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Executive Director's Notebook

Results: What's in a Name?

by Dennis Sparks
RESULTS - September 1997

"If you want to know what development I need, ask first, What results are expected of me," management consultant Peter Drucker observes. Results, the title of NSDC's newly-created newsletter, emphasizes the importance the Council places on high levels of learning for all students, teachers, and other staff members.

Student learning has long been a priority at NSDC. For many years, "ensuring success for all students" has been the opening phrase of NSDC's mission statement. NSDC publications and speakers at the Council's annual conference have emphasized the importance of linking staff development to student learning.

The time has come, however, for the Council to underscore its commitment to high levels of learning for all students and staff. One way of making our point was to rename and refocus The Developer, NSDC's oldest newsletter. The changes you see here, though, are more than cosmetic; they focus on providing you with the very best information available on the strategies and practices that produce results for students.

What exactly are the results that NSDC most cares about?

• We want schools to provide high levels of learning for all students, particularly in core academics.
• We want every student to have a competent teacher.
• We want each teacher to have the preparation, professional development, and ongoing support that facilitates teaching competence.
• We recognize that all of this requires a new and better form of professional learning.

Council publications have described this new form of professional development. It is standards based, results driven, and job embedded. It focuses on changing the structures and processes in which educators work. It provides the knowledge and skills required to educate all students to high levels.

While various kinds of professional learning are important and even essential, staff development that has as its goals high levels of learning and performance from all students and staff members invests the vast majority of its resources on the content knowledge, instructional skills, and attitudes that lead to that learning and performance. This new form of staff development will be focused, rigorous, sustained, and involve virtually all teachers virtually all of the time.

Schools that educate all student at high levels are likely to be different than they are today. Standards for student learning, teaching, and staff development will inform decision making in district offices and schools. Teachers will have more time on a daily basis for their own learning and to work with colleagues.

Given our high expectations for schools, it is reasonable and fair for NSDC to consider how it needs to redesign itself to support high levels of performance for all students and staff members. Results is but one of changes you will see in the months and years ahead in our publications and other services as the Council seeks more powerful ways to support you in meeting the challenges you face.

You can expect Results and other NSDC publications to provide you with the ideas, research, and theory you need to create these new schools. In addition to timely information, we will bring you stories about schools and school systems that are finding success and link you to others who are well along in the journey.

As Peter Drucker reminds us, the first step in planning is to ask what results you wish to achieve. All else flows from that. NSDC encourages you to aspire to high levels of learning for all students and staff members. While these aspirations may seem difficult or even impossible to achieve, VISA founder Dee Hock points out that, "It is no failure to fall short of realizing all that we might dream. The failure is to fall short of dreaming all that we might realize."