Positive public relations experiences are critical to our survival as public entities and, unfortunately for many school leaders, we face an uphill climb. According to a June 2016 Gallup poll, only 30 percent of Americans feel "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in public schools, down from an equally disheartening 36 percent […]

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 […]

The great majority of school violence prevention programs do not work. This is demonstrated by bullying continuing at unprecedented rates. Also, rampage school shootings—which the National Research Council calls a "new and unique violence"—continue to periodically shock the nation. It is critically important to address this violence effectively because schools are crucibles of the future. […]

Throughout the U.S., the movement to privatize education is advancing, in state legislatures and local school districts, and it is a relentless force. Education reformers are on a mission to replace under-performing public schools with charter schools and other private alternatives. Most of the public schools reformers are targeting are located in urban and rural […]