Be the leader your school community needs The responsibilities of school leaders are increasingly complex. In this book, you will find a problem-solving model to help you think through morally complex situations. These steps will enable you to arrive at innovative solutions that are ethical, logical, culturally sensitive, and in the best interests of students. Packed with real-life vignettes, mental exercises, reflections, checklists, and other templates, these strategies will help you • Understand how ethical standards and core values drive your leadership choices • Approach problems through a lens of equity and care for the students entrusted to you • Recognize when urgent action is called for and when it’s better to slow down in order to thoroughly consider your actions and the potential consequences of those actions As a leader, you face difficult challenges every day. This book will help ensure that the decisions you make are right for your students–and for the whole community.
Adhere to Ethical and Legal Parameters
Chapters 1 and 2 asked readers to focus on individual, school, and community values. Chapter 3 takes on a broader view of ethical and equitable leadership in education by exploring the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL). These standards were developed in 2015 and were adopted by the majority of states in the United States (Young & Perrone, 2016). They build upon and replace the Interstate School Leadership Consortium (ISLLC) Standards that existed for the previous 20 years (Murphy & Smylie, 2016).
While the PSELs were designed to drive practice, how they look in practice may vary because of local context, personal values, or community beliefs. This chapter covers the concepts of easy ethics ...