After just weeks on the job, the new Baltimore schools CEO, Sonja Santelises, has zeroed in on one of the trickiest issues in any public school system, and particularly one in a poor urban one like Baltimore: Are teachers and principals there just to educate, or must they also be social workers, mental health counselors and, to an extent, substitute parents? It's a question that has riled many educators in recent years, as they feel thrown into roles they didn't choose, didn't train for and for which they have all too often little support.

What's refreshing about the way Ms. Santelises has presented the issue, both in her inaugural "State of the Schools" address and in a recent editorial board meeting with The Sun, is that she places the tension directly in the context of what teachers did sign up for: helping their students achieve their full academic potential. She wants to provide the training and supports necessary for teachers to engage effectively with students who often face real trauma — from violence to unstable homes to poverty — not because it's a nice thing to do but because it is essential to the district's mission.

Read more at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-santelises-2016...