Hi all. So I’m about to take a break from the blog, to duck some of the post-Edu-Scholar rankings excitement and to focus on my upcoming book on cage-busting leadership. Fortunately, I think we’ve once again lucked into a stellar line-up of fresh guest blogging talent to step up for the next three weeks.

First up, this week, is Daniel Lautzenheiser. Regular RHSU readers will recognize the name. Daniel is the preternaturally talented AEI research assistant who has been the man behind RHSU since day one, while juggling a slew of other edu-projects. He’s always sharp and ever calm, while handling the requisite research, giving me editorial feedback, and dealing with reader inquiries. Daniel’s also coauthored some terrific pieces (such as here), and you might want to keep an eye peeled for our forthcoming look at Rice University’s REEP program for aspiring school leaders. Anyway, he’s smart, thoughtful, and interesting (as well as a UVA alum), and I thought it past time to give him a shot.

The following week we have Patricia Dickenson, who comes to us as the winner of an ASCD competition held to identify a fresh blogging voice from the field. We partnered with ASCD to give some of the best and brightest in their Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Young Educators network a chance to win a guest week behind the wheel at RHSU, and Patricia took the prize. I dug her winning submission, and am curious to see what she has in store for us. Patricia taught for several years as an elementary math teacher in Los Angeles, and has also taught for the University of Phoenix, the University of California-Santa Cruz, and the University of Southern California. She holds her Ed.D. in educational psychology from USC.

Finally, the week of January 23, we have the hard-charging Neerav Kingsland. Neerav is chief strategy officer at New Schools for New Orleans. A graduate of Yale Law School, Neerav served as director of Yale’s Education Adequacy Project legal clinic, has worked as a legal assistant at a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone, and drafted a human rights report on the state of democracy in the Tibetan Government In-Exile. After Hurricane Katrina, Neerav helped found the Hurricane Katrina Legal Clinic--which, in turn, help fuel the creation of New Schools for New Orleans. Neerav is a deft thinker and sharp writer--as well as finding a spot on Sara Mead’s list of folks who are “going to transform education"--and he always has something intriguing to say.

Enjoy, and I’ll look forward to seeing you all at the end of the month!