Simply the Best acknowledges the importance of listening to students to inform our efforts in schools. Schools and teachers can find extensive support for an intentional focus on developing relationships in schools and how these relationships result in improved academic performance, in reducing achievement gaps, and in promoting safe schools and productive learning environments for students. Students should be more than passive participants in the educational process. They can articulate teacher behaviors that make a difference for them. Simply the Best utilizes not only a research voice to identify practices schools should consider around relationships, but also enlists the student voice. Focus groups of students from elementary, middle and high were interviewed and an array of research using student surveys and perspectives consulted resulting in the identification of twenty-nine (29) practices that characterize the best teachers. Simply the Best outlines a research and a student perspective considering relationships around the following dimensions: Relationships Around a Moral Imperative Relationships Around Curriculum Relationships Around Instruction Relationships Around Assessment Relationships Around Recovery. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their experiences as a student, as well as the professional practices in their classrooms or schools. Eighty (80) ideas geared toward relationship building and the development of a customer service mind-set are shared as suggestions for teachers. Simply the Best serves as a reminder of the power of the teacher - the power of our words and actions in shaping students' educational experience. The teacher and student relationship is the foundation for school improvement efforts. How would students describe those relationships in your school? How many of the 29 things students say make the best teachers could be commonly observed in classrooms at your school? Read to see what truly makes a difference for students

"Who Cares?" is a call to arms for all proponents of public schools: administrators, teachers, support staff, and unions. It encourages schools to focus on the most important "R" of all-relationships. Many advocate the importance of relationships in a school, but few articulate how to systematically address it. "Who Cares?" offers hope with real world customer service examples and practices that have been implemented in one public school district in the battle to win back students. Readers can expect to find a variety of tools and resources, including:

. Customer service ideas for all staff members

(secretaries, coaches, bus drivers, custodians, cooks)

. Home visits best practice checklist (K-12)

. 29 ways for teachers to WOW parents and administrators

. 10 of the best customer service practices borrowed from the business world and applied to public education

An intentional focus on customer service, relationships, and making connections will not only positively impact the culture of your school, but will also result in improved academic achievement.