ABSTRACT
Allow me to restate my belief that this is a very exciting time to be part of education and the movement to reform our schools into a new and motivating place to learn. Every school in America, whether it is public, private, charter, magnet, large, or small is being faced with taking a closer look at how it does business. Prominent topics in recent educational journals, newsletters, professional publications, and newspapers relate to school reform and questions such as, “Are our schools educating our children to meet the needs of the twenty-first century?” and “Are our teachers prepared to teach?” The public demands more accountability in the form of evidence of better teachers and increased student achievement. While these are attention-getting buzzwords for titles and headlines, the fact is that school administrators are feeling the pressure to produce evidence of change. The published research, standards, and guidelines (a small amount of which were referenced in Chapter 2) are forcing federal and state education boards and local school boards and parents to question what is happening in our schools. This is not something that will go away with time, nor do we want it to.
