Three of the state's largest school districts to start the year with new leaders. At Salem-Keizer, Andrea Castañeda plans to focus on community engagement, relationships with school board members, teaching, and school operations.
Lawmakers this year didn't approve extra money to help schools pay for raises despite having an unprecedented $32 billion surplus — even after Gov. Greg Abbott commissioned a task force last year to improve teacher pay and retention.
Ryan Bruns, who has served as the superintendent for both Northwestern and Langford school districts, terminated a paraprofessional's employment in an act of retaliation, court documents say.
Set aside the fears of cheating and uprising, many educators are deploying AI for professional development, administrative tasks and other more ordinary purposes.
"For a long time, people looked at preparedness from an academic standpoint," says Scott Gengler, principal at Wayzata High School. "But I'm not sure kids see the relevancy all the time."
Grant Public Schools' board terminated its contract with a clinic that has served nearly 700 students this school year—and community members claim it all began with a mural featuring characters wearing rainbow colors and the colors of the transgender flag.
The West Virginia district's instructional innovations kicked into high gear when Superintendent Adam Cheeseman got his students involved in bringing broadband to his rural community.
Across the nation, educator shortages continue unabated. But leaders in these three states are hoping to change the narrative through teacher-centered reform.
Leaders in Idaho and Indiana are leaving their posts during district investigations into matters that have not been disclosed to either the public or, in one case, to the superintendent himself.
Superintendent Kirt Hartzler makes a bold claim about Union Public Schools that would fill any leader with pride or envy: "We truly are a high-poverty yet high-performing school district."
