While detention remains a staple of student discipline across the country, many school leaders are looking at ways to modify the practice, or even replace it, with approaches that may be more effective in actually reducing bad behavior. Classic detention, where bored students sit silently and unproductively in classrooms after school, has limited value as […]
After a shake-up in Oklahoma City Public Schools that resulted with Superintendent Rob Neu and the district "parting ways" Aurora Lora has taken over as superintendent. Lora, a former fourth-grade teacher in Houston and a district administrator in Portland, Seattle and Dallas, had been a finalist for the job in 2014. Neu subsequently hired her […]
With the recent updates to E-rate, district leaders can choose between building and maintaining their own networks using dark fiber or trusting the job to a communications service provider. When making that decision, considerations must include looking at the total cost of ownership, evaluating technology innovation, identifying the impact to network control and security, and […]
Urban districts struggling with budget cuts can increasingly look to foundations, nonprofits and private companies for support in driving district success efforts—from enhancing instruction to expanding healthcare to boosting college preparation. "Collaboration across sectors is necessary to solve problems whose root causes are complex and multifaceted, and which need extensive, coordinated resources from many different […]
Several Connecticut communities are training parents to take more active roles in the success of their districts. Parents Supporting Educational Excellence (Parents SEE) encourages parents to learn about how their districts work and to get involved to help solve problems. The 12-week, education-focused leadership program was developed by the nonprofit Connecticut Center for School Change, […]
The arts survive in American education, despite pressures placed on school leaders to focus on high-stakes tests in math and English. As of March, 27 states identify the arts as a core academic subject. And 49 states and the District of Columbia have adopted elementary and secondary standards for the arts, according to the "State […]
Today's climate of budget cuts and shortfalls has increased the importance of risk management in school districts. Insurance premiums can wipe out extensive efforts to reduce costs. In the past, school safety has primarily focused on disaster preparation and security issues, but it has come to mean much more. School safety is a holistic approach […]
The education technology market might have become easier for district leaders to navigate, thanks in part to a new nonprofit group, Technology for Education Consortium (TEC). Led by CEO and former New York City Schools Chief Information Officer Hal Friedlander, the group provides leaders a place where they can give spending limits on certain tech […]
Harry "Doc" Ervin is the new superintendent for Bakersfield City School District, the largest elementary school district in California, effective July 1. Ervin, who is fluent in Spanish and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has served in education for more than two decades as a classroom teacher and principal. He is currently superintendent of […]
At age 14, David Vroonland says he knew he would serve young people. An atypical childhood brought him to that point. His mother, who was in foster care, was about 16 when she gave birth in Iowa. He was raised away from her in foster care in poverty, but in a loving family. And then […]
