Schools can set academic standards that will work in today’s educational climate, but a first step is agreeing what is meant by “excellent.” That was the message Andy Platt, an 11-year veteran of the classroom and senior consultant, Research for Better Teaching, said during his Assembly, “Confronting Mediocre Teaching.”

“If principals and schools don’t have a working agreement as to what constitutes excellent teaching, then setting standards just won’t happen,” Platt told the principals. When excellence is defined and communicated, standards can be set and teachers held accountable.

He defined an excellent teacher as one who—

Platt called upon principals to model providing excellent feedback to teachers. Most teachers rarely receive concrete information on their performance, and that is essential if they are to improve.

He also told principals that if they intend to turn around schools, they must deal with the “tough” as well as the “fun stuff.” He defined “fun stuff” as positive community building and working with young teachers while the tougher tasks deal with taking on sub par performance among teachers.

Further information from Platt can be obtained by emailing him at [email protected].