The ground under many school districts is feeling very shaky, and if Jim Collins is right, we'd better get used to it. Collins asserts that we are entering an era of chronic and permanent instability, uncertainty, rapid change, episodes of chaos, violent disruption and big, fast moving forces that we can neither predict nor control. How does an educator thrive in this climate? Collins offers insights based on nine years of research and vigorous analysis of leaders who are showing us the way.

Our guest travels the world teaching and learning about technology in education. He's found that some other countries have school cultures that are more conducive to embracing technology than we are here in the U.S. What can we learn from them?

Education historian Diane Ravitch points out the education has been in crisis every decade for over 100 years. But Ravitch says that this time the educational crisis is different and more profound, as public education is under attack from bad ideas.

These days teachers are under intense scrutiny. High stakes accountability is the law of the land and a number of experiments are underway across the country. Superintendents need to be on top of this issue and be apprised of what's working and what's not. This segment zooms in on the subject of evaluating, preparing and compensating teachers.

The PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools is conducted annually. It allows educators and policy makers to track public opinion about public schools and current reform initiatives.

Candid, thoughtful and straight talking, Dr. Diane Ravitch gives an unvarnished report card on the errors of our national educational policy. Ravitch offers a prescription for getting children and our educational system back on track. Hosted by Dan Domench Executive Director of the American Association of School Superintendents.

This segment focuses on an education reform initiative that is already producing exceptional outcomes.

Today's interview is with Geoffrey Canada, creator of the Harlem Children's Zone, a system of schools that have effectively eliminated the achievement gap among its students.

Malcom Gladwell says that if you want to transform educational outcomes culture is the key. Gladwell shares insights from research that makes a strong case for robustly experimenting with changing

school cultures

AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech hosts a roundtable on preparing for H1N1 flu as we head back to school. Guests include:Belinda Pustka, Ph.D., is superintendent of the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District near San Antonio; Bill Modzeleski is associate assistant deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education; Jacque Polder is Senior Advisor, Public Health Preparedness and Community Measures Task Force, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).