The 2010 NCSSSMST Pre-Conference Symposium in Nashville, "Diversity: Negotiating the Path," was the culmination of initiatives begun two years ago by the Diversity Committee of the NCSSSMST Board. Inspired by the ground-breaking campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, members recognized within each candidate a symbolic example of what they…

This study examined and compared the educational perspectives of Korean parents of elementary school students and their teachers. 430 parents and 143 teachers in the New York metropolitan area participated in the survey and 16 teachers, administrators, and parents were interviewed. The findings indicated that the teachers not only misunderstood…

One key step in the evidence-based practice process directs practitioners to pose client-oriented, practical, evidence-search questions (COPES), seeking the truth about what will help their client (Gibbs, 2003) and inform policy (Gambrill, 2006) and not to take a "one method fits all" position. Literature focusing on providing services to minority…

Some research studies indicate that a content knowledge gap exists between minority and non-minority children, especially young children from poor families. One factor contributing to this problem may be that teachers expect minority children to learn subject matter at a slower rate than their counterparts. It has been found that teachers'…

If state leaders invest resources and energy wisely, they don't have to choose between excellence and equity. They can improve overall teacher quality and remedy the shameful inequities in access to the single most valuable resource in education--effective teachers. This paper outlines ten steps state policymakers and school district leaders can…

In this article the author looks at the impact NCLB is having on teacher education programs, focusing on three major areas: who is entering teacher preparation programs; the experience they have while they are in those programs; and the experience they have while in the schools as student teachers. The increased focus on testing to determine who…

The achiever is published monthly during the school year for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. The following articles are contained in this issue: (1) Spellings Focuses on English Language Learners; (2) Around the Country--Maryland and Oregon; (3) Calendar; (4)…