Algebra is one of the most primary subdivisions of mathematics that is often introduced to pupils in Jr. High. As a matter of fact, many students find algebra as a hard study area to understand. Algebra is one of the complex subdivisions of mathematics that takes the student through a study of structure, relation and quantity.

Common Methods Used in Algebra

Although ‘variables’ is one of the frequently used terms in computer science, this is first introduced in algebra. This is often used when adding and subtracting radicals. When adding or subtracting radicals the radicals must be the same order before you add or subtract them.

As a method of finding the least common denominator by listing the multiples of each denominator and dividing by 2,3,4, and so on. After that you should look at the smallest number. An example is multiples of 5 are 10, 15, 20, 30. Multiples of 6 are 12, 18, 24, 30, and multiples of 15 are 30, 45, 60. As you can see 30 is the smallest number that appears in the list of multiples.
You can easily reduce a fraction by finding a common factor in the numerator and denominator. A common factor is going to be a number that will evenly divide into both numbers. An example would be 3 is a common factor for 6 and 12. Three will equally divide into 6 and into 12. Two being a common factor for 4 and 14 is another example for this. You will repeat this same procedure until there are no common factors left. This can also be done by finding the GCF of both the numerator and the denominator. You will divide the numerator and the denominator by the greatest common factor instead of the common factor.

Getting out of Difficulty with Algebra

If you find yourself in difficulty with algebra and can’t seem to find the answer you need. In this case, an algebra problem solver, typically a software program, will be an ideal resolution for getting help. With one of these computer software program you can simply input the figures related to the question and your problem will be solved immediately in an illustrative way (including the steps). Having access to an algebra problem solver can mean the difference in passing or failing. Most pupils cannot afford a tutor and they are rarely around when you need them anyway. With an algebra solver you will have access to the answers you need, anytime you need them.

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Looking for help in funding a further education can be difficult and can certainly need time. These scholarships are different from a student loan in that these are a grant for education, and so, don’t have to be paid back. As you look for ways of funding your university degree, remember that funds are available in truly unusual spots, for instance lefty grants. Financial Aid for Lefties: - It may appear a little crazy to provide a scholarship based on a predominant hand, however it’s worth considering this: Bill Gates is a left hander, as is Barack Obama. Raphael, Da Vinci, Bob Dylan and were also left-handed. Statistics propose 11% of the world’s population are lefties. Although in the past left handers have gone through significant discrimination, now they are believed to be more intelligent and more artistic. Stigmatization is now a thing of the past, left handers are no longer thought of as unusual, and may even have many qualities in common with the famous people identified previously.

There are numerous grants accessible for lefty students if you know where to look. A Beckley Scholarship for anything up to 1000 USD is available at Juniata College stuated in Huntington, PA. For scholars of Juniata College and established in the late seventies, this unique bursary helps a lot of lefthanded scholars through university. Numerous grants do have requirements or limitations. In a few cases certain grades may be needed or particular monetary requirements must be satisfied. Multiple program applications will give you a better opportunity of finishing with a minimum amount of debt. Societies, hobby related groups and even community organisations can be a source of college scholarships. Left handed scholarships are only one case; funding is obtainable in numerous other circumstances for example the children of veterans or if you are disabled.

You will probably need to invest some time exploring funding, but the rewards can potentially be huge. Any debt generated by a college degree can be cut back via these grants employed alongside a standard student loan. Be extremely thorough in searching every last scholarship. The above-mentioned funding is only one of many options — put together a list of your clubs and societies and utilize your resourcefulness. Go for each grant you may possibly qualify for, keeping your academic debt minimal, additionally you’ll look forward to improved prospects when you eventually graduate.

The Problem

In our rapidly moving culture, special education students, diagnosed with ADD or ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are an ever-increasing challenge for teachers. Having taught in some capacity for nearly 40 years and being a parent of an active little boy, I have studied these conditions with immediate personal interest.

