Special education teacher Anthony Mullen was named National Teacher of the Year last spring. Subscribers to Teacher Magazine's free e-newsletter can read the interview  with him. He's an interesting guy--he came to teaching after serving as a police officer for two decades. Through his work with the New York police department, he worked with many troubled youths that, said Mullen, were "destined for prison unless they received the benefits of a quality education and positive adult role models." He wanted to be that role model and went back to school to earn a master's degree in elementary education and special education.

During his yearlong sabbatical, he'll travel the country to bring greater public awareness to the dropout crisis. Says Tony, "More than one million students will drop out of school this year . . . and that's a travesty." His well-written blog  chronicles his travels around the country, where he is talking to educators about this important issue. Covering topics such as teen suicide and teachers who feel marginalized by their lack of inclusion in the national standards discussions, he also reports poignant stories that others have shared with him.

This is well worth the read.