In Baldwin Community Schools, students had been returning from summer break having lost more than six weeks of learning—two weeks more than is typical. The district is located in the lowest-income county in rural Michigan, where 94 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Superintendent Stiles Simmons resolved the learning loss issue in […]

More than 5 million American children face a rarely discussed educational challenge that has profound impact: seeing a parent spend time in prison. One in four black children in 2014 had a parent behind bars by the time they were 14 years old—more than double the rate for black children born in 1978, according to […]

Students who end up in detention more than just once or twice may be hungry for any kind of attention because they crave a relationship with a teacher or are neglected—or worse—at home, says Fred Hanna, author of the book Therapy with Difficult Clients. “You will settle for bad food sometimes if that is all […]

After a shake-up in Oklahoma City Public Schools that resulted with Superintendent Rob Neu and the district “parting ways” Aurora Lora has taken over as superintendent. Lora, a former fourth-grade teacher in Houston and a district administrator in Portland, Seattle and Dallas, had been a finalist for the job in 2014. Neu subsequently hired her […]

In most states the first employment contract for a superintendent is a three-year contract. All too often it becomes the last contract as well. Superintendents must realize that job security and longevity are tied to board relationships, and such relationships begin during the interview process. That’s when it is most important for the candidate to […]

With the recent updates to E-rate, district leaders can choose between building and maintaining their own networks using dark fiber or trusting the job to a communications service provider. When making that decision, considerations must include looking at the total cost of ownership, evaluating technology innovation, identifying the impact to network control and security, and […]

Districts spend over $25 billion annually on teacher absences, and consistent absences negatively impact student achievement, past studies have shown. “What’s the Real Story on K-12 Employee Absences” a January report from Frontline Research & Learning Institute, examined teacher and classified staff (such as aides and administrative assistants) absence data during that month from 4,776 […]

If you are a team leader—a department head, grade-level lead, coach or an administrator—chances are high that conflict makes you nervous. It makes most of us nervous, and when we’re in a position of leadership, there’s an implicit understanding that we’re supposed to do something about conflict. We may even worry that we contributed to […]