Holding Their Attention?

Early in my work with the attentionally challenged, I observed that if the learning activity were engaging enough, many of these students could hold attention for long periods. Special Education students diagnosed with ADD or ADHD often have the ability to attend for long periods working with computers or video games. I wondered, could the problem lie more in the pace of the learning activity?

Give Them What They Need

Subsequently, I began to provide activities in my classroom that had some of the same qualities of the immediate response achieved in those computerized attention-holders. One of the most successful of these was the excavation of fossils.

The Setup

Fossil excavation was a 6-week class - more of a club, really - in which students excavated a real fossil fish from a soft rock matrix. This time the class was made up of many special education students with various learning challenges, especially ADHD. The outcome of the class was remarkable.

Getting Their Interest and Attention

We started with a sort of guessing game involving fossils hidden in velvet bags and moved quickly into individual excavation of the fossils. Within minutes, my work was done; the students worked independently for the remainder of the two-hour class. My hardest work that day was to enforce clean-up-the students simply didn’t’ t want to stop working.

Tools And Supplies

The only tools needed for this activity were small screw drivers-the sort that are available from any hardware store in a set of increasing sizes beginning with an eye-glass tool . I also provided magnifiers of varying types. The most sought after were the dissecting microscopes, which gave the individual the best view of the fragile fossil. However, much of the work could be easily accomplished using the naked eye or a magnifier in a stand, just to leave the hands free.

And Then There Are the Behavioral Challenges

I was presented with a new challenge about halfway into the second class: a behaviorally disruptive student who had been removed from another class. I did what I could to introduce him to our work and bring him up to speed. His initial work was little more than digging a hole through his rock, paying little attention to the fossil it contained.

Success!

Then a wonderful thing happened. Another boy, a challenging special education student who generally had little academic success, began to teach. You see, this boy was enthralled with digging out the fossil and he was having incredible success. He single-handedly took over and my work was done.

Students Give Rave Reviews, Almost

The final endorsement came at the end of our 6-week class. Throughout the period, I had rarely interrupted their work, but I had shown a couple of videos to give the students some additional detail about fossil preservation and excavation, geologic history and so on. At the last class, I asked the students to verbally evaluate the class. When I asked how I could improve the class, all agreed: Only show the videos if we can continue excavating our fossils during it!

This is a true story of success. In this six-week project middle school children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD and receiving special education services enjoyed the same success, if not more than, the other students.

Even the most absorbing tool, the TV, was not high on these students’ list of significant work. As a teacher, I felt I had been given a great gift of learning about how to support these special students. I encourage you to try it!

Claudia Mann is a teacher and contributor to www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com where you will find fossil lesson plans and activities for your classroom or home school setting. She and her husband own www.fossilicious.com. This is the place to find all the fossils needed for the lessons at prices teachers can afford.

One of the things commonly at the bottom of the list of priorities whilst budgeting for a college education is health insurance for students. Broadly Speaking, most students don’t worry about medical insurance. When you are in your 20’s you will tend to think that you will be around forever and you’ll never develop illness.

Unfortunately, this is seldom true no matter how fit a person might seem. The correct medical insurance is not merely a great plan, it’s utterly essential. Those fortunate to be included in their parent’s insurance policy are in general included up until they are twenty three. For those who do not have insurance cover through their family plan, exploring an appropriate student health insurance plan should be an integral part of getting ready for school.

What should a student look out for in a plan for college students? Deductibles: A deductible is essentially an annual amount you must pay before any health benefits start kicking in, akin to a car insurance policy. For example, should your deductible be 500 dollars, 500 dollars must be paid before getting financial benefits associated with your insurance.

What precisely does co-pay entail? When your deductible is met, virtually all insurance policies ask you to contribute a part of the cost for each doctor’s visit, medicinal drug or operation. That, put simply, is co-pay.

