Chapter 1: Principal Netzer and the Tale of Two Urban High Schools

At a symposium of the American Educational Research Association in 2002, Haberman asserted that in “preparing teachers for diverse children in poverty selection is more important than training.” He added that, “. . . selection is 80% of the matter.”

This chapter tells the story of an urban high school principal who shares Dr. Haberman’s belief and has put it into action. The principal has studied Haberman’s work since the early 1990s. The chapter describes the ways in which the principal, Dr. Greg Netzer, has exemplified the work of Dr. Haberman’s Star Teachers (2005) and star principals through the transformation of two urban high schools.