Dear Colleague:

This is a challenging – and exhilarating – time for school employees. Widespread calls for reforms in public education have persisted since the publication of A Nation at Risk in the early 1980´s. Top-down mandates, with virtually no input from public school educators, permeated school systems across the country. Undaunted, NEA members strive hard to meet these demands and expectations. Thanks to your dedication and commitment, we are making significant progress toward excellence. This kind of success makes all your endeavors worthwhile.

NEA members are reaching out to school district officials, families, and community and business leaders – everyone who has a stake in public education – to improve schools. Meaningful collaborations abound. One such collaborative effort is NEA’s continuous school improvement program called Keys to Excellence for Your Schools (KEYS). Since 1996, well over 2,000 school communities have used KEYS and are improving teaching and learning conditions in their schools.

KEYS 2.0, a revision of the original, is based on five years of additional research and input from colleagues who have used the first version of the program. NEA is providing you this KEYS 2.0 Action Guide as a tool in your school reform efforts. This resource was designed with you, the end user, in mind because NEA understands that ultimately, you are the ones who make the difference for our students.

Our aim here at NEA´s Quality School Programs and Resources Department is to provide high quality products that are truly responsive to your needs. We welcome your suggestions on how we can improve this KEYS resource and other materials. We pay close attention to what you tell us and we respect all comments as part of our commitment to a quality school for every student. This Action Guide, now available online at www.keysonline.org, allows us to incorporate changes as we get excellent suggestions.

We hope that this will serve as a helpful guide as you continue your journey towards greater and better outcomes for your students and your schools.

Sincerely,

Bouy Te, Director
NEA Quality School Programs and Resources Department