"Our focus turned from educational leader to a position of protector of public education," says Dave Wick, superintendent of Columbia Falls School District 6 and president of the Montana Association of School Superintendents.
Schools are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours of staff labor to process these requests from parents who are cracking down on discussions they deem inappropriate in a classroom environment.
Teacher shortages and social-emotional learning are not, at first glance, issues we expect the IT department to solve. Your students and staff may beg to differ.
Sexism, racism and secret surveillance—those are among the allegations Superintendent Priya Tahiliani is making in a lawsuit she has filed against the mayor of a Boston suburb and the school board that declined to renew her contract.
In 2019, the superintendency was changed for good. The profession is now a multifaceted and complex job that no one could have anticipated, and it requires intense training and preparation, one expert says.
History, biology and other teachers need to teach their content and build knowledge AND teach reading strategies, opening students up to learn additional content from texts beyond what they learn from classroom lectures and hands-on experiences.
For even the most established and well-known edtech providers, their effectiveness and interoperability are just now taking flight. District leaders should require vendors to provide certain certifications before considering incorporating them into their district.
"I have made it my personal mission to maximize our district resources and seek to grow our tax base for the future," says Jason Snodgrass of his efforts to help his community thrive.
