Cathie E. West's recent article for Principal Magazine, a publication of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, focuses on the effectiveness of a solid partnership between principals and superintendents. Cathie, author of Problem-Solving Tools & Tips for School Leaders, writes that "Strong leadership grows from dynamic, collaborative, and intentional interactions between superintendents and their principals."

Annette Breaux's poetry elicits knowing nods and smiles from teachers, while delivering everyday wisdom. Read below for a poem and strategy about the secret of motivation and inspiration.

To improve teaching and learning, principals must build a work culture that promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective responsibility. In High-Impact Leadership for High-Impact Schools: The Actions that Matter Most, Pam Salazar targets five areas for maximizing impact.

The single most important factor for a successful school is having an excellent teacher in every classroom. It is important that teachers are competent, caring and qualified. Hiring is important, but so too is developing a culture that supports and expects teacher growth and improvement.  Principals and other instructional leaders share responsibility for cultivating such an environment. How can they accomplish this?

Angela Maiers and Amy Sandvold (via Skype), co-authors of The Passion-Driven Classroom: A Framework for Teaching & Learning spoke with educational bloggers and ASCD 2011 conference attendees about the power of passion in education. Eye On Education captured the conversations on video! Check out some of the clips below. You can see all ten Passion-Driven Conversations on YouTube.

Museums have made great strides in giving children and families the opportunity to get involved. Education programs are being created and expanded to help engage children, students, parents, and teachers with daily interactive tours and fun exercises to get all involved. A recent article in the online news journal, Education Week, reports that the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC received an $8 million donation from an anonymous private donor. This generous contribution will allow the museum to expand its national education program and build a 2,300 square foot education center to be located on the first floor of the historic main building. Aided by new technology, the center will include a state of the art video conferencing room that will serve as a meeting area for tours, seminars, and teaching workshops.

Vocabulary at the Center by Amy Benjamin and John T. Crow provides methods and activities that will help students acquire a vocabulary that lasts a lifetime. Read below for an excerpt from the book.

So let’s face it: teaching vocabulary in the traditional manner has not proven to be very successful. Students are given a list of words on Monday, asked to look them up and memorize them during the week, and given a test on Friday, a test that often includes the instructions to use some or all of the words in sentences. By the following Friday, students have “forgotten” most of the words that they “knew” the previous Friday.

Christopher Hitch and David Coley demystify the topic of school finance and show how to use the budgeting process as a key driver for reaching your school’s goals. They help school executives feel more comfortable talking about the school’s budget, the various resources available, and how the budget can be used as an effective instructional leadership tool. (This blog post is adapted from the book Executive Skills for Busy School Leaders.)

Myth: I should have a math, accounting, or a business background to be able to effectively build and run a budget.

Reality: There is absolutely no reason...

"Motivation: It's All About Me" is an article written by Eye On Education author Barbara Blackburn for Momentum, the official journal of the National Catholic Educational Association. The article was co-written by Abbigail Armstrong, an assistant professor at Winthrop University.

"Motivation: It's All About Me" provides evidence that students who see value in their work and experience success are more likely to be motivated learners. The article includes sections about seeing the value of learning, as well as applications for working with adults. The article also includes a Sample Feedback Card for teacher use...

This year, Earth Day takes place on Friday, April 22, 2011, marking its 40th anniversary. The first Earth Day took place in April 1970 and was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator in 1970, launched an organization in 1990 that took the holiday international. The Earth Day Network now coordinates Earth Day on a global scale.

The Washington Post featured an excerpt from Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers to Classroom Challenges by Larry Ferlazzo on The Answer Sheet blog, written by veteran education writer Valerie Strauss. The piece centers on school reform and talks about incentives and rewards in the education system. The research presented in the passage touches upon whether such schemes actually help or hinder students’ motivation.

Annette Breaux's poetry elicits knowing nods and smiles from teachers, while delivering everyday wisdom. Read below for a poem and strategy about how to find the good in each person.

Larry Ferlazzo was the special guest in a live text-based chat hosted by Education Week and moderated by Mary Ann Zehr, assistant editor of Education Week. The chat was titled "Helping Students Motivate Themselves," which is also the title of Larry's new book with Eye On Education. In the chat, Larry answered questions about techniques he uses in his classroom to help his students feel motivated to learn. Questions were submitted to Larry throughout the chat by

“For students, their physical environment is vital in their level of engagement. … It’s not that learning environment is everything, but it accomplishes much more than many in education give it credit for accomplishing.” The latter can be attributed to Heather Wolpert-Gawron (a.k.a. Tweenteacher), author of 'Tween Crayons and Curfews: Tips for Middle School Teachers. Read below for an example of how Wolpert-Gawron organizes her classroom and tips on how you might change yours.

In his book Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Together: Reflective Assessments for Elementary Classrooms, Arthur Ellis demonstrates how teaching, learning, and assessment are inseparable. Read below for a strategy that will lead to successful class discussions.

Deborah Blaz provides practical suggestions to help you engage your students in foreign language learning. In her book, Bringing the Standards for Foreign Language Learning to Life, she provides examples of over 90 classroom strategies and activities and links them all to the ACTFL Standards. Read below for a tip which works great to differentiate instruction.