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I'm hoping this will be the start of more focused studies on how teachers' expertise develops over the course of their careers, and what that means for students. For example, one of the standards for National Board Certification is the teacher's ability to reflect on his/her work and make necessary adjustments and set goals for professional growth. Certainly, educators can and should be lifelong learners ourselves. Highly accomplished teaching cannot be completely taught in teacher preparation, nor achieved immediately in the classroom.

In too many high needs schools, there has been a mistaken attack on veteran teachers en masse as cause of low achievement, rather than looking more closely at the individual performance and skills of teachers. Veteran teachers in a school also bring a wealth of cultural knowledge about the community, and a valuable historical perspective on what has/has not worked in the way of edreform in that school. High needs schools tend to have been through many cycles of reforms, programs, and interventions---many of them unsuccessful--which is one reason veteran teachers are often perceived as resistant to change. They are often just being protective of students. That resolve and dedication can be an invaluable tool in real school reform, if teachers are actually involved in its development, not just subjected to it.