What if we taught kids how to think, not what to think? That question is the focus of Re:Thinking, a new documentary that inspires educators, politicians and the public to reimagine schools. The film is based on the work of Derek and Laura Cabrera, cognitive scientists who apply systems-based concepts to learning design, leadership and […]
Scheduling and managing special events at school district facilities can be complicated. Maintaining a schedule, understanding staffing and other needs, setting up and tearing down rooms, identifying insurance risks and other tasks can be confusing for administrators, and ultimately, costly to the school system in time, resources and money. This web seminar outlined six practical […]
The organizational tendency of many large school districts is to divide elementary and secondary education into separate departments. Dearborn Public Schools’ central office followed this model for decades. During tough financial times there was a history of competition for limited district resources between elementary and secondary central office staff and building administrators. This led to […]
Crafting a strong and well-balanced social media policy requires considerable time and effort. The policy must be flexible enough to accommodate new tech trends—such as anonymous messaging apps and livestreaming—yet thorough and specific enough to address a multitude of potentially troublesome scenarios involving students, faculty and staff. When a few students at Eudora High School […]
Describe preparation versus prevention when it comes to a school district’s safety plan. You can only prepare for general incidents; you can’t prepare for the specific. Preparing a safety plan gets everybody on the same page. Whether it’s a bus accident, bomb threat or intruder alert, prevention comes through debriefing after an emergency occurs. You […]
At four elementary schools in Idaho's Boise School District, families in need can go to specially designated community rooms to pick up food, clothing and other necessities.
E ducators in Bradley County Schools in Cleveland, Tennessee, were faced with some staggering numbers: 48 percent of third-grade students were reading on grade level. That meant five out of every 10 were not. “We were above the state average of 43 percent” says Terri Murray, supervisor of Federal Programs/Media Services for the district where […]
In the Ventura USD in California, one low-achieving middle school at risk of closure was instead transformed into the De Anza Academy of Technology and the Arts (DATA), a high-achieving magnet school. A significant component in DATA’s dramatic turnaround has been its innovative project-based and collaborative learning environments and makerspaces, which employ technology as a […]
In all business organizations, it is the top executives who bear responsibility for assuring that the entity is focused on its mission and that the mission, itself, properly serves the needs, interests, and expectations of customers. The process must also be structured and resourced to support the people on the line. This is the essence […]
Teachers today have more control over how and when they receive professional development. Whether the learning is self-paced, online or partially in-person, more districts measure PD based on the new skills teachers can display in their classrooms rather than on how long they spend listening to an instructor. For example, veteran social studies teacher Kurt […]
