Schools are the center of the community and when schools are transformed in positive ways, communities are transformed. The continued rise of poverty is not surprising when policies and practices that could contribute to eliminating poverty are not addressed well. The foundation of systematic oppression is rooted in practices that contribute to a system becoming […]
Principal selection has not significantly changed since the 1950’s and is often unsystematic. While the role of the principal has evolved greatly over the last 60 years, the methods used for selection have remained stagnant. In the 1950’s, principals’ duties centered primarily on staffing and facility management. Today, school principals may be responsible for tens […]
On the walls of Tim Cline’s office hang samples of outstanding work completed by students in Interior Distance Education of Alaska (IDEA), the public school program he runs. Visiting parents are often impressed. Nothing unusual about that??except that IDEA’s students are homeschoolers who may never enter a public school classroom, and those impressed parents are […]
The U.S. public school system’s focus on struggling students leaves high-achieversÁ‘especially minorities, the economically disadvantaged and English-language learners Á‘without a challenging enough education, experts say. A lack of federal funding and patchwork policies across states often leave decisions on identifying and serving gifted students to district administrators. An estimated 3 million to 5 million academically […]
New York City students are getting a taste of carpentry and other trades through a partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) focused on refurbishing historical buildings. Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar challenged NPS’ New York regional department about five years ago to gather ideas to increase involvement with local communities that […]
Alton L. Frailey, superintendent of Katy ISD in Texas and president of the Texas Association of School Administrators, was elected 2015-16 president-elect of AASA, and will begin his post in July. Frailey became Katy ISD chief in 2007, after previously serving as chief of DeSoto ISD in Texas and Cincinnati Public Schools. “AASA champions the […]
Meriden, Connecticut, is a struggling, former industrial city, once known for its silver manufacturing, lamp producers, military product development, and automotive component assembly plants. We were both born there, to parents who had little more than each other and a dream for their children. We were poor. We were the statistic. Yet, just as we […]
New York City students may soon learn formal lessons on climate change as a proposed curriculum continues to win endorsements from leading environmental groups. Two groups, the Alliance for Climate Education and Global Kids, have been encouraging the New York State Department of Education to add climate change to the city’s K12 curriculum. The effort, […]
Joseph Davis was named superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant School District in Missouri in February. He is currently the superintendent of Washington County Schools in rural Plymouth, North Carolina. Davis will be the second African-American superintendent in Ferguson-Florissant, which came into the national spotlight after the shooting of teenager Michael Brown. The district is in danger […]
You think math and English have high standards? Try the arts. The National Core Arts Standardswere released in October. They update the initial standards released in 1994, which included instructional guidelines for dance, music, theater and visual arts. The new standards add media arts such as animation, film, gaming and computer design. They emphasize developing […]
