Meet Their Needs, and They'll Succeed: Transforming Students' Lives Through Positive Relationships

Every student must know they are unique and incredible and capable of doing great things.

Principal Salome Thomas-EL is crazy about the kids in his school. He's curious about them and the lives they lead at home and in the community. He is committed to being a consistent adult they can rely on and to maintaining a culture of love and support for every child.

In this inspirational and action-oriented book, "Principal EL" shares insights gleaned from his own experience as a student whose life was changed by empathetic educators and as a teacher and school leader who has become a life-changer. Proceeding from his "Four Cs" approach, which maps a positive way to show up for the young people in our classrooms, he offers a collection of research-backed strategies to help educators provide students with equitable access to supportive relationships and to instruction that is engaging, respectful, and effective.

In Meet Their Needs, and They'll Succeed, Principal EL covers

• The pedagogical and curricular keys to successful and joyful learning,
• The value of developing critical thinking skills and ways to go about it,
• What all educators should know and do when working with kids affected by trauma,
• The powerful whys and practical hows of after-school programs and community engagement, and
• What we all gain when committed teachers choose to stay.

This book is for bold educators who care about kids and want to prepare them for the life and leadership roles that await them.

Salome Thomas-EL, a teacher and principal since 1987, is a K-8 principal in Wilmington, DE. He received national acclaim as a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School in Philadelphia, where his students won world recognition as eight-time national chess champions. Principal EL is the author of bestselling books I Choose to Stay and The Immortality of Influence and co-author of Passionate Leadership, Building a Winning Team, and Retention for a Change. He speaks to groups around the country and has appeared on C-SPAN, CNN, and NPR. Principal EL holds a doctorate in education leadership from Wilmington University and has received the Marcus A. Foster Award for Philadelphia's Outstanding School District Administrator and the University of Pennsylvania's Martin Luther King Award.