What’s your area of coverage? Most plans are Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) or Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). In essence this can mean certain doctors may possibly be excluded from your list of health professionals or not be included by the medical insurance plan. In general all policies include a directory of participating providers, before making a decision please look into this carefully. Catastrophic coverage: There may be a limit on health insurance plans designed for students particularly with regard to more serious illness, the coverage provided in most student health insurance is by and large lower than any standard insurance plan. And what are the limits? Limits are very common in many college student medical insurance. It’s important to study any insurance policy carefully to find out what may and may not be included in the insurance policy. Have any medical insurance details in your wallet everywhere. It is not just not possible to anticipate an accident or an illness, they’re also likely to occur when it is least expected. Make sure to be acquainted with the parameters specific to your health insurance policy, whether you’re included with your parents or you have taken your own choice of insurance.

On October 4, 1957, Russia launches the first artificial satellite in history - Sputnik. To many Americans this is a shocking event. Few days later Werner von Braun, America’s leading rocket scientist, says in an interview: “We consider the control of space around the earth much like, shall we say, the great Maritime powers consider the control of the seas in the 16th through the 18th Century, and they say if we want to control this planet, we have to control the space around it”. Dr. Werner von Braun is a German engineer who created the V-2 rocket for Hitler in World War II, he now works for the US Army. For years, von Braun has dreamed of exploring space. And many people think that he brought America to the Moon. But this is not true. Now I’m going to tell you what I’ve learned.

In the 1950s, a tiny group of engineers was already planning trips to the moon. They were called the Space Task Group - visionaries dreaming remarkable dreams that conceived and directed the nation’s first human-in-space program. They were the people who had to analyze and decide how to go to the moon.

The most basic decision that should be made is about the flight. There are two possibilities. The first, Direct Ascent, uses a single rocket to send a spacecraft to the moon. It’s the way people have always imagined going. But sending the spacecraft all that way will take an enormous rocket, larger than the Statue of Liberty - a monster called “NOVA.” Werner von Braun suggests a different way - Earth Orbit Rendezvous (EOR). EOR uses two smaller rockets. One sends up the spacecraft. The other sends up the fuel. The astronauts rendezvous with the fuel tank, fill up their spacecraft, and head for the moon. Direct Ascent is simple, but needs a huge rocket. Earth Orbit Rendezvous uses smaller rockets, but it’s more complicated. Picking the mode will be the most critical decision in the Apollo program, because it determines everything: the spacecraft, the rocket, the training, budget, and schedule. The wrong choice means losing to the Russians, and maybe not reaching the moon at all. The answer was one nobody expected. The engineer who lobbied for it was an outsider - he didn’t belong to the Space Task Group and never worked for von Braun. Almost no one welcomed the idea, but he never gave up. The story of his struggle is largely unknown, but the plan he promoted got America to the moon. His name is Dr. John C. Houbolt.
In 1959, Houbolt says that both plans, Direct Ascent and Earth Orbit Rendezvous, will fail, because of the enormous rocket needed:
“It was a vehicle about the size of an Atlas. Down at the Cape, it takes 3000 men, a launch pad, and a launch facility to get an Atlas off the ground from the earth. They were going to land something the size of an Atlas on the moon, backwards, with no help whatsoever. I thought that was preposterous”.

More information about John Houbolt - The Man Who Brought America to the Moon.

The author - Alexander Popski, is a publisher in World’s History.

Nursing Degrees Online are truly beneficial and suitable for every pocket. Know the details of the program fees, online courses, online class methods and various other factors to become a successful and professional nurse.

General introduction

With the hype of computers spreading rapidly, earning an online nursing degree is becoming more and more popular. But you need to know various things before you launch into this nursing degrees online course. To begin with you should know how to search for a proper online school. This requires just a simple yet thorough search in the Internet. You can place the keyword “Associated Degree in Online Nursing” in the popular search engines to get the name of all types of online nursing programs in every part of the world.

