Despite fewer unaccompanied minors arriving from Central America, many U.S. K12 schools still struggle to adapt to the challenges of educating this diverse set of immigrant students. During the 2014 fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security reported that 57,496 unaccompanied minors arrived in the United States. In the first eight months of fiscal year […]
Some say that for principals, every day is their first day on the job. Alongside day-to-day building management issues such as hiring teachers, overseeing finances and student discipline, principals now guide teachers through new state standards and testing. As principal evaluations become a more common practice, district leaders need to provide them with a PD […]
Following a change in leadership in the Puyallup School District during the summer of 2012, we committed to align the work of the district with professional learning for leaders and staff to serve each student. Working with the board of directors, "Improvement of Instruction, Student Growth and Achievement" became the central focus of the district, […]
Harford County Public Schools (HCPS) in Maryland was challenged to increase student engagement and to use technology to facilitate learning. The DigitalHARFORD initiative was established two years ago to help infuse the right digital tools and content into newly created active learning environments to inspire all students in the district's 54 schools. To fulfill that […]
Back-to-school has become a thing of the past in an increasing number of districts that keep class in session all year. The number of public, year-round schools, also called "balanced-calendar" schools, increased by 26 percent from 2007 to 2012, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. More than 3,700 schools operate year-round nationwide, accounting […]
English-language learners now comprise more than five percent of Cincinnati's school populationÁ'which has grown more than 500 percent in the past five years. The third largest district in Ohio, Cincinnati Public Schools features a diverse population that includes speakers of 83 different languages. Addressing this specific challenge was part of the district's objective when applying […]
Educational neuroscience empowers teachers with new insights into how all students learn and holds promise for enhancing special ed, but myths and exaggerations sprouting up around the burgeoning field could lead to children being labeled, which could limit their abilities, experts say. Educational neuroscience empowers teachers with new insights into how all students learn and […]
For a number of years, an aging student information system (SIS) plagued Bethlehem Central Schools, located near Albany, New York. By spring 2013, it was apparent new software was needed to maintain the data about the district's 4,900 students. "We correctly predicted our SIS would soon be considered end-of-life and would no longer be supported," […]
Several years ago, I attended a four-day training on instructional coaching at the University of Kansas, led by Jim Knight, an expert in the field. During this training, Knight presented a comprehensive model that can easily be implemented as part of internal professional development in schools. As the academic year began at Columbia Grammar and […]
A cadre of students trained in IT support are providing teachers with Johnny-on-the-spot resources and bolstering the responsiveness of districts' lean tech staffs for routine requests. The eager students provide districts with an inexpensive and much-needed tech resource; and the students gain experience, new skills, and confidence, districts say. On any given day, teachers are […]
