the school’s mission can be realized. That mission is “Furr High School:
where high expectations are met and hopes and dreams come true.”
Nancy Skerrittis the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in
the Tahoma School District in Maple Valley, Washington. She has worked
in the district since 1990 and has designed and published a training model
for writing integrated curriculum with thinking skills and Habits of Mind
as the core. Skerritt has conducted workshops in curriculum integration
and thinking skills instruction. She is a member of the Washington State
Assessment Advisory Committee, which is implementing a statewide
performance-based assessment system. Before her work in curriculum
development, Skerritt was a secondary language arts teacher and a coun-
selor. Skerritt can be reached at the Tahoma School District office, 25720
Maple Valley/Black Diamond Rd. SE, Maple Valley, WA 98038; phone:
425-432-4481; fax: 425-432-5792; e-mail: [email protected].
William A. Sommers lives in Austin, Texas, and is the director of Lead-
ership and Organizational Development for Manor ISD. He has been a
principal, university professor, and independent consultant for more than
30 years. Sommers is a senior fellow for the Urban Leadership Academy
at the University of Minnesota. He served on the board of trustees for five
years and is a past president for the National Staff Development Council.
Sommers is the former executive director for Secondary Curriculum
and Professional Learning for Minneapolis Public Schools. Since 1990,
he has been an associate trainer for the Center for Cognitive Coaching
based in Denver, Colorado. Sommers has been a program director for an
adolescent chemical dependency treatment center and on the board of a
halfway house for 20 years.
He has co-authored six books, Living on a Tightrope: A Survival Hand-
book for Principals; Being a Successful Principal: Riding the Wave of
Change Without Drowning; Reflective Practice to Improve Schools: An
Action Guide for Educators; A Trainer’s Companion: Stories to Stimulate
Reflection, Conversation, Action; Energizing Staff Development Using
Film Clips: Memorable Movie Moments That Promote Reflection, Conver-
sation, and Action; and Leading Professional Learning Communities: Voice
from Research and Practice.
About the Editors and Other Contributors 423