I would like to thank the Committee for Economic Development for bringing us together today. The CED has long worked to improve education for all Americans. I appreciate its strong support for standards-based reform and accountability.

I would also like to thank the MetLife Foundation for sponsoring this survey. This is the 20th Survey of the American Teacher that MetLife has conducted since it began polling in 1984. Each time, they pose an interesting question and provide some enlightening findings. This year's focus on school leadership is no exception.

School leadership is one of the critical issues that must be addressed to improve education, particularly as we implement the No Child Left Behind education reforms. Principals must be CEO, coach and mayor all rolled into one. It is a demanding position. Finding and training the right people to fill this role is imperative to the success of our schools.

This year's survey sheds some light on how well our principals are meeting their many responsibilities. In a few minutes, Humphrey Taylor from the Harris Poll will review the full results. Before he does, I would like to point out what I see as the most important finding: While principals, teachers and parents tend to agree on priorities, there's a significant gap between principals' opinions of their own abilities and their peers' evaluations of their performance. In many cases, principals give themselves substantially higher marks than do teachers, parents and students.

This disconnect deserves our full attention. Excellence in leadership is an outside-in activity. By that I mean that it is crucial that principals generate the support of teachers, parents, students and members of the community. One of the most important measures of leadership is the loyalty and trust that leaders instill in others. These survey results, at the very least, show that our principals must be more open to the needs of those they lead.

I know how important this focus on the principal is from my time as superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. One of the most effective reforms we made was to give our principals extra attention. I believed then, as I do today, that the quality of a principal determines the quality of a school.

For this reason, I insisted on interviewing all final candidates for principal positions in the district. I wanted to hear each candidate's thoughts on how they would perform their many responsibilities.

We also gave principals extra training. In the past, principals had been handed the keys to the school and wished good luck. Instead, we created a management preparation program to teach principals about budgeting, setting goals and utilizing scarce resources. We wanted them to have formal training in all of the responsibilities of this demanding position.

How we recruit and train principals remain key issues today. As I mentioned a moment ago, principals must wear many hats: those of CEO, coach and mayor. These three roles are crucial to driving reform and raising student achievement:

As CEO, principals must be responsible for setting the direction of the school, managing its resources and overseeing the proper functioning of its facilities and programs. One challenge all principals face is the tremendous demands placed on their time. Principals must be prepared to create effective systems to deal with the routine issues that can take principals away from what should be the major focus-the success of the students.

As coaches, principals must lead their team-their teachers and their students-to top performance. This role is an area that often doesn't receive the attention it deserves. Principals must spend significant time with teachers and students. They must listen to their concerns, evaluate their ideas and encourage a collaborative environment.

As mayors, principals must function as the leaders of their community. This means bringing together the various constituencies toward a common goal. One of those key constituencies is parents. Principals must make a point to set aside time for meaningful interactions with parents. They must get to know them, engage them, recruit them. Principals must also work with outside stakeholders, especially business and community leaders.

What this survey tells us, and what we are seeing across the country, is that there is a greater need to nurture these three roles among our principals. Principals must have the skills and tools to drive school reform and create environments for students and teachers to grow and thrive.

In a few minutes, we are going to hear from principals, students and educators. I hope that this survey spurs a dialogue on how principals can be more effective. This is one of the most important conversations we can have as we work to give every child in America a quality education.

Thank you. I'll be happy to take any questions you may have.

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