For the last 15 years, the author's firm has been helping organizations become healthier and maximize their human potential by using the model outlined in his latest book, "The Advantage," which is the culmination of his previous books and models. Schools and school districts have embraced the model and enjoyed the competitive advantage…

The author's journey as a strategic staffing principal in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has been one of ups and downs, scary turns and some great success for students. It began in May 2008 when she was asked to move to Devonshire Elementary School with marching orders to "turn the school around." Because of its failure to meet annual…

Whether schools have productive data-analysis sessions leading to instructional improvements and increased student learning or meetings that are a waste of time and resources could well hinge on the structures that are put in place by and the expectations of school and district leadership. Based on his work as a data coach with more than 200…

A story about superintendents hired to manage two districts finds they exercise good organizational skills--and a lot of hustle--to succeed in this unique role. They don't discount the downsides and do question the money savings involved. Superintendents doing double duty is nothing new, particularly among the hundreds of small districts scattered…

Large-scale test scores are the most visible representation of what happens in schools in the U.S. The prevailing notion is that they will tell people most of what they need to know about a school, including the quality of instruction and the effectiveness of the teaching and administrative staff. Americans put credence in test scores despite the…

Numerous research studies confirm that the most important factor contributing to student success is the effectiveness of instruction. Though school quality is largely determined by teacher quality, that single factor is surprisingly difficult to improve. The well-chronicled and often-exaggerated reasons for this include veteran teachers resisting…

Along with radically shifting priorities and practices to put better learning first, recent experiences and new research underscore a second, closely related imperative for districts--that principals get the high-quality training they need to be successful as frontline leaders of instructional change throughout their schools. In fact, no…

Last May, the seven most recent New York State Teacher of the Year award winners joined the 1993 recipient in sounding the alarm bell over the state's new plan to stake 40 percent of teachers' performance evaluations on students' standardized test scores. In their letter to Chancellor Merryl Tisch and the state Board of Regents, the teachers said…

Deep, thoughtful conversations about how superintendents can improve their leadership practice are rare. Those that are anchored in classroom observation data, guided by structured protocols and common understandings of what matters in instruction, and that take place in a collegial atmosphere with high levels of trust and vulnerability are even…

During the author's travels all over the United States speaking to a wide variety of audiences, and his visits with leadership groups in the Middle East and Far East, he has encountered diverse audiences who share his concern that the majority of students are leaving high school without the skills that matter most--even in those school districts…

In the late 1990s, Fulton County Schools in Atlanta were looking at average enrollment growth of more than 2,500 students a year and a new source of significant revenue to drive its capital improvement program. With funding from Georgia's new special purpose local option sales tax, or SPLOST, for school capital needs, total revenue from the…

Citizens now expect access to information, particularly from public institutions like local school districts. They demand input and accountability. Cultural and technological changes, such as the Internet, make it possible for districts to comply. Yet transparency--the easily seen and understood actions of a school district and the thinking behind…

State test scores administered for accountability purposes are regularly used to adjust instruction in nuanced ways. This is no accident--No Child Left Behind demanded that students' scores be returned quickly to teachers in order that this might be the case, and the idea of data-driven decision making continues as one way the promise of education…

For decades, performance-based budgeting has been applied to evaluate the degree to which government programs and agencies are meeting their stated goals in a cost-efficient manner. The same thinking is applied to public education. In today's times of tight budgets and higher expectations, public schools are being asked to justify their budgets…

The current rhetoric about accountability, making adequate yearly progress, and focusing on quality classroom instruction obfuscates the core challenge in becoming a superintendent: How does one use the entry and transition process to learn what the real challenges and issues are in a school district? Can entry be used as a time for personal and…