Educational changemakers have yet to come to terms with how complicated the teaching and learning process really is. Dr. Rice contends that the trust factor is often underestimated and overlooked. As a result, large change efforts disappoint or fail to launch. Key features of any change that needs to take place in the classroom are the roles of students and teachers. Teachers must have the trust of their students, and not just any kind of trust. Students must have academic trust in their teachers. All students must be willing to open up to their teachers and say, "Can you please help me? I don't get this." Too many students are not willing to do this because they lack trust. Academic Trust: Closing the Achievement Gap addresses the science of institutional and interpersonal trust and provides a foundation for the development of trust in the classroom. As teachers build academic trust with their students, they expand their instructional impact. Academic Trust is a teacher's guide to improving practice in six instructional areas that are focused on what teachers have control over, and three influences they can impact to support class and school improvement efforts, all while building academic trust with their students. Richard Jensen describes Academic Trust as "a groundbreaking approach to examining the role of trust in the multifaceted challenges faced by educators and educational institutions."