The other things that you need to know when you are aspiring for nursing degrees online are the nature of the program. The degree programs can either be pace program or one that works in semesters. Find out when you can start with this nursing degrees online plan. Some online programs have rolling environment, which means that you can start them or end them at any time. Make sure that you have an academic adviser who can advise you to plan your course of studies. The advisor can also help keep you on track, connect you with other students and coordinate your clinical theory with those of practical classes.

Online classes

It is very important to know how these online classes work? There are various ways as the instructor posts lecture materials and assignments in the particular website and there is also a bulletin board along with discussion forums to reply to the questions placed by the students. For many of this nursing degree by Internet courses, there are written course works that takes the place of traditional examinations and the result is also published online.

Benefits of nursing degrees online programs

The benefits of nursing degrees online are listless. Through this process of nursing degrees online the nurses are provided with the option of learning online and earn an advanced degree at home, while completing the coursework at their own convenience. This saves a lot on travel time and money. You should take specified information on whether you need a Bachelor of Science in Nursing [RN to BSN] degree to enjoy administrative rights in the profession or you want a Master’s Degree in Nursing to qualify yourself for a larger number of career opportunities in the health care industry.

Last but not the least, you should know about the cost of fees of the nursing degrees online programs. A thorough search of different programs will help you find what is most affordable and perfect course for you.

We offer the best nursing degrees info source. Find it only on the Nursing Degree Plan Guide. Find more nursing degrees info on http://www.leandernet.com

Mechanical engineering is rightly considered to be the most comprehensive of all the varied engineering areas of study, and with a degree, you have many mechanical engineering vacancies to pick from. Industries may include power and heating, cooling systems, and also the planning and maintenance of air-conditoning; car design, plant engineering science; highly pressurized vessels and piping. Roles may be as varied as roles in business planning, administrative or supervisory roles, and production operations in agriculture or manufacturing. Just how much can an engineer hope to make? According to a mechanical engineering salary study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a job in mechanical engineering may often tender an income ranging from $40K per year to as high as $93,000, your education and on the job experience being determining factors. An additional factor which may affect your wage is the sector of engineering you opt for. How can I discover a vacancy in my field of choice? A current and well-rounded resume is a necessity. When you have optimized your CV to highlight your experience and education, it’s now time to take a deep breath and get out there. How can I find roles in mechanical engineering? Employment fairs: The engineering science faculty in your university will receive details relating to local job fairs. These events can give you the chance to meet the people responsible for hiring. Internships: Any university can offer support with internship positions. Graduating scholars are frequently employed by firms in which they had an internship, and can also improve your chances of a greater salary.

Join groups: Involvement in industry groups or going to meetings opens up the chance of not just learning much more concerning engineering, but in addition it gives you an opportunity establish a network.

Utilize the papers: Engineering firms publish adverts in the papers just like any other business. Check often; send your CV; follow through. The trick is perseverance. Make use of the internet: Look for the big recruitment websites online and post a curriculum vitae. Log onto the LinkedIn web site, make a portfolio and make new engineering contacts online. Take advantage of the internet to ramp up the hunt for the ideal position.

Getting a job requires perseverance and networking. Make sure your details and resume are out there; do not omit following up every last lead; make best use of the internet to make new engineering contacts, take the time to establish a portfolio. These actions can help you get the position you really want.

To learn more, we suggest you hop over to this excellent webpage for mechanical engineering jobs info!

Are you interested in a career in integrative health and wellness? Integrative health and wellness training and educational programs that are offered at holistic, traditional, and alternative medicine schools to practicing healthcare professionals may include but are not limited to a comprehensive curriculum including courses in acupuncture; chiropractic care; Chinese medicine; conventional medicine; nutritional counseling; and stress management classes.

Part of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); integrative health and wellness educational courses offer learning platforms based on the whole person. Teaching mind-body medicine and disease prevention coursework, integrative health and wellness programs provide diverse treatment classes and training that combine alternative, complementary and conventional medicine that promote natural healing.

