The Principal's Guide to Curriculum Leadership

Practical guidance for spearheading curriculum development and change

This comprehensive guide walks principals through the curriculum development and renewal process with encouragement, hitting the hard issues of doing more with less, integrating technology, creating a culture of improvement, and improving student outcomes. The authors incorporate the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards for principals as they relate to curriculum leadership. Highlights include step-by-step guidance for:

• Working collaboratively with personnel
• Integrating state and national standards into school curriculum
• Maximizing professional development opportunities
• Connecting curriculum to instruction

Richard D. Sorenson, professor emeritus, is the former director of the Principal Preparation Program and chairperson of the Educational Leadership and Foundations Department at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He earned his doctorate from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi in educational leadership. Dr. Sorenson served public schools for 25 years as a social studies teacher, assistant principal, principal, and associate superintendent for human resources.

Dr. Sorenson worked with graduate students at UTEP in the area of school-based budgeting, personnel, educational law, and leadership development. During his 20-year tenure, he was named The University of Texas at El Paso College of Education Professor of the Year, and he remains an active writer with numerous professional journal publications. Dr. Sorenson continues to author other principal-oriented textbooks. He also developed teacher resource guides, and workbooks in the area of the elementary and secondary social studies curricula. He has been actively involved in numerous professional organizations, including the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP), for which he conducted, for a decade, annual new-principal academy seminars.

Dr. Sorenson has been married to his wife, Donna, for the past 48 years and they have two adult children, Lisa (a school counselor with the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Houston, Texas) and Ryan (an exercise physiologist in Dallas, Texas); a wonderful son-in-law, Sam (a petroleum engineer in Houston, Texas); and a delightful daughter-in-law, Nataly (executive director of a Christian center in Dallas, Texas) along with four amazing grandchildren: Savannah, Nehemiah, and Amelia, and one little guy, Oliver―all of whom are the pride and joy of his life. Rick and Donna, long-term residents of El Paso, out in the mountain and desert region of “true” West Texas, now reside near their grandchildren in Cypress (northwest Houston), Texas.

Lloyd M. Goldsmith, professor emeritus, earned his EdD in educational leadership from Baylor University. He was a professor for 20 years at Abilene Christian University (ACU), some of those years at ACU (Dallas), where he taught doctoral courses in leadership theory. He also served as an admissions officer as well as a former director of the Principal Preparation Program and department chairperson at ACU. Dr. Goldsmith taught school budgeting, instructional leadership, and leadership theory. He served public schools for 29 years as an elementary science teacher, middle school assistant principal, and elementary school principal.

Dr. Goldsmith and a fellow chemistry professor codirected a program facilitating high school chemistry teachers in developing effective instructional strategies. Dr. Goldsmith served on several state committees for the Texas Education Agency. He also served two terms as president of the Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration.

He is an active member at his church and enjoys serving others. He spends time volunteering at his grandchildren’s schools and supporting their activities. He also enjoys traveling and attending ACU sporting events. 

Dr. Goldsmith has been married to his wife, Mary, for the past 40 years. They reside near their three children and families in Abilene, Texas. Mary is a retired high school biology teacher, serving students for 41 years. Lloyd and Mary have three adult children―Abigail (active in the PTO where she serves as president) and her husband, Andrew (works in business development for a nuclear research lab), Eleanor (a second grade Title I teacher), and her husband, Kris (a chef, restaurant owner and culinary arts teacher), and Nelson (a licensed professional building inspector) and his wife, Kristen. He also has four grandchildren, Luke, Hilary, Levi, and Oliver. Plus, the Goldsmiths’ have six grand dogs! Life is good!

Dr. Zulma Y. Méndez is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She earned her Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Riverside. Professor Méndez’s teaching and research interests include curriculum policy and practice across the K-16 continuum. At present, she is conducting a qualitative study that examines the recently implemented national standard-based curriculum in the border city of Juárez, México.

Karen T. Maxwell is an assistant professor in the Graduate Studies in Education Department at Abilene Christian University (ACU). Her fields of interest include secondary education, behavior management, and campus leadership. Before coming to ACU in 2006, Dr. Maxwell worked with the Region 2 Education Service Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she co-directed a principal certification program and directed the Principal Assessment/Development Center. She also worked extensively with school-wide discipline programs and behavior management. Dr. Maxwell has taught graduate level courses in educational administration at Texas A&M University – Kingsville, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, and Walden University. She has K-12 teaching experience at elementary, middle, and high school levels in public and private schools, and has served as a campus principal at the elementary and high school levels.

Dr. Maxwell believes that campus leadership is central to student success and her goal is to assist with the development of strong, effective campus curriculum leaders. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from ACU, master′s degrees in curriculum and instruction and educational administration from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.