The number of districts and states rushing to stock an emergency antidote that can revive students suffering heroin overdoses shows the severe degree to which the nation's latest drug epidemic has disrupted schools. Students who in the past might have abused marijuana, painkillers and other prescription drugs have turned to heroin, which is now cheaper […]
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 […]
Kicking a soccer ball might feel a bit like poetry—the power of your foot sending the ball curling through the air to a teammate or into the back of a net. Washington, D.C., teacher Julie Kennedy has for the past 20 years paired verse with the world's most popular sport to provide an edifying, after-school […]
Developers created some of the world's most recognized software in garages and college dorms. The same do-it-yourself (DIY) spirit thrives today across public education. School innovators customize software that ranges from small applications used within a single classroom to programs that support a district's full administrative functions. Districts build their own software when they can't […]
Schools are the center of the community and when schools are transformed in positive ways, communities are transformed. The continued rise of poverty is not surprising when policies and practices that could contribute to eliminating poverty are not addressed well. The foundation of systematic oppression is rooted in practices that contribute to a system becoming […]
What makes community engagements meaningful? For many district leaders, meeting community members face-to-face captures the spirit of meaningful engagement but falls far short when it comes to representing the broader community's wishes. When Spokane Public Schools passed their $145 million bond with an unprecedented 68.9% majority vote, they credited their partnershipwithThoughtexchangefor helping them achieve that […]
Schools are the center of the community and when schools are transformed in positive ways, communities are transformed. The continued rise of poverty is not surprising when policies and practices that could contribute to eliminating poverty are not addressed well. The foundation of systematic oppression is rooted in practices that contribute to a system becoming […]
Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 TED talk, "How Schools Kill Creativity," still ranks as the most watched video of the series, viewed more than 30 million times. In that presentation Robinson said that we are all born with immense natural talents, but by the time we've been through an education system, far too many of us […]
The increasing shift to online learning and collaboration has created new concerns around student privacy. Keeping data as secure in the cloud as it would be in a locked file cabinet requires communication, diligence and strong policies. "Privacy is not a new issue but it certainly has risen to the top in part because so […]
