This Sunday's New York Times Magazine includes a lengthy article entitled "Building a Better Teacher," by Elizabeth Green, the editor of GothamSchools.org. It's previewed on-line here and features Doug Lemov, the head of the True North Public Schools Network, a division of Uncommon Schools, which operates high-performing charter middle schools in Rochester and Troy.

This also is Ms. Green's first article in the Times magazine, so congratulations to her.

Doug Lemov also is a board member of the New York Charter Schools Association, so it's especially delightful to see his talent and accomplishments discussed in such a major publication as the Times magazine. He also has provided valuable presentations on teaching and classroom management to charter school operators at the annual charter schools conference sponsored by the Association.

Impressive Background & Accomplishments
Mr. Lemov has an impressive biography. My first contact with him came when he was the founding principal of the Academy of the Pacific Rim, a high-performing charter school in Boston which, among other unique qualities, teaches Mandarin Chinese. In 1999, when I worked at the State University Charter Schools Institute, Mr. Lemov assisted us as an outside reviewer of charter school applications that had poured into SUNY in those days. Charter schools were brand new to SUNY and its fledgling Charter Schools Institute recruited several successful charter school operators to assist in evaluating applications for new charters. In 2000, he was hired by the Institute as its Vice President overseeing charter schools' academic accountability.

Subsequently, Mr. Lemov got his MBA at Harvard, then returned to the Albany area as the first director of School Performance, Inc., which provided assessment and other technical assistance to most of the charter schools in Albany that are supported by the Brighter Choice Foundation.

Educational Excellence for Upstate
I believe that True North Charter Schools has a great vision to bring public educational excellence to upstate urban school districts, which desperately need it but often fall below the radar of highly visible areas of New York City and the Albany state capital. Upstate should be so fortunate.

If you haven't visited a charter school operated by the True North Public Schools Network, you should. You are guaranteed to learn something new and impressive.

Peter Murphy
for The Chalkboard
Twitter.com/PeterMurphy26
Facebook: "Chalkboard Nycsa"