Editor's Introduction
Sam Stringfield

This final issue of Volume 7 includes three thoughtful and timely research articles and two book reviews. I recommend each to you. As a school-board member, I'm convinced that Allen Ruby's article on internal teacher turnover in middle schools throws much needed light on an important, under-discussed topic. We need not only to stabilize our over-all teaching forces, we need to stabilize our individual teachers and departments within schools. Ruby's work is, in my experience, groundbreaking.

Linda Bol, Steve Ross, John Nunnery, and Marty Alberg provide similarly unique and important work in "A comparison of teachers' assessment practices in school restructuring models." Congress now funds Comprehensive School Reform efforts at $310 million per year, yet we know precious little about how these efforts change the day-to-day, year-to-year work of teachers. Bol et al. provide important—and encouraging—information on one very important aspect of teaching in regular or "reformed" classes: teachers' own assessment practices.

A veritable mountain of research suggests that, far too often, African American students feel disconnected from their teachers, and, ultimately, their schools. Tyrone Howard's research is important in no small part because it gives voice to the things that African American students see as generating a more effective classroom environment. Both practitioners and administrators planning professional development activities for teachers would do well to consider Howard's three strategies for improving African American students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness.

What Teachers Need to Know about Teaching Children At Risk, by Barry Frieman, makes an excellent companion piece to the research articles of this issue. As Rachel Durham points out in her review, Friedman's text can establish a useful frame of reference for practitioners' consideration of practical issues in educating students who have been placed at risk.

As Wendy Winters notes in her review, "School, Family, and Community Partnerships" (Epstein, 2001) should be required reading for educators. Dr. Epstein is, by almost any measure, a national treasure; this volume serves to summarize much of her work and to move it forward.
In terms of length, this issue is more compact than most that have come before. JESPAR's editorial team faces a wonderful challenge: the quality of manuscripts we've been receiving for the last two years has been so high that we've accepted more manuscripts than ever before. We've also been graced with strong special issues. Therefore, the three previous issues of this volume have been over-stuffed. Given annual page limits that must be respected, this issue is necessarily brief.

The JESPAR team wishes to report several transitions. For the last two years, Sarah Heneghan has worked with great professionalism as JESPAR's assistant editor. Sarah has moved to being a writer for the Talent Development Middle School project. We thank Sarah and wish her the brightest of futures. Similarly, Shelly Brown has served as a JESPAR associate editor for the past two years. Dr. Brown is taking a position in the Sociology department of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Thanks for your service, Shelly, and best of luck.

Martha MacIver, guest co-editor of this year's special issue on Direct Instruction, will be joining us as an associate editor. Martha is both an excellent writer and a thoughtful scholar, and we all look forward to working with her.

Kirsten Ewart Sundell is JESPAR's new assistant editor. Kirsten comes to us from the University of Notre Dame, where she is completing her Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Irish Studies. In addition to working with authors and the editorial team on the printed version of JESPAR, Kirsten will be working to upgrade our web presence and our marketing. Welcome to both Martha and Kirsten!

This is the final issue of Volume 7. At the back of the issue is a form for subscribing. We hope you've found the entire volume valuable, and hope you agree that JESPAR provides unique and valuable research on issues relevant to improving the academic achievement of all students who, through no fault of their own, are in danger of not thriving in our schools. If you find JESPAR valuable, please do share the subscription order form with a friend, colleague, or your library.
Thank you for another highly educational year, and for your continued commitment to educating all students.