Statewide teacher strikes and walkouts in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado and Kentucky left students out of school for days while superintendents scrambled to communicate with parents, to make up missed class time and to reschedule state tests. In West Virginia, all schools in the state's 55 districts were closed for nine days in February […]
The Pennsbury School District in Pennsylvania has embarked on a wide ranging Future Ready initiative, seeking to provide ubiquitous access to technology for its 10,500 students while creating a culture of digital, personalized teaching and learning. The initiative included replacing outdated desktops and shared laptop carts with 1:1 Chromebooks and updating the district's technology infrastructure. […]
Shawn Stover helps principals move beyond what he calls "the tyranny of the urgent." Stover, an instructional superintendent in District of Columbia Public Schools, says it's all too easy for principals to devote the bulk of their days to busing, athletic schedules, discipline, building maintenance and other issues that can demand immediate attention. Yet mounds […]
Quick quiz: After the buildings, salaries and benefits, what is one of the biggest expenses for most school districts? Chances are that it's those ubiquitous yellow buses that pick up kids in the morning and return them home (or close to it) after school. With the typical school bus costing between $45,000 and $90,000 a […]
Turning right on a red light is part of the driving landscape in all 50 states, but school buses generally wait for green. Many states prohibit a right turn on red for a school bus, but Florida's Manatee County just started a pilot program that lets drivers of the district's 150 buses go right on […]
School district administrators hate it when they stumble across closets full of unused computing devices or visit classrooms where whiteboards are being used as very expensive chalkboards. Technology leaders at Dysart USD in the Phoenix suburbs had real-world experience with this phenomenon and were determined to make changes, says Diana Hawari, chief information officer. "Buying […]
Whether it results from misinformation, staff complaints or faculty disagreements about new policies, all districts face employee issues. Some have learned better than others how to address problems early, before they erupt. "In large districts, there's more opportunity for a communication breakdown" says Jeff Filloon, HR director at Chandler USD in Arizona. "Most problems can […]
Last fall, a national problem arrived in Superintendent Richard Scaletta's corner of rural northwestern Pennsylvania. Principals in the General McLane School District began reporting unprecedented levels of misbehavior: students in frequent and severe distress, sometimes kicking, biting or throwing things.
Breaking down silos is far from a new concept. More than 25 years ago, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, championed the idea of working across organizational boundaries. Today, we live in a far different world. Our communications technologies have dramatically improved, and we have instant access to massive amounts of information. The promise […]
Striving to ensure the implementation of best practices that support all learners is critical to academic achievement for diverse populations. Dearborn Schools is committed to ensuring that all students reach academic success. With a population of 20,907 of which 50 percent are English learners (several refugees and newcomer students), 8 percent special education and approximately […]
