The life of a military family comes with a powerful sense of patriotism and pride, but also definite, daily challenges. Personnel are typically transferred every two to three years, which means their children may attend as many as nine schools during their lives.
Linda Cliatt-Wayman is the turnaround queen. As the principal who changed two low-performing and violent Philadelphia high schools into safe spaces focused on learning, Wayman developed a program of high expectations for students and staff, and intense professional development. In 2013, after serving as an assistant superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia, she took […]
Steven Yates has a message for would-be school librarians. “If you’re coming to this because you like to read and you want to manage a collection of books, then you showed up about 30 years too late to the profession” says Yates, a former high school librarian who teaches in the school library media certification […]
Teaching religion in public schools has been illegal for decades. Teaching about religion, however, is not only permissible, but is gaining traction as a way to promote greater understanding in a world of conflicting dogmas. The National Council for the Social Studies in June published guidelines on how to study religion “in ways that are […]
During the 2014-15 school year, Pahokee Middle School principal Michael Aronson was asked by his superintendent to visit another school in his Florida district, Acreage Pines Elementary, which was an LSI School for Rigor. Aronson observed implementation sessions and side-by-side coaching. LSI researches and develops next-generation pedagogical models, data systems and professional development for K12 […]
Mold growth at California’s Klamath-Trinity Joint USD three years ago was an asset in disguise. Mold growth at California’s Klamath-Trinity Joint USD three years ago was an asset in disguise. It required the district to reconstruct six of its seven schools, a $65 million endeavor that superintendent Jon Ray saw as an opportunity. His classrooms […]
Going into his third year as principal of Sunset Elementary School near Spokane, Washington, Ty McGregor feels more confident that he has prepared his building for an intruder or active shooter. While school was out this past June, a group of staff members, students and emergency responders conducted drills on two potentially devastating scenarios: a […]
For many youths growing up in the age of Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, the choice between taking orchestra, band or choir often misses the point. Building a school’s music instruction around more recent artists and hits offers an alternative to a curriculum that’s often based on classical, jazz and marching bands. “For […]
Educators in a school district that conducts well-designed formative assessments should be able to accurately predict how students will perform on midterms, finals and high-stakes exams. A growing number of experts and administrators insist that if a district excels at formative assessment, its students shouldn’t have to sit through so many high-stakes tests. “We don’t […]
More than a decade after Response-to-Intervention and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) took root on school campuses across the country, multi-tier strategies have become the standard for identifying and assisting struggling students. Yet, the way educators use these and similar systems continues to evolve. Educators now understand far more about the neuroscience of learning […]
