Heathwood Hall is a private K-12 school in Columbia, S.C., which joined the Coalition of Essential Schools in 1987 and is about to graduate its first senior class under a system of mastery, not Carnegie units. The principles of the Coalition worked for this independent school. Each public school also received funds for staff development, aided by teachers from Heathwood Hall. For Sandy Nay, a teacher at one of the public schools, the collaboration spelled greater success for her students. They are more active learners, they take more responsibility for their own learning.
Success is best when it is shared.
The teachers at the Goals 2000 Teacher Forum know their craft well. They recognize excellent teaching, spot successful learning at high levels, recognize the road blocks in front of them and their students, are willing to share what they know with colleagues, and want more than anything to continue to be good teachers. But they are also well aware that being a good teacher has meant the need for them to overcome a lot of obstacles. These obstacles are often the result of local, state and federal policy initiatives that do not incorporate the crucial voice of teachers. It is a tragic loss for American education that these teachers, with so much to give, also believe they are not taken seriously.