Quality teachers, parental involvement and good school-based leadership often play important roles in a student?s success in the classroom.
“Children who are in an educationally rich environment often participate in activities outside of school, including trips to the museum, camps and after-school programs,” said Paul Reville, a lecturer and co-director of the Education Policy and Management program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
He said quality teachers help student achievement by “continuously improving their teaching practice.”
“In this era of standards-based education reform, teachers are spending a lot of time on professional development, sharing strategies on what?s working in the classroom,” Reville said.
He also said schools should have “strong expert leadership,” that includes principals and other administrators committed to helping teachers improve their teaching methods.
Sharon Lynch, professor of curriculum and instruction at The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development in Washington, said that to ensure students? success, there must be “teachers who care about the children, know what they?re teaching and believe that children can do well.”
Lynch said schools also need principals who recruit and retain quality teachers.
“They have to mentor them and support them in the classroom,” she said.
A school system that has a good organizational structure is also important.
“I see young teachers moving from place to place, and they tell me, ?This particular county has a good organizational structure,? ” Lynch said.
Research shows that quality teachers and parental involvement have a “huge impact” on student achievement, but Cheryl Greenberg, assistant director of the Teachers? Academy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, said teachers must get to know their students.
“We should have a sensitivity to diversity among students … because no two people are the same,” she said.
