Education is a right for all young people in the world, yet quality and relevant education is still elusive. Schools are searching for the perfect recipe for success in a rapidly changing world. Principals are at the focal point of educational delivery, which makes leading schools throughout the world one of the most stressful and challenging occupations. It is a profession that requires many different life, leadership, and management skills. Working with people is, at best, filled with drama, and in addition, principals lead schools crowded with impressionable and volatile children or teenagers with all their changing hormones, peer pressure, the stresses of society, and the challenges emanating from their complex family structures. Teachers are facing huge challenges in the classroom that force heads of schools to give more supportive and constructive leadership. Creating the perfect balance between discipline, compassion, maintaining academic standards, and a relevant academic path for students, all while leading a motivated and skilled staff of teachers is a mammoth task for any individual. This book is a guide to the challenges facing a principal and the skills needed to navigate a school to success.

David Robinson is author of Soul Mentoring: Discover the Ancient Art of Caring for Others (Cascade, 2015); Ancient Paths: Discover Christian Formation the Benedictine Way (Paraclete, 2010); and The Busy Family's Guide to Spirituality (Crossroad, 2009). Married since 1981, David and his spouse, Trina, enjoy three married sons and one granddaughter. David has served as pastor of Cannon Beach Community Church, Cannon Beach, Oregon, since 1993. He is a Benedictine Oblate with Mount Angel Abbey.