The Center on Education Policy recently released the results of a study on boys' and girls' proficiency in math and reading. The study analyzed data from state achievement tests for students at elementary, middle, and high-school levels. The good news for girls is that they have caught up with boys and are performing, in general, about as well as boys in math.

When it comes to reading, girls are out-performing boys. While that is great news for girls, it is bad news for boys. Boys' reading scores trailed in every state that supplied data. And this gender gap in reading performance is neither new nor unique to the United States. A 2005 article in The Washington Post noted that British education professor Stephen Gorard analyzed scores from twenty-two countries and found that the reading gap exists in all twenty-two.

Studies have shown--and parents and teachers concur--that boys are less likely to read and comprehend stories (unless they are full of adventure and suspense), and are more likely to read and absorb informational texts such as newspapers and magazines.

That is why we at Reading A-Z offer such a variety of leveled titles--both nonfiction and fiction--for independent reading, with new titles added every month. We want to ensure that teachers and parents have access to great tools to help both boys and girls become proficient readers.

It's been a year since the stimulus packaged was passed into legislation, and Education Week recently asked school administrators Charlotte Vann and Charlene Green to participate in a Web Chat Forum to discuss how monies have been put to work in their districts.

Since the money is a one-time deal, both Vann, who is the Director of Special Education and Federal Programs from Conway Public Schools in Arkansas, and Green, the Deputy Superintendent, Student Support Services, in Las Vegas, Nevada, agreed that it was important to invest in programs that are sustainable.

Said Vann, "One of the largest impacts for us has been our ability to provide extensive professional development--which also leads to sustainability--and allows us to impact students today and tomorrow." Green added that they were able to impact a large number of students by reducing class size and adding literacy interventions, dropout-prevention programs, and RTI. Vann and Green also answered questions about how their districts handled funding for Title I, ELL, and homeschooling programs.

I particularly liked what Charlotte Vann stated in closing--that teacher morale is higher. Facilities have been improved with renovation funds, professional development has helped teachers acquire new skills and techniques, and technology is being updated--all helping them enhance their students' ability to learn.

And I think that's very good news.

Some teachers become leaders within their profession after years of work--after mastering the best teaching methodologies, the best ways to work with their colleagues and administrators, and the best ways to shape their young charges' learning. But until recently, no leadership certificate was offered in university education programs. If tomorrow's teacher leaders are to be a vital part of our schools' improvement, we should be training them now to fulfill that role.

Teacher Magazine recently interviewed Tanya Judd Pucella, (a member of their Teacher Leaders Network) in their free, subscription-based e-newsletter. In 2007, Judd Pucella, a National Board certified teacher and assistant professor of leadership and education at Ohio's Marietta College, instituted a new program at Marietta's McDonough Center for Leadership and Business--an undergraduate certificate in Teacher Leadership. In addition to studying various leadership theories and behaviors, the students also practice leadership skills such as team building, facilitation, goal setting, communication, and project planning.

New teachers certainly need to spend their early years honing their classroom abilities and becoming effective teachers, but they can also use those years modeling the skills that will help them become leaders down the road. Judd Pucella said, "My students invariably come to the quick conclusion that while all teacher leaders are effective teachers, not all effective teachers are teacher leaders. To be a teacher leader one must do more--you must stand up for what is best for all students."

She says that her students identify other leadership traits, such as advocacy skills, the ability to analyze professional literature, an awareness of some key issues and trends in the field (such as the impact of NCLB), a knowledge of how to give constructive feedback to peers, and an understanding of how to be a successful peer coach.

Judd Pucella related how Meg, one of the first program graduates, returned as a guest speaker. She'd been able to utilize some of the leadership skills she'd learned in college in her first year of teaching. "Her proficiency in both technology and content-area reading strategies and her understanding of how to share these tools with more veteran teachers in a non-threatening way had established her as an informal leader. Meg also actively sought out an effective teacher-mentor to assist her, using her 'followership' skills to improve the experience in her classroom for herself and her students."

Judd Pucella said that Meg's principal had noticed her good work and asked her to take over the media center, which needed much repair. "He felt she'd done such a great job as a reading instructor and was so good with technology that she would be an excellent choice."

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "A leader is a dealer in hope." New teacher leaders like Meg certainly give me hope that the future of education is in fine hands.