Principal Mentoring: A Safe, Simple, and Supportive Approach

"Weingartner practices what he preaches. He shares lessons learned from his many years of running one of the most successful principal mentoring programs in the nation. His practical and straightforward approach is grounded in the day-to-day realities and exigencies of the school principal."
―Lois J. Zachary, President
Leadership Development Services

Develop a principal mentoring program that produces effective leaders and high retention rates!

Responding to a critical shortage of school leaders, this timely and invaluable resource offers a mentoring approach that supports new principals′ professional development while helping reduce the stress-and-burnout pattern that is common for many school administrators.

Based on years of successful experience, Carl J. Weingartner shows school and district leaders how to design a sustainable, adaptable principal mentoring program for urban, suburban, and rural schools―without a lot of extra costs, paperwork, or time. This book offers guidelines for recruiting, supporting, and retaining effective principals and methods for helping novice principals achieve success in areas such as improving curriculum and student achievement. The book also covers:

• Developing supportive mentoring relationships
• Assisting new administrators with individual professional growth plans
• Advising on district mandates, operational/funding issues, and standards
• Fostering effective time management, communication, and self-evaluation skills

Offering a total support system for new principals, this mentoring guide provides a proven road map for a principal mentoring plan that builds strong schoolwide leadership.

Carl J. Weingartner has been an educator for over 46 years. He taught 11 years at the junior high and elementary levels in Gallup-McKinley County School District, Gallup, NM, Midwest City/Del City School District, Midwest City, OK and Albuquerque Public Schools District, Albuquerque, NM. He served as a junior high and elementary principal for 22 years in the Albuquerque Public Schools. He considers himself a practitioner rather than a researcher.

In 1994, he was contracted by the Albuquerque Public Schools on a part-time basis to establish and coordinate the Extra Support for Principals mentor program for first-year principals. The program has involved and supported over 210 first-year principals. He has become active in promoting mentor programs across the nation by writing and contributing to several organizational Web sites. He has written or contributed to articles and books for the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National School Boards Association, the George Lucas Educational Foundation, and to the works of independent authors. He has been asked to advise or consult with over 65 individuals or institutions across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

He has been active during his professional career in promoting education and the principalship. He served as president of several educational organizations including the National Association of Elementary School Principals/SCA-Zone VIII, the New Mexico Association of Elementary School Principals, and the Albuquerque Public Schools Principals Association. He held several offices and served on executive boards and principal committees at the national, zone, state, and district levels. Weingartner has been a member of National Association of Elementary School Principals throughout his career as a principal and has maintained his membership since his retirement in 1994.

He has received honors and recognitions, including the “National Distinguished Principal Award” from the US Department of Education in 1987. He has received “Outstanding School Administrator Awards” from the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals-Zone VIII, the New Mexico Association of Elementary School Principals and the New Mexico School Administrators Association. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Central State University at Ada, Oklahoma. His postgraduate work in school administration was completed at the University of New Mexico.