Going into his third year as principal of Sunset Elementary School near Spokane, Washington, Ty McGregor feels more confident that he has prepared his building for an intruder or active shooter. While school was out this past June, a group of staff members, students and emergency responders conducted drills on two potentially devastating scenarios: a […]
Teachers today have more control over how and when they receive professional development. Whether the learning is self-paced, online or partially in-person, more districts measure PD based on the new skills teachers can display in their classrooms rather than on how long they spend listening to an instructor. For example, veteran social studies teacher Kurt […]
Indicative of a rich curriculum, deeper learning occurs when a district successfully empowers students to synthesize and creatively apply knowledge through critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration. While essential to preparing today's students for colleges and careers, building a culture of deeper learning can be challenging to accomplish at a district level. This web seminar […]
Three chronically underperforming Baltimore City Public Schools are now getting intensive, hands-on guidance from educators at a fourth district school, Commodore John Rodgers, that has achieved a dramatic turnaround. Educators at the struggling elementary and middle schools—Harford Heights, James McHenry and Mary E. Rodman—won't just follow a set of guidelines. Rodgers' principal, Marc Martin, has […]
When Gary Brantley began his career as an IT leader 14 years ago, he primarily provided technical support and made sure the hardware was running. "It had everything to do with techy stuff" he says. Since then, Brantley's role as chief information officer at DeKalb County Schools in Georgia has expanded significantly. He now spends […]
Evidence-based best practice is a hot topic in education, especially in regard to the proposed ESSA accountability system. It means that schools tailor their action plans to meet their individual student and school needs based on objective- and research-based models. This process provides for an internal accountability system and enhanced professional learning communities. During a […]
Districts have several options when introducing a badging program. For students, the process tends to be more intricate because these badges, often awarded for soft skills and career-preparation activities, contain metadata that details what students did to earn the badges. Such higher-tech "open badges" can be shared on social media and live on an online […]
One of the worst "professional learning" experiences from my teaching days involved a clown nose. The entire teaching staff—700 of us—were gathered in the town's civic auditorium to hear a speaker. Talk about "sit and get." At a pivotal moment, the speaker had us reach under our seats and pull out the envelopes that had […]
Welcome to the second annual game-based learning special report in District Administration. Games continue to grow in popularity in K12 lessons ranging from science and math to English and social studies. They include alternate reality games that hook students' imaginations and introduce social-emotional learning lessons to help students process feelings and thoughts. In a soon-to-be-released […]
