Throughout the U.S., the movement to privatize education is advancing, in state legislatures and local school districts, and it is a relentless force. Education reformers are on a mission to replace under-performing public schools with charter schools and other private alternatives. Most of the public schools reformers are targeting are located in urban and rural […]
Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, near Madison, Wisconsin, was facing the potential loss of a large number of substitute teachers about four years ago. The pool of substitutes was filled with retired teachers. Due to changes in retirement benefits, retired teachers would not be able to concurrently collect retirement benefits and work as substitute teachers […]
Editor's note: CIO Hot Topic is produced in collaboration with CoSN. Districts must provide learning materials that are accessible to all students. Digital accessibility—a challenging undertaking—involves making websites, learning platforms, videos, digital textbooks and portals available to students with physical, visual, speech, auditory, neurological or cognitive disabilities. The consequences of failing to do so can […]
The assessment that prospective principals must take to obtain an administrative license in 18 states may be a barrier to non-whites and urban educators, says a 2017 study. Researchers focused on the use of the School Leaders Licensure Assessment in Tennessee and found that the exam did not provide an effective performance screen. A team […]
Six Springfield, Massachusetts, middle schools, flagged as close to failing by the state two years ago, seized an unusual opportunity to run themselves. Six Springfield, Massachusetts, middle schools, flagged as close to failing by the state two years ago, seized an unusual opportunity to run themselves. Now they form the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, an […]
Makerspaces reinforce STEM skills and enable more authentic learning. While there are a variety of ways to design and build makerspaces, there are some key strategies administrators can employ to ensure their program is successful. Designing rooms that facilitate access and choice Tiffany Lucey, Supervisor of Educational Technology, Toms River Regional Schools (N.J.) Schools with […]
K12 education lags behind U.S. business and industry when it comes to using data to improve outcomes, says a 2016 report by the Center for Data Innovation. Despite the wealth of information available—and the existence of technology to crunch those numbers—"most administrators still make decisions, often inaccurately, based on assumptions and intuition, rather than use […]
As a leader in a school system today, it can be difficult to make the choice to move forward with a districtwide change, knowing that the team around you may not fully endorse your decision. As a leader in a school system today, it can be difficult to make the choice to move forward with a districtwide […]
Albemarle County, Virginia—A snake bit Pam Moran in front of her class on her first day of teaching 40 years ago. Moran, now a superintendent in Virginia, had no one to blame but herself on that fateful day in 1975. Thinking it would be an unconventional way to introduce herself, Moran had brought a garter […]
More districts are adding seat belts to their bus fleets, following the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's 2015 recommendation that "every child on every school bus" needs a seat belt. Some districts are piloting seat belts on a handful of buses, while others are taking steps to outfit their entire fleet. But there's no federal […]
