The organizational tendency of many large school districts is to divide elementary and secondary education into separate departments. Dearborn Public Schools' central office followed this model for decades. During tough financial times there was a history of competition for limited district resources between elementary and secondary central office staff and building administrators. This led to […]
What are some of the key benefits of hyperconvergence for K12? Hyperconvergence is going to save schools money. The deployment is very easy, and the biggest driver of all is ease of use. School districts often have limited resources and IT specialists, so hyperconvergence is really about being able to take an infrastructure and allow […]
As the internet and social media become entrenched in classrooms, more schools teach students how to behave responsibly online and how to gauge the credibility of the web's resources, says Pamela Roggeman, academic dean for University of Phoenix's College of Education. Still, a 2017 University of Phoenix survey of 1,000 teachers found 84 percent had […]
Crafting a strong and well-balanced social media policy requires considerable time and effort. The policy must be flexible enough to accommodate new tech trends—such as anonymous messaging apps and livestreaming—yet thorough and specific enough to address a multitude of potentially troublesome scenarios involving students, faculty and staff. When a few students at Eudora High School […]
Describe preparation versus prevention when it comes to a school district's safety plan. You can only prepare for general incidents; you can't prepare for the specific. Preparing a safety plan gets everybody on the same page. Whether it's a bus accident, bomb threat or intruder alert, prevention comes through debriefing after an emergency occurs. You […]
Due to property tax reform in Indiana, the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township experienced a $14 million to $17 million shortfall and was facing tough financial decisions surrounding its capital projects, debt service and transportation expenditures. To search for efficiencies in transportation, Superintendent Jeff Butts engaged with Transfinder, specifically looking to leverage their software […]
K12 STEM programs are evolving, incorporating new tools and technologies to better prepare students for rapidly changing college and career environments. Makerspaces, drones, coding and robotics are all part of this next generation of STEM learning that is just beginning to have an impact in districts. This web seminar focused on incorporating these new tools. […]
The completion of the Maywood Center for Enriched Studies, a grade 6 through 12 magnet school, marks the end of Los Angeles USD's 14-year effort to add 131 new schools. The building accommodates 1,200 students from Maywood and across the district. Challenge: From 1980 to 2002, LAUSD faced a 200,000-student increase that forced many schools […]
Leaders know the necessity of upgrading digital devices. The longer we put it off, the more likely a system will fail. The upgrade is part of the modern digital world. The digital age brings a comparable call to action for administrators, who must upgrade their leadership brand. Maintaining trust is a key reason for a […]
The life of a military family comes with a powerful sense of patriotism and pride, but also definite, daily challenges. Personnel are typically transferred every two to three years, which means their children may attend as many as nine schools during their lives.