Schools that defy the odds: No secret recipe but there are common and essential ingredients

Schools that defy the odds: No secret recipe but there are common and essential ingredients

This is an excellent article. I really like the idea of having retired teachers as mentors for new teachers. The retired teacher is not part of the system and has no impact on the new teacher's evaluation, therefore making the mentor non-threatening. I think this would really raise the level of acceptance from the new teachers. I also like that the article talks about Principals trusting their staff and being able to pick them. Micromanaging helps no one! There are principals in Cobb who need to hear that. But, on the same hand, some great principals, like Griffin Middle School's Darryl York, need to have a greater level of responsibility in choosing staff he can trust. People often blame Unions, like CCAE/GAE for protecting bad teachers. Not true, we, as teachers ourselves, dislike bad teachers too. Believe me, there is nothing that boils my blood as much as a bad teacher, but we do believe everyone deserves their legal right to due process. So tell me what you think...