Phi Delta Kappan

School boards can be ignored or bypassed in reform efforts, or they can become a crucial element in leading and sustaining positive change.

If school boards didn't exist, someone would invent them to create a link between the community and its schools, to ensure oversight of education, and, increasingly, to translate state and federal government mandates for local use.

School boards are a flawed form of governance but still serviceable. The more pressing task is to rethink the school district itself.

Boards that prioritize learning for all will telegraph that message to administrators and invest deeply in human resources, especially professional development.

By endorsing mayoral control and privatization, the Obama Administration is making a risky bet.

States should hire and employ teachers; school boards should focus on improving student learning and get out of the business of running schools.

Will school boards regain their vitality or simply slip further into irrelevance, reduced to discharging hollow legal responsibilities?

Education leaders face the same problems other leaders face. But they must be particularly careful not to let regulations get in the way of leadership.

A synthesis that draws on two common approaches to PLCs produces a more coherent way to tap the power of teacher teams to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

A well-intended plan to give schools more flexibility in spending leads to a range of unintended consequences and few of the anticipated advantages.

In spite of the barrage of anti-testing news, some teachers say tests have not sapped their creativity or hindered collaboration and that they appreciate having useful data, a road map for instruction, and a sense of accountability for all educators.

A consortium of New York public high schools serves as a model for a multi-dimensional system that is performance-based.

Video can be a powerful tool to support teacher research, help teachers notice what's not readily visible in their daily teaching, transform their practice, and improve student learning.

Many educators find education philosophy to be deadly dull. But if done right, it can be an enjoyable and productive party.

Current reforms not only damage our students' learning, they arise from a perspective that claims a different purpose for education than was put forth by earlier reformers.