In the mountains of western North Carolina, administrators in Buncombe County Schools have seen a steady rise in the number of its 25,500 students who are homeless, food-insecure and involved in domestic violence. The need for increased mental health care has led the district to adopt social-emotional learning models designed to help students at its […]
No matter how cutting-edge the technology or advanced the curriculum, students have a hard time mastering essays and equations if they're hungry, traumatized or feeling marginalized by a textbook's inaccurate portrayal of their ethnic group. "If you came to work and hadn't eaten for a day or two, you wouldn't be prepared to work" says […]
Every spring, students in Michael Nocella's chemistry class at Niles West High School in Illinois design a hot air balloon. But they set goals beyond carrying the most passengers or flying the farthest. Students work in groups to create a balloon that meets a societal or environmental need, such as fuel efficiency. Weaving this kind […]
Several districts have found new ways to connect with and retain quality substitutes. Use social media. Tacoma Public Schools finds emergency substitutes via Facebook or Instagram who agree to be available when teachers call in sick. Allow subs to take bathroom and lunch breaks so they’re not working the entire day, says Andrea Giunta, senior […]
Traditional parent-teacher conferences may go the way of dial-up internet as administrators experiment with innovative family engagement programs to increase student achievement, experts say. "Parents are really interested in activities and events that involve interaction with teachers," says Elena Lopez, associate director of the Harvard Family Research Project, a national platform for family and community […]
Edward Gonzalez says teachers??and classified employees??can make wise decisions about the classroom and technical training they receive. Madera USD sits in the center of California in the San Joaquin Valley, which grows much of the nation’s nuts, vegetables and fruit. Gonzalez, its superintendent, gave each of his roughly 1,100 teachers $500 to spend as they […]
Injecting the arts into science, math, engineering and technology encourages students to think creatively and critically in traditional STEM subjects that, until the recent and widespread adoption of new standards, didn't often encourage students to think outside the box. The rising popularity of blended STEAM programs reflects a nationwide K12 push to develop the next […]
Superintendent John Rouse sits on a jackpot of sorts. Chief of Rains ISD in a community not far from Dallas, Rouse says a little luck helped his district acquire about $8 million from what is known as the state’s County Permanent School Fund. It started two centuries ago. In the 1800s, the state granted land […]
By fall 2014, figuring out how to meet the requirements of the Common Core State Standards was critical for administrators in Glendale USD. The district, which is just outside of Los Angeles and serves over 26,000 students, was in need of high-quality materials that could help them transition to the Common Core while providing each […]
