The 3,000 students in rural Maine's Regional School Unit 19 begin compiling electronic portfolios of their schoolwork in pre-K, when the district issues every child a Google account. In the elementary years, teachers snap and upload digital photos of handwritten work. In the upper grades, students accustomed to electronically documenting their school lives habitually upload […]
While detention remains a staple of student discipline across the country, many school leaders are looking at ways to modify the practice, or even replace it, with approaches that may be more effective in actually reducing bad behavior. Classic detention, where bored students sit silently and unproductively in classrooms after school, has limited value as […]
In what appears to be an average classroom, students from Pullman School District 267 in Washington wear devices that measure their pulse, eye movements and brain waves as a teacher gives a lesson. The classroom is part of the Neurocognitive Science Lab at Washington State University, which opened this year. The lab, funded by the […]
Increasing the use of digital library content was one of the goals outlined in the North East Independent School District's (ISD) instructional improvement plan starting in the 2013-14 school year. The San Antonio district, which enrolls 68,000 students, had many eBooks and digital audiobooks, but most students were simply not using the content. "It is […]
Lyceum Academy offers a rigorous, fully integrated AP® and honors-based curriculum at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. This 200-student "school within a school," part of the most diverse school in New Hanover County, attracts students ready to face an educational challenge. Because all Lyceum students must take AP exams, it is critical […]
Students will likely choose healthier meals if provided with more comfortable places to eat. Modern lighting and food-court style designs can draw students to dining areas while school gardens can provide learning experiences and also supply cafeterias with fresh, less expensive produce. Students will likely choose healthier meals if provided with more comfortable places to […]
The opt-out movement shows no signs of slowing in the midst of this year's spring testing season. An estimated two-thirds to three-quarters of a million students could chose not to take state standardized tests this school year, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. In 2014-15, more than 640,000 students skipped state […]
Harry "Doc" Ervin is the new superintendent for Bakersfield City School District, the largest elementary school district in California, effective July 1. Ervin, who is fluent in Spanish and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has served in education for more than two decades as a classroom teacher and principal. He is currently superintendent of […]
From testing problem-solving skills in the survivalist block-building adventure Minecraft to reinforcing science concepts in SimCityEDU, educators are integrating games in the classroom at an increasingly rapid rate. Game-Based Learning occurs when students play a game with defined learning outcomes. In this special section, District Administration analyzes exactly what qualifies as Game-Based Learning, and identifies […]
A wealth of choices. Accessible at home or at school. Both fiction and nonfiction options. Those were the qualifications for new ELA software for the 37,000 students of West Ada School District in western Idaho. "We had other instructional reading tools, but they were very expensive and did not provide content at the time" says […]
