Schools must be learning organizations, but learning does not happen automatically. Visiting classrooms, reviewing student work, collecting artifacts, and analyzing achievement data is essential to the health of a school and its ability to educate students. One of the key ways the school administrators of Pottsgrove Middle School in Pottstown,…

When Stephanie Smith became the principal of Seaford (Delaware) Middle School four years ago, she was told to accept the fact that the school would never be able to change its status as a school that needed to improve. She did not accept that. To improve performance levels, she set the expectations high. Her defiance paid off: the school is now…