The population of ELL students continues to grow, and achievement gaps between ELL students and other student populations persist in many districts. There are a variety of best practices administrators can employ to address these achievement gaps and meet the needs of ELL students. This web seminar discussed ways of ensuring equity for ELL students. […]
For the past two years, leaders at Muhlenberg South Middle School in Greenville, Kentucky, have been working to decrease the number of teacher absences as part of a wider effort to improve school culture. Although this has occurred during a financial crisis in which all Muhlenberg County School District staff took a 10 percent pay […]
The next generation of IT infrastructure, hyperconvergence is a framework that combines computing, storage and networking into a single, simplified, automated and easy-to-use system. It's a perfect fit for school districts, which have limited budgets and few staff members to maintain and operate their IT systems. In fact, hyperconverged IT infrastructures—even in large and complex […]
Every year, nearly 40 percent of food produced in America is thrown into the trash. That trend extends to the 5 billion lunches served in U.S. public schools each year, amounting to an estimated $1.2 billion of annual lunchroom waste, according to USDA data and findings from a two-year study of Boston middle schools. The […]
BARTLETT, TENNESSEE—Only a handful of superintendents have launched a brand-new district. Even fewer have done it only months after being involved in a large-scale merger. Meet David Stephens, superintendent of Bartlett City Schools in a middle-class Memphis suburb. Stephens—whose father, grandfather, aunt and uncle all taught in Tennessee school districts—was chosen in 2013 to lead […]
I believe in the validity of vocational programs. However, I do have concerns about the context of what is being taught to these students in a rapidly changing economy. Vocational education at the secondary level has a long and storied tradition in the history of the United States. It is an institutional framework that meets the needs […]
We are entrusted with creating opportunities for all students to achieve their highest potential. Anyone can relate to this basic need: to be understood for our abilities, not categorized by our challenges. Let's defy the stereotypes and see students for their potential, not their inability to read; let's empower each teacher to change lives; let's […]
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 […]
K12 STEM programs are evolving, incorporating new tools and technologies to better prepare students for rapidly changing college and career environments. Makerspaces, drones, coding and robotics are all part of this next generation of STEM learning that is just beginning to have an impact in districts. This web seminar focused on incorporating these new tools. […]
The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative hopes to build a drone-port and collaborative community workspace atop a coal-mined mountain. In the meantime, it's offering its 22 member districts courses in fabricating, flying and fixing unmanned aircraft. "We have these vast areas of nearly wasteland—the ground is unfit for farming and much else as the tops of […]
