Children, especially in the preschool years, learn a tremendous amount through play. Research on guided play demonstrates how schools can couple a curriculum-centered preschool program with a developmentally appropriate pedagogical approach to classroom teaching. However, to fully test this claim, we need a clear definition of the term…

The idea that principals should focus more closely on teaching and learning did not emerge prominently until the mid-1990s. Then educators and policy makers began to realize that school leadership matters to student achievement. In a dozen years of working with states, districts, researchers and others, the Wallace Foundation has pinpointed five…

A lot of children are suffering--from bullet wounds, car crashes, gashes in legs, and great tears in the social fabric. There are wounds to heal, hopes to foster, and scar tissue to form. Public school teachers and leaders, wherever we are, this is our work. And we can do a good job of it, if the school community is strong, and if we always work…

A former elementary principal (and teacher) describes challenging, insightful experiences gained while substituting for teachers for a half-day. This practice, combined with scheduling "sacred" classroom visiting times while advancing toward the superintendency, kept him in touch with teacher concerns and classroom realities. (MLH)