How do districts define and identify their special needs students? And how does that compare with the way it is done in other districts and states? Moreover, do these students receive the help they need? A new report, the first in a series by the Frontline Research and Learning Institute, sets out to answer those […]
Facing state budget cuts, Hillsboro School District in Oregon was searching for a cost-efficient way to offer training to its paraeducator staff (paraprofessionals, educational assistants, instructional aides, etc.), who work with more than 20,000 students across 35 schools. "We have paraeducators in all of our buildings" says Elaine Fox, who is executive director of student […]
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 […]
Administrators from the Houston area discovered a more effective way of teaching terminal velocity and gravity—by keeping students afloat on 150-mph winds inside a vertical tunnel. Administrators from the Houston area discovered a more effective way of teaching terminal velocity and gravity—by keeping students afloat on 150-mph winds inside a vertical tunnel. The experience—hosted by […]
Giftedness is not just a test score. How many students have we seen who did not have a test score to qualify for a gifted program but became an expert in an area of passion and interest? This broader definition of giftedness is one I learned from Joseph Renzulli, a longtime professor of educational psychology […]
A teacher's time is precious—I can attest to that as a former teacher and school principal. School years are jam-packed with teaching, planning, data analysis, testing, and supporting students as they meet their learning goals. Throughout, teachers make time to hone their skills and to stay current in their subject areas through observation, feedback and […]
As the internet and social media become entrenched in classrooms, more schools teach students how to behave responsibly online and how to gauge the credibility of the web's resources, says Pamela Roggeman, academic dean for University of Phoenix's College of Education. Still, a 2017 University of Phoenix survey of 1,000 teachers found 84 percent had […]
Imagine a student teacher gaining virtual on-the-job training through augmented reality. This University of Wyoming project allows college students to fine-tune their teaching skills with a roomful of virtual students animated by an actor, says Rebecca Watts, executive director of the university's Trustees Education Initiative. The 2D augmented reality teaching interface, which went into operation […]
New math. Scary words for parents raised on long division and memorization of times tables. Even educator Paige Bergin, who had spent two years teaching fifth-grade math out of a traditional textbook, wasn't so sure when she was introduced to a new program 13 years ago. So Bergin started researching the algorithms taught in Everyday […]
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 […]
