To give students experience flying larger drones, educators at Duval High School near Washington, D.C., got creative. Federal Aviation Administration security restrictions limit unmanned aeronautic flights over sensitive locations. "We are building an addition to the school that will allow us to fly drones inside" says Christina Howland, coordinator of the four-year Aerospace Engineering and […]
Atomic absorption spectrometers. Electroporators. Nano-injectors. Micro-manipulators. These high-tech tools are not normally found in a high school science class. Yet, in Georgia, students in Paulding County High School's biotechnology career pathway program use these and other advanced equipment to analyze chemical elements, transform organisms and much more as part of their project-based research classes. AR […]
Every year, nearly 40 percent of food produced in America is thrown into the trash. That trend extends to the 5 billion lunches served in U.S. public schools each year, amounting to an estimated $1.2 billion of annual lunchroom waste, according to USDA data and findings from a two-year study of Boston middle schools. The […]
Serious concerns—such as student anxiety, lunch shaming and immigration policy—shared 2017's education headlines with the whirling whimsy of fidget spinners. But what lasting impact will these developments have? And how will administrators and policymakers handle issues that stretch into 2018 and beyond? A look back at the year's top stories sheds some light on the […]
K12 STEM programs are evolving, incorporating new tools and technologies to better prepare students for rapidly changing college and career environments. Makerspaces, drones, coding and robotics are all part of this next generation of STEM learning that is just beginning to have an impact in districts. This web seminar focused on incorporating these new tools. […]
Gone are the days when a mechanic can pop the hood of a car, take a look around and figure out what to do. Today's auto shop graduates use diagnostic software to determine a vehicle's problem, and then must explain the solution coherently, in a way that all customers will understand. Vocational education used to […]
Districts devote nearly 80 percent of their budgets to personnel costs—leaving little wiggle room for administrators tasked with maintaining fiscal responsibility and boosting the quality of education in a time of nearly stagnant funding. John Hutchison, chief financial and operations officer at Olathe Public Schools in Kansas, began budgetary planning for the 2017-18 school year […]
Fast disappearing from schools are internet "lock and block" policies that keep students off social media and restrict them to carefully curated websites. Even with sophisticated filters and firewalls, today's learners carry all the access in the world in their back pockets. "We're past trying to stay ahead of the digital native" says Morgen Larsen, […]
When it comes to boosting the nutritional and academic value of school meals, Janet Poppendieck certainly offers food for thought. A nationally recognized scholar and activist whose work focuses on poverty, hunger and food assistance in the United States, Poppendieck is the author of Free for All: Fixing School Food in America (University of California […]
KANSAS CITY, Kansas—Superintendent Cynthia Lane learned the cello a few years ago, but not to fulfill some lifelong dream of soloing with the local symphony. The leader of Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, who played clarinet in high school, now performs alongside fourth- and fifth-graders in their annual spring strings concert. Fifth-graders also spend months […]
