 'hy these (oo%s are 'ritten. This (oo% in partic&lar 'as 'ritten (ased (y Martin *a(erman. The p&rpose of this (oo% 'as to help shed light on the many reasons 'hy children 'here in poverty and ho' to help those st&dents achieve academic s&ccess. This (oo% 'as also 'ritten 'ith the p&rpose to create a ne' type of principal: a principal that 'o&ld (e f&lly a'are of the str&ggles that they are facing 'hen 'or%ing 'ith the children that are attending their schools. Today+s principal needs to (e more than ,&st effective they have to (e stars. Summary of the Book The (oo% is (ro%en do'n into t'elve chapters. The t'elve chapters of the (oo% are topics that every principal 'ho is 'or%ing 'ith children in poverty need to &nderstand to (e s&ccessf&l. The chapters are as follo's: The )deology of Unemployment- $eadership in Ur(an Schools- Commitment to St&dent $earning- Theory into Practice- Schools Serving Children in Poverty- Acco&nta(le )nstr&ctional $eadershipCreating a Positive School Climate and .ighting /&rno&t- 0val&ation- "ecision Ma%ing-

STAR Principals Serving Children in Poverty 3 .alli(ility- Administrative Style for )mplementing Change- and Administrator Relations 'ith Parents and Comm&nity. 0ach chapter gives the reader an instr&ction li%e format that helps the principal &nderstand 'hat they sho&ld do as it relates to the topic. The chapters also come 'ith a case st&dy that helps the reader &nderstand ho' the information provided can (e applied in a real1life sit&ation. 0ach chapter is (ro%en do'n 'ith the p&rpose to s&pport and (&ild &pon each other. 0ach chapter plays a role for the overall goal of the (oo%. The chapter that ) fo&nd the most &sef&l 'as Chapter . Chapter is entitled the Commitment to St&dent $earning. )n this chapter the a&thor

does an ama2ing ,o( at highlighting 'hy st&dent learning sho&ld (e the n&m(er one priority. *e also highlights the 'ays st&dents living in poverty m&st learn. *e posits that 3Real learning for children in poverty means implementing the pro,ect method1 not all day in every s&(,ect- (&t for a s&(stantial period of class time4 5*a(erman- !666- pg. 789. This to&ched close to home (eca&se ) am c&rrently 'or%ing in a school 'here children are living in poverty. The st&dents learn (est 'hen pro,ect1(ased learning is involved. )t helps the st&dents connect to their learning to real1life e:periences. Is This Book Useful? As stated a(ove there are many reso&rces o&t in the 'orld that administrators can &se to help improve the state of st&dents at their school. ) (elieve that this (oo% is one of those great reso&rces. This (oo% really opened my eyes to all of the road (loc%s that st&dents have to face. )t helped me reali2e the steps that ) need to ta%e in order to (e a s&ccessf&l principal. )t also gave me a list of characteristics that ) can 'or% on in order to gro' into a star principal. These characteristics are important (eca&se in order to (e a star principal a person m&st start (y 'or%ing on them self. The (est principals are

STAR Principals Serving Children in Poverty constantly reflecting &pon ho' they can improve &pon their practice. This is one of the %ey ideas that ) 'ill constantly &se 'hile 'or%ing to'ards (ecoming a principal.

Reso&rces

STAR Principals Serving Children in Poverty ! *a(erman- Martin. 5!6669. Star Principals: Serving Children in Poverty. )ndianapolis)ndiana