Building the Capacity of Principals and Teacher-Leaders to Implement Effective School and Classroom Practices.

Great leaders make great schools. The most successful school leaders create a school climate of high achievement and continuous improvement, give teachers a voice in decision-making, use data to drive curriculum and instruction, and assure students and parents that everyone at the school is focusing on student success. They know what is going on in classrooms and support teachers' efforts to learn new instructional strategies. This issue of "High Schools That Work" contains the following articles: (1) District Conducts Instructional Rounds to Gain Momentum in Raising Student Achievement (Heather Williams); (2) Some 7,500 Diplomas Later: What One Principal Has Learned About Leading an Effective School (Paul Browning); (3) Superintendent Stretches the Dollar in Tough Economic Times (Neil Leist); (4) Effective Instructional Leaders Find Time for What Matters Most (Beth Green and Sandra Ellington); (5) National Campaign Increases Support for CTE (Erin Uy); (6) Increasing Achievement by Building Relationships in a Mentoring Program (Peter Joenks and Jean Davis); (7) Teacher-Leaders Are Vital for Continuous School Improvement (Jeremy Kuhlman); (8) What Great Teachers Do Differently (Todd Whitaker); (9) Improving Education Through the Arts (Pamela Walker Millice and Darby Jones); (10) Data Analysis Reveals That Many More Students Are Ready for Algebra in the Eighth Grade (Elaine Hanzer and Patches Jacobs); (11) Get Ready, Get Set, Go: One School District's Plan for Raising Achievement (Tom Townsend and Grace Thomas); (12) Using Instructional Rounds to Improve Teaching and Learning (Christine Howard and Dan Camburn); and (13) Automating Walkthroughs to Improve Data Collection and Monitor Progress (Michael Curley).