Matt Zalaznick

Matt Zalaznick is the managing editor of District Administration, covering K-12 public school leadership, teaching and learning, student achievement, education technology, and federal education policy. A journalist since 1996, Zalaznick has reported on politics, law enforcement, and breaking news for newspapers and websites across the U.S. Virgin Islands, the San Francisco Bay Area, Colorado, and the New York City suburbs. He holds a B.A. in English from Tufts University.

Why you should consider rebranding your schools

Refreshed mission and vision statements and school logos allow district leaders to tell a more relevant story to their communities.

Why trauma-informed teaching relies on trust

Students have a greater chance of coping with traumatic childhood experiences and succeeding in class when they can turn to a trusted adult at school.

How solving real-world PBL problems energizes students

Flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey inspired Klein ISD students to take on a PBL initiative to reduce the severity of similar disasters in the future.

Why coding for special education students computes

Coding and STEM activities for special education students create career pathways that some learners are uniquely suited for.

How a teacher codes with special needs students who are deaf

Elementary-age students at the Marie Philip School at The Learning Center for the Deaf near Boston are programming robots to learn the engineering design process.

How green schools bring environmental science alive

Green school buildings make sustainability and environmental science real in a way that helps students understand their roles in the natural world.

How virtual college advising is expanding in K-12

Virtual advising and embedded graduates bring college advising to a wider group of students—some of whom may not otherwise receive any substantial guidance in making decisions about postsecondary education.

How student activism guides future citizenship

Some may grumble that encouraging activism indoctrinates students with certain political beliefs, but experts say civic engagement teaches key skills.

How PLCs power progress in schools

Education experts are reimagining the PLC concept to move beyond the school building and into the globally connected world of social media and other interactive online platforms.

Here’s where student teachers get a virtual classroom preview

Student teachers at Grove City College in Pennsylvania participate in virtual co-op programs in which they are paired with and mentored online by a professional classroom teacher.

DATV: How Superintendent Kathy Murphy connects with students

The leader of Alabama's Hoover City Schools maintains a presence in her district as she helps students wrangle a crawfish, steer a robot and color in the library.

How a superintendent aims for excellence and equity

Since 2015, Superintendent Kathy Murphy has worked on several fronts—from school boundaries to AP enrollment to discipline—to convince a federal judge to a decades-old desegregation order on Hoover City Schools.

How Superintendent Kathy Murphy stays energized

The leader of Alabama's Hoover City Schools spends her ‘downtime' felling trees, clearing brush and repairing mechanical equipment on her 40-acre farm.

How music immersion closes achievement gaps

San Gabriel USD's Music Immersion Experience—the 2019 Districts of Distinction grand prize honoree—teaches every first-grader the violin, and test scores are improving.

How robots excel at access for students with autism

The key to the effectiveness of any ed tech tool, including robots for children with autism, lies in whether students transfer the skills they've learned from schoolwork into their daily lives.