Organizing our schools to support successful student learning.

Dear Colleague:

Numerous studies have documented the impact a qualified teacher has on student performance. Education Week recently reported on a new study of high school students that found a well-qualified teacher (one who graduated from a competitive college, was experienced and certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) had a greater effect on student achievement than the effects of race and parent education combined.

This fact is recognized around the world by the many high-achieving countries that provide more resources for teacher preparation and support. For example, teachers in Scandinavian countries receive three years of graduate-level preparation for teaching, paid for by the government, in addition to a stipend while in the program. Singapore and many other Asian countries completely subsidize four years of undergraduate teacher education.

This issue of Leadership magazine takes a look at learning and teaching, and what our school leaders are doing to improve instruction in their schools and districts. The international perspective is provided by an author who visited schools in China, where he found that principals and teachers were "passionate about education and taught with great enthusiasm and with high expectations for their students' work."

We also offer strategies for integrating teachers successfully into their first assignments (page 12) and for developing consistent classroom management systems (page 32); and we discuss the skills needed by administrators who want to be effective instructional leaders who can initiate, manage and lead change (page 16).

When we think of the learning we experienced in our high school years, we do not think of the content of our classes, such as complementary angles in geometry. We think of the geometry class as Mr. Michael's class, because we identified our classes through the teachers who gave a part of themselves to their students. Learning is a people activity, not a book activity. The articles in this magazine remind us that we have among us dedicated educators who keep their eye on the goal to produce successful learning in students, not widgets.

Sincerely,

Frank Gomez

ACSA President