Integrative health and wellness training institutions may offer certification in graduate-level courses to health care professionals who wish to expand their medicine expertise. While integrative health and wellness courses vary in curriculum, length and cost, it is always best to check with specific educational institutions to find the learning program that best fits your particular needs.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com

Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved

C. Bailey-Lloyd in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc. for SchoolsGalore.com

C. Bailey-Lloyd is the Public Relations’ Director for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Find Integrative Health and Wellness at SchoolsGalore.com; meeting your needs as your educational resource to locate schools

Going for an online MBA means that you are wanting further training in an Accounting field - probably for some kind of management position, or for a managerial enhancement. The opportunities to pursue the accounting MBA online can be accomplished through different methods. Here is the skinny on an online MBA in accounting.

There are basically two ways to go online with an online education, one enables you to take the classes at your own leisure; and the other way is to take the classes in a real time situation by going online and logging in to the classroom. While the first method permits you to study at your own leisure, the second is traditional in its time requirements.

Make Sure of Accreditation

Unless you only desire to take a couple of classes, it is a real good idea to look thoroughly at the accreditation of the University offering the MBA. Many schools today only have the appearance of being real - especially the online ones, that you do not want to take any chances with so expensive an education. You do not want to make any assumptions, either.

Courses of Study

The MBA in Accounting courses offer a degree of specialization, as it should. One area that you want to look for, as it is in high demand today, and will only get bigger in the near future, is in the accounting information systems. Many organizations are developing business information systems (also called knowledge management), that deal with purchasing, online transactions - from their clients, etc. This means that you might not want to take courses that meet only the general MBA requirements, but you may want to look toward the future.

Other up-to-date courses should involve such things as advanced techniques in costing, information systems of accounting, strategic planning, information management, corporate taxation, budgeting, and more.

Finish With Certification

Your hard-earned MBA should lead you to be able to be certified. A quality University will meet the minimum state requirements that will lead to certification in one of the following possibilities: certified public accountant (CPA); certified management accounting (CMA); and certified in financial management (CFM) or chartered financial analyst (CFA) certification. While one school may not provide all of them, it should allow for you to meet the requirements for one, or more.

Mansi aggarwal recommends that you visit Online MBA in Accounting for more information.

Heading Toward a Long-term, Systemic Solution

A Boston Globe editorial stated that for “40 years, study after study on grade retention has reached the same conclusion: Failing a student, particularly in the critical ninth grade year, is the single largest predictor of whether he or she drops out” (Edley, 2002). The editorial goes on to state that “widespread retention further exacerbates the achievement gap: In Massachusetts, for example, across all grades, African-American and Hispanics are retained at over three times the rate of whites” (Edley, 2002).

According to research (Anderson, Jimerson and Whipple, 2002; NASP, 2003; Jimerson, Anderson and Whipple, 2002; Stenovich, 1994), some of the devastating effects of retention are:

- Most children do not “catch up” when held back.

- Although some retained students do better at first, these children often fall behind again in later grades.

- Retention is one of the most powerful predictors of high school dropout; holding a child back twice makes dropping out of school 90% certain.

- In 2001, 6th grade students ranked grade retention as the most stressful life event, followed by losing a parent and going blind.

- Students who are held back tend to get into trouble, dislike school, and feel badly about themselves more often than children who go on to the next grade.

- The weakened self-esteem that usually accompanies retention plays a role in how well the child may cope in the future.

Far too many students simply give up on school, largely because they feel that their schools have already given up on them. Even our special education services are failure-based. “The current system uses an antiquated model that waits for a child to fail, instead of a model based on prevention and intervention ” (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 2002).

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

So What Can We Do?

Many advocate for early identification of student needs in order to apply appropriate instructional strategies (Anderson, Whipple and Jimerson, 2002; U. S. Department of Education, 2002; Lyon and Fletcher, 2001; Lyon, 2002). That is clearly a step in the right direction.

