Personalization of teaching and learning is the main focus of school-improvement efforts in each of the 29 schools in the Springdale School District.

Every student learns in his or her own special way. In fact, if one is precise enough in their analysis, it will be increasingly clear each student is at a different point in their readiness level to learn.

The science and the art of teaching both require a teacher to be able — in the midst of delivering a lesson — to make on-the-spot judgments about the degree to which each student is connecting with the learning and what modifications are needed to keep the students moving forward.

The Springdale school system has more than 1,500 teachers who continue to be learners themselves.

They constantly pursue professional development. Many are pursuing advanced university degrees, professional board certification, or capacity-building opportunities at the local or state level.

They do that to get better, to be positioned or prepared to make the necessary connections to their students at the most important junctures of the learning process. They do those things to personalize teaching and learning so their students can be successful and can achieve to their highest potential.

We live and serve in the educational setting at a time referred to by many as “the age of accountability.” The accountability movement takes on many faces, each of which has its own relevance and importance.

From my perspective, the most important accountability is internal accountability — the accountability measures we set for ourselves. I have learned so much from Springdale teachers. I have never heard one of them run away from someone else’s accountability system (specifically, the external accountability system often discussed by national or state officials).

They try to understand it. They often will ask for clarification and inquire, “Please tell me what we are being asked to be accountable for.” That seems more than fair to me!

The accountability they run toward, however, is the standard they set for themselves and the standards their teacher teams set for their schools.

Those are the culture-building expectations that lead to educational excellence. Those are the scenarios that cause teachers to establish “best practices” and to weed out those lessons that have proven ineffective.

In our work we talk a lot about professional learning communities at each of our schools. Every teacher in the Springdale school system is a member of a professional learning community that has a total focus on improving the personalization of teaching and learning in every classroom in every school.

I encourage each patron to be part of this process.

Help our educational team to continuously serve all Springdale students at increasingly higher levels. Educational excellence is available to all those who commit themselves to reaching it.

I thank each of you in advance for your contribution.

JIM ROLLINS IS SUPERINTENDENT OF SPRINGDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HE HAS SERVED IN THAT CAPACITY SINCE 1982.