Most principals know about the Common Core State Standards, but they may not be aware that they are different from previous standards in one essential way: they emphasize students' capacity to understand complex texts. Standard 10 puts an unprecedented focus on texts and will fundamentally change assessments, textbooks, and teaching at the…

This article features Haymon-Morris Middle School in Winder, Georgia. This highly successful Title I middle school is tucked behind the high school in a rural area 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. The staff is dedicated to creating a culture where it is believed that a calm, serene school setting results in less stress for both students and staff…

As student achievement data are increasingly included in teacher evaluations, principals are responsible for ensuring that the results of classroom-based assessments are included in those data. Integrating formative, classroom-based assessments into every student learning experience is a practical way to enhance student learning and give teachers…

Today's reform landscape transcends instructional leadership and data-based decision-making skills. This is not to say that those behaviors are not essential to a principal's success, but they no longer suffice. Principals do not need to be curriculum experts, but they do need to lead their schools with full knowledge of the Common Core State…

Most of the nation's teachers and administrators are White and from the middle class and have little experience or training working with culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Although those findings should raise school leaders' concern, the rapid growth rate of ELs makes solving those challenges an urgent necessity. To meet the needs of…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a voice and advocate for mathematics educators, working to ensure that all students receive equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality. To help teachers and school leaders understand the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and to point out how the CCSSM can be…

When the author became principal at South Pittsburg High School in the rural southeast corner of Tennessee, he noticed that the school had a serious problem with students arriving late to school in the morning and late to classes during the school day. When this issue was discussed, it was decided that there was a need to initiate a Saturday…

During the past decade, thousands of schools have adopted response to intervention (RTI) frameworks as the means of improving educational outcomes for all students, including those with disabilities. Planning, implementing, and sustaining those frameworks requires organizational changes that affect staff members and underlying school structures…

This article begins by revealing what U.S. secondary school educators think about the Common Core State Standards when they were asked about it at a district professional development session in October 2012. The replies of these educators to the query include "It requires higher-order thinking," "The Common Core starts in…

That the world outside schools is changing faster than ever is old news. Unfortunately, that the world "inside" schools is changing at a glacial pace is even older news. As school leaders, principals have an important choice to make as they move into the second decade of the 21st century. School leaders have a moral obligation to connect and…

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is committed to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all students. Through the National Science Education Standards, NSTA calls attention to the importance of science standards for all students and the need for a scientifically literate populace. NSTA is also…

It is no secret that many girls seem disinterested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but strategies for building their interest are sometimes elusive. Because STEM career paths are not always perceived as "natural" for women, educators do no't always push their female students to explore these educational areas. As a…

One of the biggest roadblocks to addressing instructional rigor in schools is the resistance to change that is displayed by teachers, students, parents, and other building and district leaders. Every person deals differently with change. Some are more accepting, others more resistant. No change is successful if the people being asked to change…

A little-known health care safety net plays a big role for young people across the U.S. More than 1,900 school-based health centers (SBHCs) provide access to care--primary health, mental health and counseling, family outreach, and chronic illness management--to nearly 1.7 million children and adolescents. SBHCs are partnerships between schools and…

Great strides in the real world are usually accompanied by failure. Mathematics teachers should accept some failure as their students take risks during mathematical explorations. This is not to imply that students should fail an entire course, but they should have opportunities to take risks that may lead to failure, especially in the area of…