These comments are important to consider. We hold on to the project because it has been really the best we have seen. Teachers and principals over and over say this is the best professional development they have experienced. They say all other PD should be modeled after this LSC. It has been very special and supportive to all the stakeholders. One principal in an e-mail today stated the project reached and/or nourished the soul of the teachers. Others have said we are among the few PD offerings that truly respect the teachers. Another teacher in anwering a question of an evaluator (What is your favorite subject to teach?) responded, "Well, it used to be X, but now it is science because I get the support I need." This kind of PD should become the norm and not the exception. And, so, it is hard to let go.

In the last few years of our LSC, we have experienced much more turn over than in the first few years. Seattle had a very senior staff when we started. Now it is a much younger staff. The turn over does not bother me so much because the culture in the schools is changing and it is almost to the point where most everyone expects science to be taught. And, the elements of this new culture are handed down from the more senior teachers to the younger ones. This is very encouraging to me.

The processes are still in the making and will change as each set of new top level administrators arrive. The good news is that there are stakeholders out there who will not let go of the processes and will make sure that they happen.

Thank you for your comments!