In his previous book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, journalist Paul Tough looked at how non-cognitive personal qualities like perseverance, self-control and conscientiousness play a critical role in children's success. Now, in the follow-up to that book, Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why (2016, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Tough […]
Bonsall High School in San Diego County, California, is one of approximately 150 New Tech model schools in the country, where innovations in experiential learning foster college and career success. Moving beyond technologies that merely mimic traditional educational strategies, Bonsall uses an all-in-one computer—Sprout by HP—to fundamentally change the classroom experience. The result is highly […]
North Hills School District in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, wanted to better engage students in grades 6-12 across its English Language Arts curriculum through a commitment to education technology. With the move toward more rigorous digital learning, North Hills piloted StudySync, McGraw-Hill Education's digital English Language Arts curriculum for grades 6-12, during the 2015-16 school year […]
When beginning kindergarten, Latino students are three months behind in math literacy when compared to their white peers, says a 2017 study conducted by Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization that works to improve the lives children and families. The study, "Making Math Count More for Young Latino Children" cites poverty in Latino households as […]
The Syracuse City School District serves more than 20,000 students across 34 schools, most of which have been classified by the New York State Education Department as either "priority" or "focus" schools. These schools have the overall lowest student academic performance on state assessments, persistently low graduation rates, and had shown little improvement. As educators, […]
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 […]
The assessment that prospective principals must take to obtain an administrative license in 18 states may be a barrier to non-whites and urban educators, says a 2017 study. Researchers focused on the use of the School Leaders Licensure Assessment in Tennessee and found that the exam did not provide an effective performance screen. A team […]
Stacey McNinch-Curschman, the secondary curriculum director for Visalia USD in California, knew that as her district was ramping up its training efforts around Common Core standards for mathematics in 2013, as well as its own district-level curriculum changes, both administrators and teachers would need to be continually learning and improving themselves. "If we work effectively […]
District Administration welcomed education policy expert Robert Balfanz for this web seminar about what the last 10 years of research has found when it comes to improving the most challenged and lowest-performing schools, as well as the implications of the Trump administration and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on these efforts. Balfanz is research professor […]
Seeking alternatives to expensive professional development that takes teachers out of their classrooms and requires substitutes, Madison County Public Schools in Virginia developed a solution. Teachers want relevant professional development to be available when they have time. They want choice and immediate feedback. The district needs effective PD that is incorporated into classrooms. As director […]
