Juggling The Job

Overview
Being a principal is one of the most demanding roles in education. The job requires passion, adaptability, and the ability to manage competing priorities—all without dropping too many balls. In Juggling the Job, Dr. Thornell manages to highlight the principles of juggling and compare them to the many task that challenge school leaders on a daily basis.

If you ever watch a juggler perform, sometimes their mistakes are unnoticeable because they keep going and move on to the next trick. Great principals share that skill by successfully keeping everything moving. When something drops, they seem to keep moving so effortlessly that few people even notice and those that do are quick to move on because the action has moved on as well.

This book was created with you, the school leader, in mind, and it provides a deep dive into five areas a principal juggles. Each chapter shares examples, ideas, and real life stories from Thornell’s 25 + year career in education.

In the book, you will find a chapter devoted to:

• Instructional Leadership- The important thing to remember is that you are responsible for the learning and teaching in your building. You may not be in front of students every day, but you are the “lead learner” in your building and it is important that you are actively involved every day.
• Servant Leadership- Building relationships with your school community, students, teachers, and parents is essential to success. Here are ideas for activities that show a leader is trying to help and support.
• Learning Leadership- Consider this section a personal accountability piece. As a leader is is important that we keep learning both as an example to others and to provide additional knowledge for ourselves to move ours schools forward.
• Share Your Story- Sharing the school story comes from many voices, but the leader should provide multiple ways in which to share the vision, progress, and results of the school.
• Celebrations/Reflections- While celebrations and reflections are not the same, they should be seen as a way to remember all the good things happening at your school, but also to deepening your learning through reflecting on what went well and what you can improve upon.