About three-fourths of the states have already adopted the Common Core State Standards, which were designed to provide more clarity about and consistency in what is expected of student learning across the country. However, given the brief time since the standards' final release in June, questions persist among educators, who will have the…

Full implementation of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics is still a few years away for many states. But district and school leaders are faced with many decisions now--from curriculum adoption to teacher professional development--that will influence the long-term effectiveness of this bold initiative. School leaders have a significant…

In the current era of mathematics standards, whether they are Common Core State Standards or other state standards, effective vertical mathematics teams offer an opportunity for teachers to grow professionally through shared experiences, for leadership to grow among the faculty, and for the school to change its perspective on the teaching and…

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life." This popular Chinese proverb is an apt metaphor for the dilemma faced by principals and curriculum coordinators when deciding whether to purchase a scripted commercial reading program. Although a scripted reading program may solve…

In recent years, the dual-language program model has become popular in many schools across the nation, and the classes have already been flourishing in countries outside the U.S. for years. Dual-language programs are an excellent way to provide academic instruction for both English-language learners (ELLs) and English-proficient speakers. Since…

To anticipate the future needs of principal preparation, it is important to understand past efforts to bridge the preparation and practice gap. Decades ago, both the military and corporate industries discovered that classroom training was not meeting their needs for preparing soldiers and business professionals for real-life challenges. So they…

Although most principals do not teach reading, it is critical that they know how reading should be taught, especially in the primary grades. A growing body of research gives an increasingly clear picture of effective reading programs. It indicates that most young children need instruction in five reading areas: phonemic awareness, phonics,…

Some children learn to read easily with phonics, and some do better with a whole-language approach. Principals should understand both systems and use the best of both, together with other effective reading programs. Teachers should balance their reading programs by providing structure for analytic students, reading to students, and relying on…

Play and well-designed motor activities may be ideal media to facilitate young children's learning. Last year, the Council on Physical Education for Children produced a position statement contrasting developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices in 25 program components, including curriculum, teaching strategies, motor skills…

Describes how principals provided critical support for applications of the Reading Style Inventory to reading programs in five schools. These efforts resulted in significant improvements in reading achievement and interest among students. Suggests six practices principals can follow to help ensure success. (PGD)

Provides examples of many innovative ways principals can establish a "reading climate" in their schools. Includes ways to involve parents, community members, school libraries, and teachers in reading enjoyment programs. Discusses some of the most successful techniques for teaching reading. (IW)

The coauthor and developer of Logo (a computer programming language for children) describes (1) the changes in his responses to debates about computers in education, (2) some of the uses of the new LogoWriter in the classroom, and (3) how one fifth-grade class used LogoWriter in a biology unit. (IW)