Young refugees who have fled foreign war zones, religious violence and dire poverty represent some of the country's most "at-risk" students. In one New York district, for instance, refugee students who recently heard alarms during a fire drill worried the school was being bombed. About 61,000 refugees age 17 and younger entered the U.S. between […]
It's never too early to start thinking about college and careers. And that's why kindergarteners at Kankakee School District in Illinois are already on the right path. Superintendent Genevra Walters, and her two adult children, attended the suburban district 60 miles south of Chicago, while her young son is currently enrolled. In May 2014, when […]
Big high school football stadiums in Texas have come under scrutiny from local fiscal watchdogs, but pushback is just part of the story about sports facility finance—where expenditures and potential revenue sources have grown more complex and potentially lucrative. Critics say palatial athletic facilities prioritize sports over the classroom and waste taxpayer money. But supporters […]
DeRay Mckesson is the interim chief human capital officer for Baltimore City Public Schools in Maryland, managing personnel, staffing, benefits and other related issues. The civil rights activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate returns to the human capital office, where for 2 1/2 years he oversaw key reforms as a strategist and special assistant. He […]
When public school students in Detroit return to classrooms this fall, they'll be attending a new district, created by the state's legislature this past summer. In early June, lawmakers approved a $617 million bailout for Detroit Public Schools to restructure nearly $4 billion in crippling debt. The plan will divide the schools into an "old" […]
A middle school in Hampton Bays Public Schools in New York has bridged the needs of its students and the community. In fact, the community helped design Hampton Bays Middle School, which opened in 2008, on Long Island. The building can be used for town hall meetings and adult learning classes, and offers a community […]
I am not a big advocate of movies. I tend to think of them as a 100 plus minute escape from reality. Moreover, movies tend to condition some minds for the oddness that will likely occur in the future. Despite my general disdain of movies, I was recently compelled to watch in its entirety, Bennett […]
Within a few months of becoming superintendent of New Haven Public Schools a couple of years ago, Garth Harries had already attended too many teenagers' funerals. After Harries left these grim ceremonies—and in other occasions when students were shot but survived—his office went back over the victims' academic records for signs of trouble. "There were […]
At Napa Valley USD in northern California, classroom technology integration has been a priority since 1997, when the district opened the country's first New Technology High School. So bringing in digital books in order to provide easily accessible content to the 18,000 students and faculty in 34 schools was a natural—and important—step. "The challenge was […]
Historic schools in Boston, built before World War II, are finally receiving a facelift. On the other side of the country, Carmel USD in California found that controlling and maintaining lighting in nine sites spread over 600 square miles can save energy and maintenance hours.And a 10-year deferred maintenance plan in Sycamore Community Schools in […]