But not all teachers are effective at identifying student needs and applying instructional strategies that are the most appropriate for student needs. A study conducted by Sanders and Rivers (1996) examined the cumulative and residual effects of teachers on student achievement and found a wide chasm between the impact on student achievement by effective teachers and ineffective teachers. Equally performing second graders were separated by as many as 50 percentile points on standardized tests by the time they reached fifth grade solely as a result of being taught by teachers whose effectiveness varied greatly.

The study was based on Tennessee’s “value-added” testing system that maintained year-to-year test records on every student in the public school system and matched students to their teachers. Teachers were divided into three groups - low, average, and high - based on their students’ performance. The results showed the dramatic effect of good teaching on student achievement in two urban districts. There was a sharp difference in performance between students who had three teachers rated “low” and three teachers who were rated “high” during a three-year period. Although students in one of the urban systems performed at a higher level than the other, the pattern of “teacher-added value” was evident in both systems. The study also found that African American students were about twice as likely to be assigned ineffective teachers.

What We Now Know

What action can we take to ensure that all teachers are functioning at a level that optimizes the highest levels of student learning?

Scientific research from multiple fields is allowing us to understand how learning takes place, what it looks like when it isn’t, and which interventions or instructional strategies will result in the greatest impact on student learning. Evidence-based research, for example, has found new ways to help young children become proficient readers. Over the last ten years, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has conducted extensive scientific reading research studies. To date, 42,062 children have been included in these studies at 44 sites across the United States. The reading research sites are classrooms in public schools, including inner city, high poverty, high-risk schools. In even the most difficult inner city, high-risk schools in cities such as Washington D.C., Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle, at the end of five years of intensive teacher training on how to deliver scientific evidence-based reading instruction, 94 to 96% of all third graders were reading on grade level. Prior to this intervention, approximately 70% of the third graders the Washington D.C. schools were reading below grade level. The research studies include a strong emphasis on teacher coursework, observation, consultation, and collaboration. (Thomas, 2002)

Yet this new knowledge is not being utilized by every district, every school, and every teacher in every classroom. Thus, it is critical to promote these new methods throughout the education system.

Transferring and translating the knowledge gained in studies into scientifically based classroom practices is a complex undertaking. Effective teaching that leaves no child behind requires teachers to have a skill set that is tremendously intricate, sophisticated and based upon converging scientific evidence. Highly effective teachers continually monitor pupil progress and then design (and re-design) lessons that meet the specific, individualized needs of each student (Lyon and Thomas, 2003; Bennett and Rolheiser, 2001). Teachers, therefore, must be provided with state-of-the-art ongoing, continuous professional development delivered by experts. Teacher learning at the school level must be carefully supported by a consistent and systematic flow of correct information and instruction from experts, especially in low performing schools, in order to prevent the dissemination of misinformation in these groups.

If we know that teacher quality makes a decided difference in the quality of student learning, it seems both logical and ethical to focus investments in improving teacher quality across the board. State-, district- and school-wide intense professional development for current teachers and ongoing comprehensive redesign of university teacher preparation for aspiring teachers should become our strategic priorities.

The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) has developed and revised a set of standards for staff development that is directly linked to increased student achievement (NSDC, 2001). The standards provide a framework for ensuring that staff development is responsive to the needs of educators and their students. NSDC groups the standards around context, process and content.

The NSDC standards move away from workshop “sit and get” staff development models and into serious learning. The reason is straightforward: workshops by themselves do not get the results we desire (Joyce and Showers, 2002). To reach maximum effectiveness, a staff development model must include both presentation and follow-up support in order to ensure improvement. Follow-up must be planned and adequately funded. According to NSDC, some experts believe that 50% of the resources set aside for staff development initiatives should be directed to follow-up.

