What’s a Special Feature? Well, for CER it’s a departure from the “typical” rapid-fire focus on state and national policy that consumes us day in and day out as we attempt to harness the power of the grassroots and influence the lawmakers to adopt reforms that are good for kids. In the midst of that activity, we do, from time to time, take a pause, and undertake efforts to document in more detail and with varied examples and perspectives why change is needed. We look to external experts, thought leaders and opinion makers to share their perspective about how best to pursue public policy changes and we look to schooling models to help inform our perspective, and yours. Whether you are a parent looking for more information to be an effective advocate, a lawmaker needing to make a more compelling case for reform, or an educator wanting to change his schools’ culture, our special features have engaged scores of people. We are happy to share them with you.