Research extending back into the 1890's reveals that the quality of classroom instruction depends not upon differing curricula, for example, but rather upon the attitudes and actions of teachers. Instructional effectiveness is especially important for independent schools, yet availability as well as quality of candidates has dropped markedly. Nonetheless, independent school trustees can attract quality teachers if they shift their focus of concern to issues of school climate and instructor motivation. Such a task encompasses a comprehension of the task of teaching, classroom life, positive trustee attitudes and policies, and a supportiive climate. In the first place, trustees should realize that teachers face obstacles ranging from finding it difficult to evaluate their own effectiveness and thus generally feeling uncertain about their roles, to lacking the necessary time and support for analyzing just what they are doing, and thus remaining oblivious to needs for change. Taken together, such factors are detrimental to classroom life. Yet incentives related to job satisfaction--recognition for teaching excellence, for instance--can lead to an improved learning environment and increased achievement among students. It is this incentive/satisfaction concern that trustees must address if they want to retain and attract high-quality faculty. (KS)