Leadership Concerns

You may want to borrow this district’s successful smartphone rules

Many schools are enforcing strict policies that keep students from checking their smartphone throughout the entire school day. This superintendent is doing it a little differently.

What teachers think about K12 education in 2024

Earlier this year, a record-low 39% of teachers believed education was going in the right direction in their local school districts. Now, their optimism is on the rebound.

Two challenges fueling teacher vacancies in 2024-25

Both elementary and middle schools cited trouble filling a special education vacancies with a fully certified teacher. English as a second language or bilingual teachers were the hardest posts to fill in high schools, national data suggests.

More parents now support banning cell phones at school

Fewer phones in class means students would develop stronger social skills, the majority of adults said in a new survey.

Enrollment drops are forcing leaders to make tough choices

Roughly one in 12 schools experienced enrollment dips of 20% or greater during the pandemic, new research confirms.

Mass layoffs soar in job sectors nationwide, including K12

The elimination of ESSER funds and advancing technology has upended the education sector. How severe are the job cuts?

Learn from one state that bested chronic absenteeism

Rhode Island's chronic absenteeism rates ballooned to 34% during the pandemic. Here's what leaders did to fix that.

‘TGIF Time-saver’: Here is what keeps students coming to school

Student-teacher relationships play a strong role in reducing chronic absenteeism for high school students. What other indicators are there?

How are teachers feeling? Here are some fresh answers

In a handful of states, leaders have asked teachers how they're feeling ahead of 2024-25. Here's what they said.

Teacher shortages: How districts are coping in new school year

A couple of districts are facing higher student enrollment than they predicted. While that's a good thing, they're looking for educators to fill in gaps.

5 reasons homeschooling might be more appealing to parents

Bullying topped parents' list of concerns when it comes to their child's education. What else is on their mind?

High school graduation rates are now showing signs of rebounding

Other data shows that nearly one-third of schools reported greater difficulty filling vacant positions in CTE compared to social studies and other subjects.

School layoffs are mounting quickly as ESSER winds down

Job cuts are impacting more than just teachers. Dallas ISD will soon remove hundreds of central staff and campus-based roles.

Why did enrollment plummet after COVID? Here are some answers

Alternative schooling options became widely popular among families during the pandemic. Will it impact the future of traditional public schools?

Education won’t suffer if TikTok is banned. Here’s why

It's been great for outreach and culture-building, but educators will simply turn elsewhere, says one former principal whose viral TikToks kept students engaged and in-the-know.

The highest-paying states for teachers in 2024

However, when adjusted for inflation, starting teacher salaries are more than $4,200 below the 2008-2009 levels.

3 issues administrators say currently impact district operations

”The amount of students who need mental health support and interventions outnumbers the amount of spots that we have available,” one administrator said in a new report.

Teacher pay becomes prominent theme of this year’s budget season

St. Louis Public School teachers will soon witness a "historic" 17% pay bump over the next three years. Other districts are making similar choices.

Race, gender, history, sex: A deep dive into the restrictive laws impacting K12

Over the past several years, many states have introduced a whirlwind of "restrictive" legislation targeting issues surrounding race, sex and gender in both K12 and higher education. The former, however, bears more of the brunt.

3 factors that make teaching difficult in 2024

For the most part, the majority of teachers are stressed about their jobs, according to new Pew Research data. Here's what leaders need to know.

Arizona Board of Education rejects school voucher ban on luxury items, other changes

Voucher-holding families told the board Monday that the changes would harm them and service providers and that they weren't afforded adequate opportunity to provide input.

This university’s approach to special educator shortages? Full-tuition scholarships

The $1.25 million grant will award six students per year a scholarship that covers nearly 100% of their in-state tuition and other fees, including textbooks and housing. Better yet, the scholarship doesn't require students to commit to teaching in Texas out of college.

The 10 states with the worst teacher shortages in the U.S.

Recent research has uncovered two crises in public education: both staffing levels and student enrollment are on the decline. New data from Scholaroo reveals which states are impacted the most,

How divisive concepts are shaping K12 education

More than 40% of teachers believe current curriculum-related debates have had a negative impact on their job, according to the Pew Research Center. What do these topics include?

Video Q&A: Why this successful superintendent doesn’t want to get complacent

In this video Q&A, "We're continually pushing for the next thing, details how and his team are managing growth that has seen his high-achieving Delaware district grow from 11 buildings to more than 20 and be recognized multiple times as the state's best.

Attendance: Is chronic absenteeism the new normal?

This past fall, average attendance rates leveled out at 90%, new federal data reveals. Here are 6 ways to tackle the problem.

10 states with the highest student-teacher ratios in the country

The ongoing teacher shortage poses severe consequences on K12 schools, including expanding classroom sizes and overwhelming workloads for teachers. Which states are suffering most?

How leaders can support the ‘big changes’ coming to K12 in 2024

That's according to Tripod Education's new market study, a survey of nearly 800 educators and district administrators, unveiling significant shifts in instructional approaches, curricula and district strategies.

A look inside California’s continuous trend of declining enrollment

While it's been an issue for years, public school enrollment issues have worsened since COVID, forcing school closures as we near the end of pandemic relief funding. In one state's case, researchers are forecasting a decline of over half a million students by the 2031-32 school year.

As teacher shortages persist, districts look for creative solutions

From shorter work weeks to hiring overseas, districts across the country are looking for better ways to improve the teaching profession.

We asked ChatGPT to recap K12 education in 2023. You’ll enjoy its response

Specifically, District Administration wanted to know what the chatbot thinks were some of the most important topics and challenges relevant to district leaders, superintendents and technology professionals.

The differences between private and public school enrollment post-pandemic

Enrollment patterns vary between public and private schools at a time when lawmakers are expanding school choice vouchers and advocating for alternative opportunities for education.

Who are districts competing with for students? Here’s what the research says

Critics who argue the death of public schools is near are overexaggerating the reality of a healthy balance for school choice, researchers at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute write. Despite a growing interest in charter schooling, larger districts face little competition for students.

Substitute teachers are in short supply. What are districts doing to cope?

Administrators are turning to creative solutions to make substitute teaching more desirable. Most commonly, leaders are making efforts to boost pay, especially in high-needs areas.

How two superintendents strive to be “real people”

Two leaders highlight key steps on a journey many K12 leaders take—that of humanizing themselves in their relationships with staff and students.