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" For children growing up today, becoming a successful adult requires much more than mastering reading, writing and arithmetic. The requirements for success are very different in an era when work on a single project may involve several countries, languages and cultures. Success requires much more than "book learning... "

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" The purpose of high school is to ensure that all of our students leave ready for college, jobs and civic involvement. Our traditional, comprehensive high schools today look and feel much like they have for generations. However, the world our students will live and work in has changed dramatically... "

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"Twenty-two year old Louisa Brayton stepped before her class of 12 students to begin the first day of school. It was not only her first day but also the first day for all of her students and more importantly the first day of school in Madison Wisconsin. It's March, 1838 and school will be in session for only two months..."

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"It's almost here for our five year olds, the first day of school. They have looked forward to it with excitement and fear all summer. Some have asked repeatedly how much longer until it arrives and others have sat quietly hoping it will go away and their young lives will not change..."

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"This fall we will welcome over 2,000 kindergarten children to their first day of school. What an exciting and scary day for them. They will come from many cultures, they will be many colors and they will each begin their thirteen year journey with different skills, attitudes and backgrounds..."

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"SEE DICK RUN. SEE JANE RUN. SEE SPOT RUN. These are the first sentences that were used to teach most of my generation to read. This approach worked for me and many others. But, it didn't work for everyone..."

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"I focused on the roots of public education in my first column this year. Just as public education is the cornerstone of our country, it is likewise the foundation for our community.

I remember the day that I received the job offer to join the Madison Metropolitan School District. I was excited and honored to join one of the best school districts in the country..."

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"One of the most significant occurrences in public education during my Superintendency has been the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) which was passed with the intention of changing and improving public education. The act is significant because it is the first time the federal government has inserted itself into determining the quality of K-12 education at the local level. NCLB captures both the best and worst of current educational thought."

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"School districts across Wisconsin are preparing to begin the yearly ritual of reducing services to their students. Under the current revenue caps there really is no choice for most of us. For most districts the easy choices were made long ago. After twelve years of revenue caps there are only choices left that harm our children."

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"I graduated from high school in 1960. There are many things in schools today that are the same as they were then. National Inclusive Schools Week (December 5 - 9) celebrates one of the fundamental differences in the student body that I was part of and the experience that our children have today."