Jeffrey Burgard has devoted 22 years to teaching full time and 6 years to conducting workshops helping public, private, charter and home school environments in twenty-five states and five countries to align standards based assessment, increase student learning and improve organizational practices through GATEWAY TO MASTERY®. He has taught primarily in middle schools where he has applied Quality Management Principles in public and charter school classrooms since 1996. He now teaches near Seattle Washington, as well as conducts professional development workshops. His book, Continuous Improvement in the Science Classroom, was published in 1999 (second edition in 2008) as a vehicle for sharing his pioneering work in engaging students as leaders in their own learning.