One district, South Bay Union School District, devises and executes a comprehensive strategy that includes training for district staff, teachers and coaches, including using PLCs and professional development in the implementation of Common Core English language arts standards.

Developing systems and opportunities for effective dialogue is critical if schools wish to help teachers work collectively. One school used Socratic seminars, structured conversations about selected texts. These seminars helped teachers to build relationships, share practice, and change curriculum and policy. The seminars also were critical to…

Three leading corporations, the Ritz-Carlton, Accenture, and Healthcare Corporation of America, were examined to see how they handled problems that also were faced by school districts. Their strategies for recruiting and retaining employees, measuring performance, and providing professional development differed significantly from those of most…

Outlines a teacher incentive plan developed for the Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools and scheduled for pilot testing during the 1987-88 school year. The program is modeled after airline frequent flyer programs and is designed to encourage cooperative action and individual incentive among teachers. (MD)

Until now, the curriculum debate has overlooked the interrelationship of the change process, school culture, classroom context, and curriculum content. Educational restructuring will not succeed without close school/university collaboration and new thinking about the teaching and learning knowledge base. Paternalistic treatment of educators must…

Working with the National Council of Teachers of English, South Carolina has taken the bold step of focusing professional development in reading on teachers, rather than programs. The state created the South Carolina Reading Initiative (SCRI), a multi-year, research-based professional development model. (MLF)

Adults participating in a Los Angeles "school family" network will be engaged for the next several years in the Annenberg Challenge--a national reform initiative aimed at improving student performance. Participation offers opportunities to develop a coherent K-12 education plan, access extra resources, and pursue collaborative…

Fear of censure and political pressures for standardization compel teachers to act in ways they know will not further their students' learning. Changing teachers requires more than offering them information about method, organization, and content. To change, teachers need to examine their own learning and discover what engages students in genuine…

Describes and praises ways in which the Holmes Group report, committed to redesigning the education of teachers, goes beyond prior movements to reform teacher education. Urges the active cooperation of universities, granting agencies, politicians, faculties, teachers, and others in supporting and accomplishing the required changes. (IW)

Describes the report "Tomorrow's Teachers," prepared by the Holmes Group--an organization of 39 education deans committed to the reform of teacher education and of the teaching profession. Explains the group's plans for involving other universities in the pursuit of these goals at regional and national levels. (IW)

Describes the recommendations of the Carnegie Report to restructure the schools in ways that could transform teaching into a career worth pursuing and could produce the greatest possible gains for all students. Teachers need a better incentive structure and need to be invested with greater discretion in making professional judgments. (IW)