More and more school districts are hiring family-school coordinators to connect with families through home visits stressing positive discussions. In El Paso, teams of middle-school teachers visit students' homes after school, on weekends, during conference days, and on vacations. Other programs are profiled. (MLH)

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are bringing peer-review and assistance resolutions to the bargaining table. Both unions seek a new unionism with a strong role in ensuring teacher quality. Some critics are skeptical about putting teachers in charge of improving their profession. (MLH)

An upstate New York school district's collaboratively designed teacher-evaluation system reflects years of instructional improvement programs and many rounds of contract negotiations. In other districts, collegial efforts to redesign teacher-evaluation systems signal administrators' changing attitudes. Principals see themselves as mentors,…

More teachers are conducting research that benefits both administrators and students. Well-trained teacher-researchers can turn their questions into researchable problems, collect and analyze data, and use findings to create knowledge and "informed action." Teacher-research is notable for savoring the particular, rather than reaching for…