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 is the most effective way to teach educators effective literacy instruction? We define effective professional development as that which leads to changes in teaching behavior that in turn lead to optimizing student outcomes. Most teachers are not taught any of the finer points of language structure that have to be taught explicitly to students […]
Big city districts are taking the lead in funding pre-K programs as states work more slowly to expand access. "While states continue to make progress in expanding access to early education, cities have increasingly taken it upon themselves to supplement those resources with local contributions" says Albert Wat, senior policy director at the Alliance for […]
Verona Public Schools is dedicated to cultivating learning environments that nurture the natural curiosity of children. As Albert Einstein said, "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." A year after we launched our pilot program in inquiry-based science, feedback from surveys shows a higher level of student […]
Visit just about any racially mixed school and you will see black, white, Asian and Latino kids clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, an authority on the psychology of racism, says straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are […]
At four elementary schools in Idaho's Boise School District, families in need can go to specially designated community rooms to pick up food, clothing and other necessities.
When it was time for North Kansas City School District in Missouri to adopt a mathematics resource for its elementary school students, a select pool of teachers was asked to evaluate several resources. Eventually, Everyday Mathematics from McGraw-Hill Education was selected as the resource. "According to all of the professional development that our teachers received […]
Districts are increasingly tasked with providing options for at-risk and underserved student populations to address persistent achievement gaps. While nationwide gains in closing achievement gaps have been made, research shows that underserved student populations still achieve at lower rates than their peers in many areas. In this web seminar, the executive director of the Office […]
The damage to teaching and learning caused by over-reliance on standardized tests is widely acknowledged. It includes narrowed curricula, teaching to the test, and one-size-fits-all instruction. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers a significant opportunity for states and districts to revamp their assessment systems. Unfortunately, few states plan to replace standardized tests with educationally […]
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 […]
