As the Kahoot game-based learning platform has gained popularity, so have student attempts to hack into the program. Some students log in using fake names to bombard the teacher with distractions, to program bots to stop a quiz or to steal the answer key. Others post their classroom quiz PINs to online forums so other […]
Lack of resources. Tight deadlines. Inadequate training. These scenarios can trigger anxiety, frustration or other negative emotions at public schools. "I felt all of these things" says Chett Daniel, a former fourth-grade ELA teacher at Neosho School District in Missouri. Daniel quit teaching last year to launch his own consulting firm, K12 HR Solutions. "Often, […]
Civics—a mainstay in public schools for generations, but widely sidelined in recent years—is making a comeback. At the federal level, pending Senate legislation would require federal grant recipients to teach the U.S. Constitution—vital for students to understand the "fundamental principles and values on which our system is based" says Chuck Quigley, executive director for the […]
In August, Woodbrook Elementary School in Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia completed a renovation and expansion that features much larger classrooms to facilitate multiage learning. Each family at Woodbrook can choose whether to place their child in a traditional, single-grade classroom or in a multiage classroom with two grade levels combined. With the new, […]
YONKERS, N.Y.—Brian Schulder, the security and safety director at Yonkers Public Schools, considers himself an educator, first and foremost. He's not some hardened, former city beat cop or detective—he's spent a majority of his 20-plus years in this large urban district teaching and coaching. "I think being an educator lets me see things from a perspective […]
LRP Media Group, parent company of District Administration, has acquired Atlantic Research Partners' National Superintendents Academy. The first cohort of the superintendent training program will launch in February 2019, with subsequent academies to be announced later, says Robert Avossa, senior vice president and publisher, education products, for LRP. "We are excited to launch DA's National […]
Most current assessment systems rely on generating data in order to identify, sort and label students, as well as educators. But this approach is at odds with what has always been the true purpose of effective assessment, which should instead be to build hope, efficacy and achievement for both learners and educators. In this web […]
Today's most progressive language instruction covers more than speech. Educators now work to build students' fluency in the culture behind the words. Global competency, also called "interculturality" has emerged as a priority in districts seeking to develop students' understanding of both their own and other cultures, says Jacqueline Van Houten, world language instructional lead for […]
Why is it important that social-emotional issues and unconscious biases are addressed? All of us have biases. It doesn't matter who you are. But self-awareness becomes critical, particularly in schools. Anybody who interacts with students has responsibilities toward their social and emotional wellness, not only their academic instruction. There's a lot of power, not only […]
American schools have become increasingly data-driven in many important ways. School officials often rely on measurement and data for long-term strategic planning, budgeting and curriculum selection. However, they often do not evaluate school safety with the same level of care and accuracy. In providing oversight for security, climate and emergency preparedness assessments for more than […]