When Rio Grande City Consolidated ISD introduced a digital reading program two years ago, some teachers balked at student assessments being performed by a computer. Those concerns abated as teachers saw increased proficiency for the 4,100 students using Istation Reading and Istation Espa±ol, says Serapio Trillayes, executive director for curriculum and instruction for the district, […]
Here are seven more strategies from the National Association of School Psychologists for dealing with counseling shortages: Develop paid internship programs to recruit graduate school candidates to your district. Sell the job and your district by outlining community assets, such as a lower cost of living, strong school systems and local parks. Cast a wide […]
The school psychologist shortage rages on, with one federal study predicting deficits of more than 10,000 full-time psychologists by 2025. But districts have been exploring nontraditional options to provide comprehensive care to all students. "The shortages are significant and severe, to the point where we're in somewhat of a potential crisis" says Eric Rossen, director […]
Personalized learning for students has long been a priority in K12 education, but for some reason, some districts haven't applied this same approach to teachers. For years, PD has been completely one-dimensional. Teachers sit in district- and state-mandated PowerPoint-driven seminars that fail to encourage collaboration or authentic engagement in the material. Often, teachers leave feeling […]
When Amy Arbogash took the reins of the technology department at Verona Area School District in Wisconsin in 2017, it was in the middle of a multiyear shift to personalized instruction. Students were developing their own learning plans during the rollout of a 1-to-1 iPad program. That is why the district gave Arbogash the title […]
North Clackamas School District Superintendent Matthew Utterback minds the gap. That is, the gap between white students and everyone else. That's why the 2017 National School Superintendent of the Year takes special pride in the details of his Oregon district's 18 percent graduation rate increase. "There's now no gap between graduation rates for students of […]
Effective professional development helps educators better address the rapidly evolving needs of students. But with limited budgets and teacher time, how can PD be served up effectively, and integrated and tracked? Education leaders share their best practices for ensuring that professional learning time is well-spent, focused, shared and rewarded. 1. Offer various formats. Just as […]
Project-based learning is an inquiry-based and applied learning approach incorporating authenticity, student ownership, reflection, revision and public work. It is one of the leading instructional pedagogies to address today's learning. In recent years, thousands of teachers have participated in PBL professional development. It is pervasive in today's professional learning. However, little has been done to […]
Every spring, Graham Local Schools fourth- and fifth-graders hatch and release trout during a unit that covers aquaponics, hydroponics and conservation. Older students raise corn and soybeans on a sustainable farm operated by the rural district in southwest Ohio. Teachers in the Jim Thorpe Area School District in Pennsylvania have incorporated software such as GarageBand […]
When we talk about the "deaths of despair"—those from alcohol and drug misuse and suicide—we tend to overlook an important fact. While media reports often focus on adults, young people are also dying from the same causes, and caregivers, family and friends suffer from the trauma of these events. Suicide is the third leading cause […]
