The push toward digital learning in Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut started about six years ago with a simple premise: Learning doesn’t stop when school ends. Superintendent Mark D. Benigni understood that advancing off-campus education would require a strong and engaging digital reading program. Soon he knew he had a winner with myON, which provides […]
With the ever-increasing reach of technology and the corresponding growth of STEAM-related curricula, it is challenging to find the right tools to help bring such concepts into the classroom in engaging, student-friendly ways. STEAM-focused classroom products also must easily integrate into existing lesson plans. “Coherence is certainly part of the equation,” says Shelley Pasnik, director […]
Counties in North Carolina are rated on a scale from Tier 1 to Tier 4 for economic wealth, with Tier 1 counties being the most economically disadvantaged. Montgomery County Schools is located in a rural Tier 1 county in the geographic center of the state, with 77 percent of its 4,200 students receiving free and […]
Tucked among the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia is a high-poverty school district that looks a lot like the United Nations. It was something Harrisonburg City Public Schools Superintendent Scott Kizner was most proud of. “These refugee students feel like a part of the social fabric,” Kizner says. “And every day all students at this district […]
Fewer than half of high schools and only one-fifth of middle schools offer comprehensive sex education, according to a December report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). No federal requirements exist for sexual education. Decisions about health curricula are usually made at the district level, and vary widely from state to state […]
Alexandria Public Schools leaders re-envisioned classrooms a few years ago when planning a new high school at their central Minnesota district. The educators were driven, in part, by students who refused to enroll in industry skills courses taught typically in classrooms tucked away in dark basements. District leaders also hoped to change the stereotype that […]
Recently, educators, parents, politicians and pundits have begun to question the investment of billions of dollars over six decades in district, state, national, and international testing. Their skepticism is well deserved since there is scant evidence that these once-a-year standardized tests have increased student achievement or have provided the motivation to learn. But that doesn’t […]
Á¢Klint W. Willert Superintendent, Brookings School District, South Dakota Topic: Testing & assessment Trend: Student achievement is measured by more than a single assessment score. The trend of moving toward multiple measures, not just a test score, to determine the quality of a teacher, a school, and district will continue to resound with the voting […]
The new year may send familiar education challenges in new directions as administrators grapple with an uncertain testing landscape, staff shortages, the increased push for equity and constantly increasing charter competition. Experts expect education budgets in most states to remain flat in 2016. The pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act should uphold […]
Districts must navigate a larger number of titles and skill sets when hiring qualified literacy specialists to implement new learning standards and to improve students’ reading and writing performance. Traditionally, a reading specialist worked in small groups or one-on-one with struggling students. But more recently, the role of literacy professional has expanded to include instructional […]
