Today's education leaders increasingly take it upon themselves to tackle the external challenges their students and teachers confront beyond school hours. These varied solutions also stretch back into classrooms to enhance instruction and increase achievement. The 45 schools and systems recognized by this year's District of Distinction program have created homegrown initiatives to support students' […]
NMSI's mantra is that education empowers opportunity. How have you experienced that? During speeches, I say, "As I stand before you, I stand as a physician, as an astronaut and as a businessman. All of that was empowered by education." When I was 13, I saw Neil and Buzz land on the moon. It became […]
A K8 school district in Southern California was focusing efforts on increasing the proficiency of its English language learners, a population that makes up 32 percent of its students. It also sought to reclassify as many ELLs as possible before middle school—a time when the defeatist mindset usually sets in. Bakersfield City School District's goal […]
Digital book platforms now provide more than just reading materials. Today, students can listen to audio recordings, highlight text and watch accompanying videos. Meanwhile, teachers can monitor student progress through assessment tools. Some content even caters specifically to educators for use in professional learning communities. e-Books on Gale Virtual Reference Library platform Gale, a Cengage […]
The K12 transportation landscape is getting increasingly complex, as districts wrestle with issues ranging from school choice and questions of equity to how to subsidize mass transit for urban students. In some districts, services that employ parents as drivers have rolled in to fill the gap. In Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan has proposed making year-round, […]
When Jeremy Baugh took over as principal at Lew Wallace School 107 in Indianapolis in 2014, half of his staff was new. The school had struggled with teacher retention, which was reflected in student success. Only 22 percent of kindergarten students were achieving at grade level. The school's 600 students come from 37 countries and […]
Math understanding at the elementary and middle school levels has increased over the last 30 years, but has stagnated in high school. In its 2018 report "Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics" The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has issued a call to action to drastically change the way math is taught so that […]
Many of us know that the explosion of digital publishing allows educators to share our respective stories. One option that education leaders are using is blogging. The number of education blogs is quickly expanding. Many superintendents know that publishing a regular blog is a great way to accomplish a variety of communication goals—these include sharing […]
As privacy concerns surge ever higher, some educators are pushing to replace the concept of "digital footprints"—the trail of data created by internet use—with "digital tattoos." As privacy concerns surge ever higher, some educators are pushing to replace the concept of "digital footprints"—the trail of data created by internet use—with "digital tattoos." The latter idea […]
Incorporating high-quality resources to support ELL students can have a stark impact on whether they succeed. At High School of World Cultures, we have been able to pinpoint four best practices for evaluating ELL resources. Editor's note: District Administration welcomes the insights and opinions of educators and administrators on all topics. If you would like to […]