News & Events
“A straightforward take on the complex issue of effective school leadership,” is how one reviewer described a new book co-authored by Dr. Phyllis Gimbel, associate professor educational leadership.
The book, Healthy Schools: The Hidden Component of Teaching and Learning, was written with Lenesa Leana, the recently retired head of the Belmont Day School in Belmont. Assisting was Amanda Bird, a graduate of Smith College and Middlebury College, who had been Dr. Gimbel’s graduate research assistant at BSU while earning a certificate of graduate studies at the university.
This is Dr. Gimbel’s second book (Solutions for Promoting Principal-Teacher Trust was published in 2003). The idea for Healthy Schools dates back two years. When her daughter introduced her to Ms. Leana, a collaboration was born.
“We decided we had common perspectives for building what we call ‘healthy school cultures.’ We didn’t want to write a textbook. Instead, we wanted to use our own experiences to draw lessons from,” Dr. Gimbel said.
The book is geared toward both aspiring and practicing school leaders to help them when confronted with any situation to quickly scan the index, find the topic involved, and learn how others solved the same kind of problem.
Dr. Gimbel brought a broad and expansive background in the field of education to the project, and is happy with the results.
“I’m proud of what we, together, we’re able to accomplish with this book because it appeals to all sectors of K-12 education, both independent and public,” she said. (Story by David K. Wilson, '71, University News)