194 High-Impact Letters for Busy Principals: A Guide to Handling Difficult Correspondence

"Grady′s book encourages principals who are perpetually pressed for time to get to correspondence that languishes at the bottom of their to-do lists. My own correspondence has doubled since getting my hands on this book!"
―Cathie West, Principal
Mountain Way Elementary School, Granite Falls, WA

"The letters cover a wide variety of topics and give administrators ideas on what kind of letters to write. After going through the letters, I realize that I need to send more letters of appreciation to parents and organizations."
―Gina Segobiano, Principal/Superintendent
Signal Hill School District 181, Belleville, IL

Build a culture of care with positive communication!

As the key communicators for schools, principals write a wide range of correspondence―from thank-you letters and congratulations to best wishes and other personal notes. Yet, this critical responsibility can easily fall victim to every administrator′s busy schedule. Marilyn Grady′s updated and expanded collection of letters is truly a time-saving starter kit, with user-friendly and easy-to-personalize templates to revitalize every busy administrator′s communications repertoire.

This practical resource provides jargon-free templates useful for:

• Improving communication with parents, teachers, and other school stakeholders
• Initiating a "letter-a-day" plan to improve school culture
• Advancing parent education, health and wellness, and safety initiatives, among others
• Reminding you to communicate with all stakeholders
• Evaluating your current written communication
• Identifying areas where you could communicate more

This targeted collection will add a new level of organization, efficiency, and effectiveness to your communication tasks. Unlock the secrets of effective communication and watch relationships on all levels flourish! Includes a PC- and Mac-compatible CD-ROM containing all letters for easy customization.

Marilyn L. Grady, is professor of educational administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She is the author or coauthor of 23 books, including From Difficult Teachers to Dynamic Teamwork (2009) with Brock, Getting it Right from the Start (2009) with Kostelnik From First Year to First Rate (2007) with Brock, 194 High-Impact Letters for Busy Principals (2006), 20 Biggest Mistakes Principals Make and How to Avoid Them (2004) and Launching Your First Principalship (2004) with Brock. Her research areas include leadership, the principalship, and superintendent-board relations. She has more than 175 publications to her credit. She is the editor of the Journal of Women in Educational Leadership. Her editorial board service has included Educational Administration Quarterly, International Studies in Educational Administration, International Journal of Learning, Rural Educator, Journal of At-Risk Issues, Journal of School Leadership, Advancing Women in Leadership On-Line Journal, Journal for Rural School and Community Renewal, International Journal of Learning, and Journal for a Just and Caring Education. She is the recipient of the Stanley Brzezinski Research Award, NCPEA’s Living Legend Award, the Donald R. and Mary Lee Swanson Award for Teaching Excellence, UNL’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and UNL’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Status of Women.

Grady coordinates an annual conference on women in educational leadership that attracts national attendance and is in its 24th year. She has been an administrator in K-12 schools as well as at the college and university levels. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, and her doctorate in educational administration with a specialty in leadership from The Ohio State University.