It's hard to not be impressed by the remarkable stories of the 2010 Met Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools. I've been hearing the stories for months, but they take on a new power when I hear them directly from the principal--which isw exactly what I'n honored to be doing at this 2:30 session.

Pretty neat format for this session. We just heard from Judy Marty, principal at Mater Academy Charter School in Florida. The theme--high expectations for students, for teachers, for parents, for everyone involved in the kids' education. After the brief presentation, we do 15 minutes of table talk around the theme with a Breakthrough principal at each table. It's going over big. Principals have a chance to engage in genuine professional conversation with their peers across the nation. And from the sound of things, the principals are getting a lot out of it.

SchoolTube did a great video on these schools.