Educational Leadership Library

Through the course of my classes in educational leadership and by reading the blogs and tweets of current administrators, like Chris Wejr, Dwight Carter, and Justin Tarte, I have developed a long list of required reading for aspiring principals. Just as I have grown my music education library for the past 15 years, it is now time for me to begin my educational leadership library. The list is continually growing and I don't know where to start, but I'm sure that one text will lead to the next. 


My evolving list of books to read is below. What other required reading do you have for aspiring leaders? What sequence of reading do you suggest?

Technology

• Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns - Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, and Michael B. Horn
• The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education - Curtis J. Bonk
• Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead - Charlene Li
• Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools - Milton Chen
• Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives - John Palfrey and Urs Gasser
• Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship Are Changing the World from the Bottom Up - Rob Salkowitz
• Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America - Allan Collins and Richard Halverson
• Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning - Marc Prensky
• Communicating and Connecting with Social Media - William M. Ferriter, Jason T. Ramsden, and Eric C. Sheninger

Teacher Resources

• Teaching As Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher's Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap - Steven Farr
• The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson - Harvey F. Silver, Richard W. Strong, and Matthew J. Perini
• Tools for Promoting Active, In-Depth Learning - Harvey F. Silver
• The Passionate Learner: How Teachers and Parents Can Help Children Reclaim the Joy of Discovery - Robert L. Fried
• Qualities of Effective Teachers - James H. Stronge
• What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most - Todd Whitaker

Educational Theory/Future of Education

• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future - Daniel H. Pink
• Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
• Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative - Ken Robinson
• The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work - Shawn Achor
• A Place Called School - John I. Goodlad
• Creativity Now: Get Inspired, Create Ideas, and Make Them Happen Now! - Jurgen Wolff
• 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 - Tony Wagner
• Five Minds for the Future - Howard Gardner
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - Travis Bradberry
• Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman
• The Water Is Wide - Pat Conroy
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Daniel H. Pink
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything - Ken Robinson
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Carol S. Dweck
• Schools Cannot Do It Alone - Jamie Robert Vollmer
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
• The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education - Diane Ravitch
• The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology - Ray Kurzweil
• College and Career Ready: Helping All Students Succeed Beyond High School - David T. Conley
• What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action - Robert J. Marzano
• Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution - Richard A. DeLorenzo, Wendy J. Battino, Rick M. Schreiber, and Barbara B. Goddy Carrio
• Results Now: How We Can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning - Michael J. Schmoker
• Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning - Mike Schmoker
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference - Malcolm Gladwell

Professional Development for Teachers/PLCs

• Designs for Learning: A New Architecture for Professional Development in Schools - Paul V. Bredeson
• Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn - Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Gayle Karhanek, and Richard DuFour
• Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement - Richard DuFour
• Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement - Richard DuFour and Robert J. Marzano
• On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities - Roland Barth, Barbara Eason-Watkins, Michael Fullan, and Lawrence Lezotte
• Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education - Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli

Assessment

• What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated? And Other Essays on Standards, Grading, and Other Follies - Alfie Kohn
• Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning - Larry Ainsworth, Lisa Almeida, Anne Davies, and Richard DuFour
• The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing - Alfie Kohn
• The Principal as Assessment Leader - Cassandra Erkens, William Ferriter, Tammy Heflebower, and Tom Hierck

Organization

• The 5th Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization - Peter M. Senge
• Get Organized: Time Management for School Leaders - Frank Buck

Leadership

• Left on Red: How to Ignite, Leverage, and Build Visionary Organizations - Bill Glynn
• Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division - Anthony Muhammad
• Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation - Tim Brown
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High - Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard - Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization - John C. Maxwell
• Opposable Mind: Winning Through Integrative Thinking - Roger L. Martin
• Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers - Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo
• Dealing with Difficult Parents and with Parents in Difficult Situations - Todd Whitaker and Douglas Fiore
• Now, Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
• Strengths-Based Leadership - Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
• Strengths Finder 2.0 - Tom Rath
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? - Seth Godin
• The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness - Stephen R. Covey
• You're in Charge - Now What?: The 8 Point Plan - Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You - John C. Maxwell
• Qualities of Effective Principals - James H. Stronge
• The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life - Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
• Balanced Leadership: How Effective Principals Manage Their Work - Sheryl Boris-Schacter
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick Lencioni
• Winning with People: Discover the People Principles that Work for You Every Time - John C. Maxwell
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us - Seth Godin
• Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - John Medina
• If You Don't Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students: Guide to Success for Administrators and Teachers - Neila A. Connors
• How Full Is Your Bucket?: Positive Strategies for Work and Life - Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton
• The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary - Mark Sanborn and John C. Maxwell
• The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your LIfe, Work, and Team with Positive Energy - Jon Gordon
• The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership - Steve Farber
• The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion - John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison
• The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change - Diana Whitney, Amanda Troston-Bloom, and David Cooperrider

Discipline

• Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community - Alfie Kohn
• Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them - Ross W. Greene