There is considerable discussion on performance pay for teachers given that it is a cornerstone of the Obama administration's education policy. Arne Duncan has spent considerable time discussing the issue to reporters and in public forums. The NEA has weighed in on its resistance to the notion. But the administration has remained steadfast: performance pay will be part of the renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) regardless of the new name.

I was speaking with the superintendent of a mid-sized district in the Midwest this week. He is an old friend and someone I regard as an expert in education leadership and school leadership.  We had not had a chance to connect in some time. He was updating me on developments with a school administrator in his districts and we were sharing thoughts on all manner of tangentially related topics.

This past week we conducted focus groups with one of the school districts that participated in our Parent Engagement and Satisfaction Survey in December 2009 which highlighted some exemplary education leadership and school leadership practices. The focus groups included over 100 parents from eight different public schools including a mix of elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

“Response Fear” is a sometimes irrational skepticism of survey respondents who fear their loss of confidentiality. We can all imagine a scenario in which a feared school administrator (or a related school leadership position) uses survey data to explore the hearts and minds of his or her team.

Chapel Hill 7th and 8th Grade Center is a middle school on the west side of Indianapolis that was in need of a new school administrator. MSD of Wayne Township Superintendent Dr. Terry Thompson has overseen an impressive series of building initiatives which, most recently, included rebuilding the school into a state-of-the-art facility.

School leaders face many challenges in today's education environment. As educational leadership is just coming to grips with the accountability components of No Child Left Behind, our new administration promises to create even more requirements for public schools.

The school year has officially begun across Arizona and the rest of the country. Discussion topics have shifted from vacations and summer camp to homework, school leadership and new teachers. Parents (and most likely your school administrator) have suddenly found new enthusiasm for carefully comparing notes on everything from math curriculum to testing policies. Parents agonize at length about whether their child's teacher is the best match to the needs of their children. No detail regarding the school, teacher or curriculum is left unanalyzed.

I took my children to the first day of school yesterday morning. It was a new school for all of us and our proud and excited kindergartner’s first day of school ever. Despite having already met with the school administrator, I have to admit that I felt nervous as did my wife and second grader (the kindergartner was too excited to be nervous). We had moved to a new school and knew very little about what to expect. How did drop off occur? How did the little ones get, physically, to the classroom? Where we allowed to go with them? Where did the newly purchased supplies go?

Many of my clients are masters of educational leadership and, as such, are anxious to learn about how their teachers really feel. Principals typically feel as if they know whether teachers are generally pleased or not with their current lot. But, if their teachers are unhappy, just how unhappy are they? If their teachers are highly committed, how highly committed are they?

In my work with schools in the area of education leadership, I have seen all forms of resistance to change. In some groups of educators, their focus on the status quo is difficult to spot which make it difficult for school leadership and educational leadership whose focused is on implementing best practices in education. The untrained ear hears rational, logical arguments for current methodologies and current approaches. We can be quickly lulled into tranquility ... and loss of action.