This spring, schools have experienced a profound increase in student suicides and attempts, as well as school shootings. Recognize that as bad as things have been this spring, things are likely to be worse next fall. Contention over race, origin, LGBTQ, and sexual assault/harassment will increase, along with contention over gun control in the context […]
Today’s education leaders increasingly take it upon themselves to tackle the external challenges their students and teachers confront beyond school hours. These varied solutions also stretch back into classrooms to enhance instruction and increase achievement. The 45 schools and systems recognized by this year’s District of Distinction program have created homegrown initiatives to support students’ […]
Administrators have closed or increased monitoring of school bathrooms. They have sent students for drug tests. They have even banned USB thumb drives. These actions reflect the wide range of responses district leaders have taken to curb the alarming increase in students’ use of vaping devices and e-cigarettes. “We’re very concerned that the emergence of […]
New California laws make the state first in the nation to adopt human trafficking and sexual abuse prevention education and training for students and teachers. The California Healthy Youth Act, passed in 2016, requires districts to provide comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education, including lessons on sex trafficking. In 2017, the governor amended the […]
After February’s deadly school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, there was no shortage of suggestions for improving school security, ranging from adding more guards to arming teachers. One area not widely addressed, however, is how to prepare teachers and administrators psychologically for dealing with a crisis. For example, although teachers […]
John Gaddis, superintendent of Somerset County School District in Maryland, quells parent frustration over repeated snow-day cancellations by posting humorous videos on Facebook. Gaddis—while wearing flip flops, swim trunks and Hawaiian shirts—films himself in the snow fishing, roasting marshmallows and sitting in a beach chair next to a grill. Parents reportedly like the videos and […]
Donna Reynolds, principal of Lake Mary High School of Seminole County Public Schools in Florida, connected with students by performing with the dance team at a pep rally. Reynolds—dressed in uniform pants, a senior class T-shirt and black athletic shoes—prepared by attending team practices and working with students one-on-one. Matt Hawkins, principal of Centreville Junior/Senior […]
Fifteen—that’s how many times Sara Kopp says she treated her 10-year-old daughter for lice in just one school year, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. Frustrated by the expense and inconvenience—and Washoe County School District policies that she says allow lice to spread at school—Kopp began circulating an online petition in the spring of 2017, […]
Nevada recently launched an online reporting system for parents and students, joining a handful of other states and districts in efforts to combat bullying. Colorado was first to create an online bullying reporting tool in 2004, five years after the Columbine shooting. Since then, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah and Michigan have passed laws mandating the creation […]
How can administrators prepare staff with best practices and reasonable emergency plans? How can you communicate safety to your parents in a social media world on digital steroids? Bomb threats sent to teachers through an international proxy server. Computer-generated shooting threats called in to your school office. An irate parent with a gun reportedly headed […]
