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Article: Raising the bar.(Special Report)(Great Expectations)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- March 26, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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First of three parts
DURHAM, N.C. - A weary Tom Williams had retired after 27 years as schoolteacher, principal and superintendent.
Frustrated by the teachers union's stranglehold on public education and a dwindling lack of respect for his profession, he left upstate New York for California in 1990.
He hoped the change in climate would help him recover from a lingering bout of hepatitis. Out west, his illness subsided, but his love of the schoolhouse did not.
Now at 65, the tough-talking, reform-minded grandfather of seven lives closer to his family in North Carolina. He also happens to lead the state's most successful public ...