Three veteran school principals from Oregon, Kate Barker, Kourtney Ferrua, and Rachael George, launched the co-authored “Principaled: Navigating the Leadership Learning Curve” last night on a “book birthday” live event on Facebook. The book quickly rose to the number one new release in educational professional development on Amazon.

“We wrote this before the pandemic,” said Ferrua, an administrator in the McMinnville School District. “But it’s so relevant to the current environment in education. A major theme of the book is focus; how to concentrate on simple goals without being sidetracked by the sheer volume of other tasks and competing concerns. Being focused, for people both inside and outside the education system, may never be as important as it is right now.”

The book draws upon the authors’ years of experience as school leaders to reveal the strategies, mind-sets, and practices that have helped them flourish in their roles. With humor, humility and candor, the authors detail the key ingredients to finding balance as a school leader: taking time to reflect and learn, seeking out mentors, crafting simple and clear goals, and not neglecting self-care.

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Kate Barker, principal of Cherry Park Elementary, David Douglas School District

Kourtney Ferrua, director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, McMinnville School District

Rachael George, principal of Sandy Grade School, Oregon Trail School District

Find out more about the authors and the book here.