Over a span of two years, Warren Township Schools in Warren, New Jersey, first hired a new superintendent and then replaced the principal at Warren Middle School. Both came from other districts. While Matt Mingle is the K8 district’s third superintendent in roughly seven years, George Villar succeeded a principal who retired after 23 years […]
Public educators find themselves in something of a Catch-22 situation these days. When we celebrate the great things that are going on in our schools, we are told that we are simply slaves to the status quo who don’t recognize the struggles that our system is facing. When we articulate the challenges that our schools […]
When Gary Brantley began his career as an IT leader 14 years ago, he primarily provided technical support and made sure the hardware was running. “It had everything to do with techy stuff” he says. Since then, Brantley’s role as chief information officer at DeKalb County Schools in Georgia has expanded significantly. He now spends […]
Evidence-based best practice is a hot topic in education, especially in regard to the proposed ESSA accountability system. It means that schools tailor their action plans to meet their individual student and school needs based on objective- and research-based models. This process provides for an internal accountability system and enhanced professional learning communities. During a […]
Districts devote nearly 80 percent of their budgets to personnel costs—leaving little wiggle room for administrators tasked with maintaining fiscal responsibility and boosting the quality of education in a time of nearly stagnant funding. John Hutchison, chief financial and operations officer at Olathe Public Schools in Kansas, began budgetary planning for the 2017-18 school year […]
It’s generally understood that integrating ed-tech into schools can be complex, but what’s less often discussed is that it represents one of the most universal pain points for administrators and educators today. And when you look at larger, more densely populated school districts ÁÁ¬ in urban markets like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or Chicago ÁÁ¬ district […]
Sharing superintendents is becoming smart business in Iowa. In 2007, the state introduced a program that provides financial incentives to districts that share administrative personnel. The popular program has expanded from 16 shared superintendents in its first year to 52 in 2016-17, or 19 percent of the state’s full-time superintendents, according to state Department of […]
In the 2010-11 school year, the Harrison School District Two in Colorado Springs began one of the most rigorous pay-for-performance plans in the nation: Called “Effectiveness and Results” this overhaul of the human capital management system was a risk worth taking because the status quo failed to adequately serve students. We tied the evaluation and […]
Five years ago, Windsor Locks Public Schools in northern Connecticut was designated an Alliance District, meaning it was one of the 30 lowest-performing academic districts in the state and needed help. The good news was that the designation came with funding to improve instruction, inspiring district leadership to go in a new direction—doing away with […]
