The authors, two high school teachers, endorse the Common Core State Standards saying they will improve teaching and learning. The Common Core, they say, not only help students acquire the skills for success in life after high school, but they offer consistency in a student's educational journey and let employers know what to expect.…

While the demands of teaching continue to escalate, teacher development has changed relatively little over time, leaving many of today's teachers feeling underprepared, overwhelmed, or demoralized with few opportunities to make real change. Teacher leadership holds promise for both addressing challenges within schools and empowering teachers.…

"A Nation at Risk" sounded the call for school improvement and offered recommendations for bringing it about. "No Child Left Behind" was even more prescriptive in its approach to raising student achievement. However, as the author of this article points out, for all their recommendations and strategies, both reform efforts neglect the essential…

Cross-generational learning teams that bring together novice teachers with veteran teachers would address problems at both ends of the teacher pipeline--and benefit student learning at the same time. In this cross-generational learning team, each member brings different skills to support a child's learning--some bring deep science content…

In his February 2004 Kappan article, Mike Schmoker called into question the effectiveness of many of the major reform efforts of the past two decades. In particular he made the case that strategic planning efforts and whole-school reform efforts have been mostly ineffective because planning cycles are too long and implementation is too complex and…

Describes several projects that have enabled teachers to leave the isolation of their own classrooms and think together about student work in the broader contexts of school improvement and professional development. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/MLF)

Education reformers have increasingly invested in developing collaborative communities within schools as a central strategy for improving teaching and student learning. This strategy comes in various guises, including small schools, small learning communities, and teacher teams. Several assumptions about how these communities will enhance…