When Elizabeth Rose's teaching job was cut, she was presented with two options: leave the profession or substitute in a different Manhattan public high school each week. Rather than give in, Rose—who's also a musician, writer and actor—took on the substitute challenge. It was "a temptation no storyteller could resist," she says. When Elizabeth Rose's […]
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 […]
Improving the writing skills of all 6,500 students emerged as a top priority for the administrators of Mississippi's Gulfport School District beginning in fall 2014. "We needed a resource that addressed the rigorous writing requirements of the Common Core, as well as one that would allow educators to teach writing in a systematic way," says […]
A few years ago, San Francisco USD had questions about the hundreds of community-based organizations teaching reading to students and growing school gardens, among a wide range of other activities. Administrators wanted to know the risks of outside groups using school facilities, says Dorothy Gjerdrum, the senior managing director of public sector practice at Arthur […]
Principal selection has not significantly changed since the 1950's and is often unsystematic. While the role of the principal has evolved greatly over the last 60 years, the methods used for selection have remained stagnant. In the 1950's, principals' duties centered primarily on staffing and facility management. Today, school principals may be responsible for tens […]
Whether you have just begun your blended learning journey, or it is a path you have been traveling down for several years, it's important to stay dynamic and reflective on your practice in order to ensure that your blended initiative is having a positive impact on student success. In this web seminar, originally broadcast on […]
Transforming school libraries into communal learning "playgrounds" offers students technology support, remote access to research resources and expanded opportunities for creative exploration. Librarians can collaborate with teachers to develop lesson plans that incorporate a multifunctional library's media programs, books and other online resources. For instance, students in a history class at New Canaan High School […]
Several years ago, I attended a four-day training on instructional coaching at the University of Kansas, led by Jim Knight, an expert in the field. During this training, Knight presented a comprehensive model that can easily be implemented as part of internal professional development in schools. As the academic year began at Columbia Grammar and […]
Alton L. Frailey, superintendent of Katy ISD in Texas and president of the Texas Association of School Administrators, was elected 2015-16 president-elect of AASA, and will begin his post in July. Frailey became Katy ISD chief in 2007, after previously serving as chief of DeSoto ISD in Texas and Cincinnati Public Schools. "AASA champions the […]
It's crucial for today's students to develop foundational technology skills that can be applied to their core subject learning. To accomplish this goal, districts need to coordinate the efforts of technology and academic staff to embed digital learning into the curriculum. In this web seminar, originally broadcast on March 10, 2015, a district technology leader […]
