Leaders in Johnston County Schools in central North Carolina knew they needed to find more effective ways to help struggling students, close the achievement gap and meet their core instructional priorities. So they carefully planned a pilot program to choose the best adaptive learning system for the district's 25,000 K8 students and their educators. "We […]
The push toward digital learning in Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut started about six years ago with a simple premise: Learning doesn't stop when school ends. Superintendent Mark D. Benigni understood that advancing off-campus education would require a strong and engaging digital reading program. Soon he knew he had a winner with myON, which provides […]
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is in the middle of a multiyear transformation known as S.T.A.T. (Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow). Initiated in 2013, the goal of S.T.A.T. is ambitious: To cultivate a 21st century technology learning environment for its 111,000 students that prepares globally competitive graduates. Previously, the district's approach to education was similar […]
The internet delivers assessments, videos and instructional content to schools, so why not phone service, too? Adding voice to the bandwidth communications stream makes sense to an increasing number of district leaders who are swapping traditional landlines for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP runs on broadband and Wi-Fi connections so people can make calls […]
A recent federal court decision on the statute of limitations for families to take legal action against schools sheds new light on compensatory services provided to special education students when IEP goals are missed. Parents still must take legal action within two years, but they may seek several years' worth of special education services, according […]
Teachers and administrators face tough challenges in education. Politicians are constantly trying to micromanage our practices, while accountability measures are abundant and budgets are tight. Coming to work isn't always pleasant when it feels like the odds are stacked against us. Improved collaboration and communication across district teams, and across school districts, can allow us […]
Counties in North Carolina are rated on a scale from Tier 1 to Tier 4 for economic wealth, with Tier 1 counties being the most economically disadvantaged. Montgomery County Schools is located in a rural Tier 1 county in the geographic center of the state, with 77 percent of its 4,200 students receiving free and […]
Traditional parent-teacher conferences may go the way of dial-up internet as administrators experiment with innovative family engagement programs to increase student achievement, experts say. "Parents are really interested in activities and events that involve interaction with teachers," says Elena Lopez, associate director of the Harvard Family Research Project, a national platform for family and community […]
Robert C. Fisler School serves 960 K8 students in the suburban Fullerton School District in Orange County, California. Second- through eighth-grade students participate in the school's 1-to-1 laptop program, which has been in place since the school opened in August 2004. But access to technology is meaningless without the right digital programs. Elizabeth Ellison, eighth-grade […]
Online learning activity in public districts has overtaken state-level virtual schools and charters, according to the 12th annual "Keeping Pace with K12 Digital Learning" report, released in December. With more affordable online options, growing teacher and CIO expertise, and improved digital curriculum products, schools can more easily adopt blended learning models, the report states. Most […]
