To support students in foster care, districts should look to develop a collaborative team that includes caregivers and former foster alumni, says Wendy B. Smith, distinguished continuing scholar in child welfare at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. “Foster care alumni have a lot of knowledge and expertise that’s different […]

The Texas Education Agency’s Foster Care and Student Success guide (download at DAmag.me/fcss) offers strategies for supporting students in foster care. Increasing awareness for educators is critical. Here are a few things to know: Students come into foster care through no fault of their own and have often experienced abusive, neglectful environments. Students in foster […]

When Tiffany Anderson took over as superintendent of Jennings School District near St. Louis in 2012, she faced high poverty and low academic achievement. As part of the turnaround effort, she focused on building supports for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly those in foster care who struggle with social-emotional trauma and frequent changes in […]

Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project-Based Learning Jossey-Bass This book profiles more than a dozen formal and informal school networks wherein district leaders, principals and teachers have worked together to implement personalized and project-based learning. Educators can find out about transforming schools and navigating these new instructional dynamics with […]

Mamaroneck High School in New York recently launched a bee team—the first of its kind in the state—providing students a honey of an opportunity for hands-on science and engineering. A trip to the Amazon and a friend’s hive inspired science teacher Cathy O’Reilly to create the program. After receiving a nearly $3,000 grant for hives, […]

Vancouver Public Schools in Washington has increased educational opportunities and kindergarten readiness by offering free evening preschool. Launched three years ago at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, the program—which uses existing kindergarten classrooms and teachers—now operates at nine elementaries with 170 students. The initiative provides preschool access for families who cannot participate in traditional […]

Districts are cultivating college and career readiness programs by allocating more resources to guide students, by building new partnerships and by focusing efforts beyond high school. Tennessee recently expanded and rebranded its statewide career and college readiness initiative as Tennessee Pathways, which now focuses on K8 in addition to high school. Part of that effort […]

An externship program run by the Oklahoma State Department of Education expanded this summer, allowing K12 teachers to gain professional STEM experiences they can bring back to the classroom. During the pilot last year, teachers tested soil samples and worked in a concrete-making lab, among other activities, during a paid two-week externship at an Oklahoma […]