Hacking School Leadership

Drawing from years of experience as a teacher and principal, Erika Garcia-Niles understands the pressing need to reshape leadership practices to better serve our educators. In this book, she presents a framework of school leadership that is poised to shift your approach to school administration. 

Hacking School Leadership offers practical strategies, heartfelt insights, and evidence-based research to help you create a supportive, empowering, and inspiring environment for your teachers. By centering your leadership on the needs of your staff, you can reignite their passion for teaching, rebuild trust, and establish a strong sense of community within your school.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• What makes teachers happy

• The importance of providing time, trust, and resources to teachers

• How to listen, appreciate, and support your staff effectively

• Strategies for building trust, empathy, and empowerment among your educators

• Ways to eliminate distractions and address the challenges faced by teachers head-on

• The critical role of authenticity and personalization in teacher-centered leadership

Hacking School Leadership is not just a book—it’s a call to action. It’s a call for principals and school leaders like you to champion change, create a culture of support, and prioritize the well-being of your teachers. By doing so, you’ll not only retain talented educators but also improve student outcomes and foster a vibrant learning community.

This book identifies the actual issues school leaders face in connecting with, building trust with, and truly working WITH teachers. Erika's lengthy and diverse experience as a classroom teacher shines through with the practical advice and simple things we should all do that make a huge difference!

Erika Garcia-Niles does a phenomenal job of breaking down how to build relationships with faculty and work with them as an administrator. With the incredible teacher shortage we are currently facing, it is amazing to see such great work being done on the part of administrators to work on retaining the teachers already in the field. Erika gives pragmatic strategies for educational leaders to follow. This is a book that an emerging leader could pick up and easily read quickly and have a wonderful sense of how to make lasting, meaningful relationships with their staff and faculty. I highly suggest this book for administrators, teachers, instructional coaches, or anyone in education.