“When do you do what?” The counselors at Mooresville High School of Mooresville Graded Schools near Charlotte, North Carolina, heard that question often from college-bound students during the fall application season. The college planning software the district used prior to spring 2016 helped the 1,876 Mooresville students prepare documents, but did not provide information or […]
DA’s Districts of Distinction program, which honors innovative projects in America’s public school districts, will be showcased in a special annual edition of the magazine each July, starting in 2017. “Districts of Distinction will become the centerpiece of our July edition, which we think will serve as a reference guide for school district leaders across […]
For decades, “vocational” education prepared students for a newly industrialized workplace by training them for a specific occupational skill set. Today, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is open to all students, regardless of their career interests. Additionally, CTE helps train skilled workers that are essential in today’s high-growth industries. As skilled jobs become some of […]
When Christopher Marczak joined Maury County Public Schools in Tennessee as superintendent in fall 2015, he quickly realized that while every school in his district of 12,000 students was doing the best job possible, each had a vastly different approach to teaching literacy. “There were no systemic solutions” says Marczak. “Yet I wanted to get […]
Public support for the Common Core standards is plummeting—but that doesn’t mean much to K12. Half of the general population approves of the standards—that’s down from 83 percent just three years ago. Support among teachers has fallen to only 44 percent, according to the latest Education Next survey Public support for the Common Core standards […]
It’s never too early to start thinking about college and careers. And that’s why kindergarteners at Kankakee School District in Illinois are already on the right path. Superintendent Genevra Walters, and her two adult children, attended the suburban district 60 miles south of Chicago, while her young son is currently enrolled. In May 2014, when […]
As one of today’s most promising models for instruction, blended learning is growing rapidly across the country. But what really is blended learning, and how can educators use it to improve student outcomes? In a blended learning environment, students learn through a combination of online instruction—with some element of student control over time, place, path […]
Teaching is losing its magic. Every year, the profession loses some of our most effective colleagues prematurely. Moreover, we fail to attract enough college graduates who have the talent and passion for teaching. Many of us blame the education reform movement for this. Leaders may be well intentioned, but they ignore the reality that successful […]
Transitioning to eco-friendly propane school buses may help districts save money and safeguard student health. Nearly every top school bus market now operates propane-fueled vehicles in its fleets, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. “The strong proponents say that it is a cost-effective change that along with saving money provides environmental benefits” says Mark […]
When Heidi Sipe, superintendent of Oregon’s poor, rural Umatilla School District, asks her elementary-age students what they want to be when they grow up, she no longer gets the answers she once did: football player, firefighter, nurse. Now the students tell her they want to be engineers. Sipe attributes the change to the district’s four-year-old […]
