Schools thrive on free and open exchanges of information, but as soon as a principal reviews attendance records or examines student grades held on a district server, that openness must end. Schools thrive on free and open exchanges of information, but as soon as a principal reviews attendance records or examines student grades held on a […]
Every morning, principals in the West Bridgewater School District in Massachusetts get on the PA system to lead students through a few minutes of mindful breathing exercises.
In March 2016, The Atlantic magazine article “When Social and Emotional Learning Is Key to College Success” stated, “While test scores can predict academic success, self-management and relationship skills may better prepare students to thrive and graduate.” In September, The Aspen Institute formed the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, to advance “the […]
Journalism classes at Junction City High School in Kansas—100 miles west of Kansas City—use the short-lived social media app Snapchat to learn long-lived lessons of storytelling. The students in those classes use "snaps"—which are either pictures or 10-second videos taken with their smartphones that are saved for 24 hours—to report on Geary County Schools' events […]
Shawn Joseph, director of schools in Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee, created four new groups of K12 educational facilities. Each group will consist of about 40 schools and have a new area superintendent who will report to the chief of schools. The effort will streamline communications, giving administrators one person to report to instead […]
Neither Principal Mike Havener nor any of his administrators preview stories the students at Kirkwood High School produce for their TV broadcast, or for The Kirkwood Call newspaper or its website. Giving the high school journalists in the suburban-St. Louis district leeway to create stories that occasionally upset readers (even administrators) teaches them the full […]
Is cursive writing doomed to become a long-lost art? Not if some educators have anything to say about it. After decades of remaining a main component of elementary education, cursive is up for debate under the Common Core standards. Its detractors argue that cursive is an antiquated form of writing that's not necessary in the […]
The E-rate program, which is entering its 20th cycle and is worth about $4 billion, is still giving. It can still help districts connect their school buildings to the internet—unbeknownst to some leaders, says John Harrington, CEO of Funds for Learning consulting firm. Almost all of the physical infrastructure necessary to wire a school building […]
Pre-K programs for students with special needs vary widely in quality and scope. Some states and districts have long included students with special needs in pre-K classes alongside their more typically developing peers.
Today's educators need versatile products that can be used to teach more than one aspect of STEAM. Schools want to engage students with hands-on activities that, for example, blend art and reading with core science and math instruction. Manufacturers have therefore developed cross-curricular STEAM tools that cover multiple subjects and align with learning frameworks such […]
