High School Reform: It's Time to Turn Public Opinion into Public Action
By Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

There are few who would argue that many of our country's schools, particularly its high schools, are not facing great challenges. With only 70 percent of entering 9th graders graduating on time - a number that falls to 50 percent in many urban districts - we are in the midst of a national crisis. If our schools are to become the vibrant centers of teaching and learning that our students deserve and our country requires, we need strong leadership.

There are bright spots. Some schools are overcoming major problems, and even their students who were most at-risk of failure are graduating from high school prepared for college and the demands of the 21st century workplace. But these schools, with their strong principals, well-qualified and enthusiastic teachers, and supportive superintendents and administrators, are still far too rare.
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New York State Education Summit: Keynote Address
Nicholas Donofrio,
Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology

The following text is from a key-note speech made by Nick Donofrio, Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology at the New York State Education Summit, which was held in Albany, New York on November 2, 2005.

IBM is a New York-headquartered enterprise, and our future is directly connected to the future of education in New York State. So, at the outset, on behalf of IBM, I extend my thanks and congratulations to the Board of Regents ... the State of New York ... and Commissioner Mills for orchestrating this historic Education Summit.

As you know, the U.S. government convened an education summit 16 years ago in Charlottesville, Virginia in which the first President Bush and our nation's governors participated. Among the attendees were then-Governors Bill Clinton of Arkansas ... Thomas Kean of New Jersey ... as well as Governor Kean's education policy assistant - none other than Rick Mills.
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Quick Starting the Change Toolkit
By Dr. Joyce Eckart, Assistant Professor, Professor and Chair of the Education Division at Queens University, Charlotte, North Carolina

School systems across the nation are pressured by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates in a landscape fraught with budgetary shortfalls. In Durham, North Carolina, administrators are pressured to meet:

Change Toolkit Tool of the Month
By Heidi Kraemer, Change Toolkit Project Manager and IBM Corporate Community Relations manager

Mastering the Difficult Middles
Everything can look like a failure in the middle. The Change Toolkit "Mastering the Difficult Middles" topic explores this idea further, helping you uncover four common problems that arise in "middles" and ways to solve them. It also gives you the chance to reflect using the Diagnostic tool called "When to Persist." And the Action Tools will give you actionable tips on Persisting in the Middle and Keeping an Innovation Alive.




How do I find this tool?
1. Log in to the Change Toolkit website .
2. Move your mouse to 'Get Tools' and click on 'Change Masters.'
3. Click on 'Mastering the Difficult Middles.'

Leadership pulse check
A monthly poll of the readership of the Education Leadership Newsletter

This Month's Poll:
AOL users, please click here to complete and submit your survey. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, you MUST open the message to complete the survey.

What have you found to be the most effective strategy in overcoming the "difficult middles" of a change project that you have implemented?