The professional development schools (PDS) effort, which grew out of the groundbreaking work of the Holmes Group (1986), was deliberately focused on the support and advancement of teachers as professionals and the professionalization of teaching, so the author argues that it is ironic that a volume about PDS might be seen as voicing an opinion about teaching that is contrary. Yet, the emphasis on "professional" and "professionalism" could not be more absent from many of the public debates about what teachers should know and be able to do--and who should be allowed to teach--which means one needs conversations about teacher professionalism now more than ever. Each of the three chapters in this section not only adds to the conversation about teacher professionalism, but also, more importantly, offers evidence that the PDS effort has actually had a positive effect on teachers, teaching, and learning. One knows that public schools have not equally served all children, that not all teachers give their best to all students, and that not all teacher preparation programs have held all their candidates consistently to the highest standards. However, the sledgehammer approach to reform invariably destroys the good and positive along with the dysfunctional and broken. Here is where the PDS movement, and the research gathered in this volume, may serve a critical function in stemming the tide of blame and indiscriminate critique being levied against teachers and public schools. The author argues that the PDS effort, though more than two decades old, still has far to go before it can definitively and consistently point to measurable outcomes in teacher performance and student achievement.