Teachers' voices are often overlooked or missing from the school reform discourse. While teachers unions remain powerful, individual teachers frequently feel as though reform remains "top down" and has limited relevance or applicability to their own classrooms except in abstract ways. Each new federal administration and every state board of education has ideas about what should be happening in schools.

Below are three websites that discuss teachers and their roles in educational decision-making. After you read these, reflect on what you think teachers' roles should be, both onsite and in the larger political realm, as far as educational agendas. Think about the benefits and disadvantages of greater participation in governance. If you're interested, you can then check out the site with State Boards of Education and see what you can find out about getting involved.

• Time for Teachers in School Restructuring
  ( http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/SysReforms/cambone1.html )



• The Role of Teachers in Urban School Reform
  ( http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-1/reform.html )



• Dimensions of Teacher Empowerment: Identifying New Roles for Classroom Teachers in Restructuring Schools [An Abstract]
  ( http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED405304&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED405304 )



• National Association of State Boards of Education
  ( http://www.nasbe.org/ )