More than 14.5 percent of the population of Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) is comprised of students categorized as Limited English Proficient. And with more than 127,000 students districtwide, this is not an insignificant number and presents a unique challenge in meeting the district's mission of instilling the ability to read, write, speak, […]
Oxford High School, in Oxford, Mississippi, is a small-town school with big expectations. In 2011, when the district needed to accommodate growth in its student population, administrators partnered with Johnson Controls. Three years later, they opened a high-tech, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art, secure school to more than 1,000 students. A bold vision. Create an energy-efficient school. Make […]
From hurricanes to software viruses to accidental keystrokes, many dangers threaten to corrupt school district data or impede access to it. To prevent loss of critical information, districts back up data routinely, on location and off-site. Districts typically take a tiered approach, moving data between high-cost backup services that offer more immediate access and lower-cost […]
Three years ago, Tom Brabson, business manager of Plain Local Schools in northeastern Ohio, heard the superintendent of a district 60 miles away describe how his life had changed in 22 seconds. In those seconds, a troubled 17-year-old sprayed the Chardon High School cafeteria with bullets, killing three fellow students and creating widespread panic. Since […]
Former New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott was appointed by the state in August to lead a team studying the troubled East Ramapo Central School District in New York. Last fall, a state investigation found that the district's school board members diverted money from public schools to children attending private religious institutions, leaving […]
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 […]
The 2014 annual survey of the American Psychological Association found that teens reported stress greater than did any other age group. With that in mind, a new pilot study, published in the spring issue of the journal Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, describes how a stress-reduction/resiliency-building curriculum developed by the Benson-Henry Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital […]
Beth Mattey was named president of the National Association of School Nurses in June. Mattey is the school nurse at Mt. Pleasant High School, part of Brandywine School District in Delaware. In her remarks at the group's annual conference in June, Mattey said that school nursing is the foundation of healthy schools. "Every day brings […]
Principal selection has not significantly changed since the 1950's and is often unsystematic. While the role of the principal has evolved greatly over the last 60 years, the methods used for selection have remained stagnant. In the 1950's, principals' duties centered primarily on staffing and facility management. Today, school principals may be responsible for tens […]
The U.S. public school system's focus on struggling students leaves high-achieversÁ'especially minorities, the economically disadvantaged and English-language learners Á'without a challenging enough education, experts say. A lack of federal funding and patchwork policies across states often leave decisions on identifying and serving gifted students to district administrators. An estimated 3 million to 5 million academically […]
