The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards (ISLLC) are now available. The seven standards, redrafted after the public comment period ended last fall, identify areas that school leaders should be able to demonstrate competency. An initiative of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the final versions yield some significant changes in wording, but […]
Schools are the center of the community and when schools are transformed in positive ways, communities are transformed. The continued rise of poverty is not surprising when policies and practices that could contribute to eliminating poverty are not addressed well. The foundation of systematic oppression is rooted in practices that contribute to a system becoming […]
State-of-the-art science labs, green buildings and internet upgrades are among major trends in school construction this year, as districts break ground on large projects that address aging facilities, increased enrollment and technology needs, according to the first annual DA School Construction Survey. State-of-the-art science labs, green buildings and internet upgrades are among major trends in […]
Leslie T. Fenwick has been praised as “a fearless voice in education on behalf of communities of color.” As dean of the School of Education at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Fenwick has devoted her career to improving educational opportunity and outcomes for African-American and other underserved students from the elementary through graduate school levels. […]
To teach kids to appreciate diversity in the city’s schools, Scottsdale USD created Unitown and Minitown, programs that create bonds between crosstown students. During the school year, two annual camps host 15 to 18 youngsters from each of the district’s high schools and middle schools, respectively. Through teamwork and leadership exercises, the programs provide “opportunities […]
Principal selection has not significantly changed since the 1950’s and is often unsystematic. While the role of the principal has evolved greatly over the last 60 years, the methods used for selection have remained stagnant. In the 1950’s, principals’ duties centered primarily on staffing and facility management. Today, school principals may be responsible for tens […]
The U.S. public school system’s focus on struggling students leaves high-achieversÁ‘especially minorities, the economically disadvantaged and English-language learners Á‘without a challenging enough education, experts say. A lack of federal funding and patchwork policies across states often leave decisions on identifying and serving gifted students to district administrators. An estimated 3 million to 5 million academically […]
A “culture of safety”—at all levels of a district—is the first and most critical step in dealing with occupational injury. It also guides the prevention of, response to and mitigation of hazards in the workplace, including staff behavior. Students arrive in three days. A staff meeting starts in five minutes. A teacher wants to hang […]
With many assessment mandates rolled out by Ohio in recent years, the 6,000-student Plain Local School District ended up in a challenging situation. “Like others in the state, each time a mandate came out, we fulfilled it with a new assessment,” says Cassandra Sponseller, Director of Teaching and Learning and Director of Gifted Programs for […]
STEM and the City: A Report on STEM Education in the Great American Urban Public School System Information Age Publishing Author Clair T. Berube says the future of American STEM education is here and students would benefit from science education–if only they had the pertinent resources, support systems and psychological ownership. The country’s security, reputation […]
