Creating a classroom climate where it is OK to make mistakes and that encourages students to take risks is key, says DA guest columnist and FETC featured speaker Matthew X. Joseph, who is director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at Leicester Public Schools in Massachusetts.
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to spend $600 million to raise the minimum new teacher salary to $47,500 from $37,636. Florida currently ranks 26th for starting teacher pay; the increase would place the state second.
If you're in the unenviable position of finding people to fill the shoes of some of your best former teachers, know that you're not alone. Let's take a closer look at why teachers are leaving their jobs and dive into some ways you can beat the odds.
Avoiding the most common challenges to technology in schools can save district leaders time, ensure seamless integration and generate buy-in from all stakeholders, says Lenny Schad, former Houston ISD chief information officer.
Every month, Tiffany Anderson, superintendent at Topeka Public Schools in Kansas, emails the district's 3,000 teachers and staff, asking whether anyone needs time off for either professional development or something else that's quite unusual—self-care. "We have self-care space in our schools and some office buildings where the lights are low, and people can have time […]
Lack of resources. Tight deadlines. Inadequate training. These scenarios can trigger anxiety, frustration or other negative emotions at public schools. "I felt all of these things" says Chett Daniel, a former fourth-grade ELA teacher at Neosho School District in Missouri. Daniel quit teaching last year to launch his own consulting firm, K12 HR Solutions. "Often, […]
At the start of the 2018-19 school year, Polk County Public Schools in Florida had 120 unfilled teaching positions. The district of more than 100,000 students grows each year, yet fewer teachers are entering the field now than in the past, and competition to hire newly minted educators is stiff, says Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd. To […]
If you've visited a classroom lately, you've likely noticed a remarkable difference in how teaching and learning happens. Computers and devices are staples in most classrooms, and you're far more likely to find students working in groups than a teacher at the front of the room lecturing. Though the teacher continues to play a crucial […]
Student success starts at the building level. Can you talk about the influence of the building culture as an "experience" generated by teachers and other certified staff? When you build culture and experience, you must also consider creating a positive organizational climate. From a student's perspective, successful schools have a defined culture based on a […]
Two years ago, the Mehlville School District in suburban St. Louis passed a tax levy that included dedicated funding for professional development and strategic plans focusing on middle school STEM programs. For Tina Plummer, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in Mehlville, that meant implementing the STEM Innovator program with Discovery Education, where staff had […]
