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 1980s. Top-down mandates, with virtually no input from public school educators, permeated school systems across the country. Undaunted, NEA members met, and still meet, the challenges. Thanks to your dedication and commitment, we are making significant progress toward excellence. This kind of success makes it all worthwhile.

NEA members are reaching out to school district officials, parents, and community and business leaders—everyone who has a stake in public education—to improve schools. Meaningful collaborations abound. One such collaborative effort is KEYS. Since 1996, well over 600 school communities have used KEYS and are improving their education climates.

KEYS 2.0, a revision of the original document, is based on five years of research and input from colleagues who have used the KEYS principles. At NEA, we designed this Action Guide with you, the end user, in mind. We understand that ultimately, you make the difference for our children.

Our aim in NEA School System Capacity is to provide high quality products that truly are responsive to your needs. We welcome your suggestions on how we can improve this and other materials. We will pay close attention to what you tell us and respect all comments as part of our commitment to a quality public school for every student. In the near future, the Action Guide will be available online, which will allow us to incorporate changes as we get good suggestions.

We hope this will serve as a helpful guide as you continue your journey toward excellence.

Sincerely,

Bouy Te, Director
NEA School System Capacity Department