Xenia Community Schools in Ohio faced a crisis in 2012 that forced administrators to slash $10 million from its annual budget. The district signed a five-year contract with a transportation contractor and saved $458,000. Still, such a move can be a challenging—and sometimes controversial—issue for many districts. Xenia Community Schools in Ohio faced a crisis in 2012 that forced administrators […]
For Portland Public School students in Oregon involved in The Circus Project, tumbling, acrobatics, juggling and conditioning activities help them learn to trust each other and themselves more. “The students pay attention because of the intensity of the experiences and the perceived risk in circus” says Jenn Cohen, The Circus Project’s founder and artistic director. […]
Burdened by demands to show outcomes and achievement, early education classrooms are often reduced to scripted lessons and meaningless craft work that imparts little learning. In her book The Importance of Being Little (Viking, 2016), Erika Christakis shows how the ever-increasing pressure to deliver has caused teachers to inadvertently stifle children’s natural sense of wonder […]
Students will likely choose healthier meals if provided with more comfortable places to eat. Modern lighting and food-court style designs can draw students to dining areas while school gardens can provide learning experiences and also supply cafeterias with fresh, less expensive produce. Students will likely choose healthier meals if provided with more comfortable places to […]
A widespread belief that it’s illegal to give away extra or uneaten school food no longer has any basis in reality. In 2011, the federal Good Samaritan Act was amended to cover schools, so certain uneaten items can be donated, instead of going to waste. Los Angeles USD launched “Healthy Students, Healthy Families, Healthy Communities” […]
American history could be in trouble. Decades of reliance on contentious textbooks and rote memorization have driven students away from the subject, despite its influence on contemporary issues. American history could be in trouble. Decades of reliance on contentious textbooks and rote memorization have driven students away from the subject, despite its influence on contemporary issues. […]
The number of districts and states rushing to stock an emergency antidote that can revive students suffering heroin overdoses shows the severe degree to which the nation’s latest drug epidemic has disrupted schools. Students who in the past might have abused marijuana, painkillers and other prescription drugs have turned to heroin, which is now cheaper […]
At age 14, David Vroonland says he knew he would serve young people. An atypical childhood brought him to that point. His mother, who was in foster care, was about 16 when she gave birth in Iowa. He was raised away from her in foster care in poverty, but in a loving family. And then […]
A cadre of canines visits San Francisco Bay Area elementary schools, where struggling readers gain confidence and improve literacy by reading aloud to their furry friends. Readers of the Pack, a program run by the nonprofit 4Paws Learning and Wellness Center, sends certified therapy dogs and handlers to schools, libraries and after-school programs. “Young students […]
At Banneker High School in College Park, Georgia, dedicating a wing of six classrooms, an office and a conference room to just 139 ninth graders and their six teachers is an exercise in innovation. The wing is the foundation of a Junior Achievement (JA) pilot program called JA Magnet Business Academy, JA-MBA. Junior Achievement is […]
