School districts are elevating physical education standards and expanding athletic activities beyond traditional sports to provide a more well-rounded education as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Instead of old favorites such as dodgeball and basketball, many districts have introduced more individually focused activities such as rock climbing, cross-training and yoga. "We are seeing […]
Districts are increasingly tasked with providing options for at-risk and underserved student populations to address persistent achievement gaps. While nationwide gains in closing achievement gaps have been made, research shows that underserved student populations still achieve at lower rates than their peers in many areas. Black and Hispanic students graduate at lower rates than white […]
How can administrators prepare staff with best practices and reasonable emergency plans? How can you communicate safety to your parents in a social media world on digital steroids? Bomb threats sent to teachers through an international proxy server. Computer-generated shooting threats called in to your school office. An irate parent with a gun reportedly headed […]
The past two decades have seen 1-to-1 computing grow in popularity, with school districts across the country deploying millions of laptops and tablets to students, excited by their potential to enhance learning. But unfortunately, with the trend came the reality that many school systems didn't adequately plan, prepare for or sustain their 1-to-1 initiatives, and […]
Nationally, the number of English learners continues to grow, presenting district administrators with unique challenges. Blended learning that incorporates computer-adaptive assessments and instruction can be a vital resource to meet the needs of these students and to help them become proficient in English and succeed academically. This web seminar focused on key strategies for implementing […]
A teacher's time is precious—I can attest to that as a former teacher and school principal. School years are jam-packed with teaching, planning, data analysis, testing, and supporting students as they meet their learning goals. Throughout, teachers make time to hone their skills and to stay current in their subject areas through observation, feedback and […]
Steven Yates has a message for would-be school librarians. "If you're coming to this because you like to read and you want to manage a collection of books, then you showed up about 30 years too late to the profession" says Yates, a former high school librarian who teaches in the school library media certification […]
Going into his third year as principal of Sunset Elementary School near Spokane, Washington, Ty McGregor feels more confident that he has prepared his building for an intruder or active shooter. While school was out this past June, a group of staff members, students and emergency responders conducted drills on two potentially devastating scenarios: a […]
Teachers today have more control over how and when they receive professional development. Whether the learning is self-paced, online or partially in-person, more districts measure PD based on the new skills teachers can display in their classrooms rather than on how long they spend listening to an instructor. For example, veteran social studies teacher Kurt […]
One month before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, Turlock USD was still short five speech-language pathologists. The salary offered by the Central California district was high by area standards, but even so, the positions remained unfilled. In fact, no one had even applied. Alice Solis, Turlock's director of special education, struggled to hire […]