Options for follow-up support include coaching, modeling and demonstration lessons, peer visits, collegial support groups, mentoring study groups, and audio taping or video taping learners. Follow up strategies enable teachers to focus on the new skills and their impact on students, and move from skill attainment on an imitative or re-synthesizing level to extendible, manipulable, and innovative levels that allow them to problem-solve real time, real world, unpredictable problems that occur in classrooms filled with diverse learners (Joyce and Showers, 2002.)

The differences in the three levels of impact in the chart below, as they apply to a training model, are thus: Level I - Understanding Concepts; Level II - Skill Attainment (can follow a recipe); and Level III - Application of Innovative Problem Solving (able to change the recipe like a master chef to fit the needs of diverse students).

Paul Pastorek, former president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, sums it up: “Research says the most important link to student success is having highly knowledgeable and skilled teachers in the classroom. We have not provided our teachers with enough information on how children learn and what it takes to learn to read. Equipping teachers with that new knowledge will allow them to reap the rewards they want for the children they teach.” (Thomas, 2002).

Dennis Sparks, NSDC’s executive director, issued a challenge in 2002: Within five years, all teachers will have access to high quality professional development. If it is to be met, the challenge will require active commitment and support from educators, policy makers, parents, and community members alike.

But we cannot stop there. In order to be successful, and in order to sustain and institutionalize our efforts, leadership that understands and provides the context and infrastructure necessary for teacher and student success must be developed at the university, district, school and classroom levels. If leaders are to cultivate a deep understanding of the complex conditions that must be in place to develop such a model, they must also be involved in learning the complexities of what teachers must master.

Michael Fullan argues that this will require that school principals reach beyond instructional leadership. “Some school districts have embraced the development and support of the school principal as instructional leader (Fink & Resnick, 2001), but despite these good beginnings, the principal as instructional leader is too narrow a concept to carry the weight of the reforms that we need for the future. We need, instead, leaders who can create a fundamental transformation in the learning cultures of schools and the teaching profession itself” (Fullan, 2002a).

Fullan (2002b) also cautions that school leadership must become change leaders, and clarifies that being a change leader is very different from being a content expert: “There is a difference between being an expert in the content of an innovation vs. being an expert in the change process. In other words, it is possible to be a leading expert in literacy for example, while being a disaster as a change agent in getting it implemented. In our training we teach people about the process of change - how to understand and work with ‘the implementation dip’, the importance of developing relationships with others not so committed to the idea, how not to get frustrated by overload and the pace of change, etc. Understanding the vicissitudes of the change process is a key to working on large scale change.”

It seems, then, that in order to dramatically reduce grade retention, remedial services, referrals to special education and school dropout rates, we must build the both the teacher and leadership capacity that is necessary for widespread implementation of scientific, research-based instruction that we know works in the classroom. Thus, the objectives:

- Identify and put into place all critical contextual conditions necessary to implement research-based instruction that we know works in the classroom.

- Develop, implement, test and refine models that will guide both preservice education and training for teachers as well as continuing education for teachers currently serving students in the classroom.

- Develop, implement, test and refine models for building educational leaders at the university/college level, the district level, the school level and the classroom level.

Time is ticking. With children’s lives at stake, and especially our most vulnerable children, we cannot afford to keep doing business as usual. We know too much to leave even one child behind.

Teachers and school leaders need, want and deserve to have the support and tools they need to produce optimum success in their classrooms. With serious focus and resolve, we must pick up the gauntlet and accept Dennis Sparks’ challenge to ensure that all educators in all schools will experience high quality professional development by 2007. Highly effective, highly equipped teachers in every classroom can fundamentally wipe away the need for even a discussion on grade retention and special education services based on failure.

References are available at http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/retention_solution.php?type=subject&id=17.

Alice Thomas, M.Ed. is the President and CEO of the Center for Development and Learning, a nonprofit organization that specializes in the development and dissemination of research, knowledge, and best practices that impact teaching and learning.