Today's most progressive language instruction covers more than speech. Educators now work to build students' fluency in the culture behind the words. Global competency, also called "interculturality" has emerged as a priority in districts seeking to develop students' understanding of both their own and other cultures, says Jacqueline Van Houten, world language instructional lead for […]
Whether it results from misinformation, staff complaints or faculty disagreements about new policies, all districts face employee issues. Some have learned better than others how to address problems early, before they erupt. "In large districts, there's more opportunity for a communication breakdown" says Jeff Filloon, HR director at Chandler USD in Arizona. "Most problems can […]
A federal judge ruled last spring that the predominantly white city of Gardendale, Alabama, may secede from its more diverse county school district—even though the judge saw racial motivations behind the city's efforts. Jefferson County, Alabama, has been struggling to comply with a federal desegregation order since 1971. Gardendale students have been attending the Jefferson […]
Equity in K12 education doesn't mean the same thing as equality. In fact, achieving true equity often requires providing lower-income schools and students with more resources than are given others in the same district, says Joel Boyd, superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools in New Mexico. "Fair student funding means some students are funded at […]
More than five years after many states implemented Common Core, the impact on student achievement remains unclear—though some states show small academic gains, with persistent achievement gaps. "Common Core is alive and well" says Adam Ezring, policy director of the Collaborative For Student Success, a nonprofit that supports use of the standards. "While it's still […]
The rights of transgender students in K12 schools became explicitly clear in a directive issued by the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice in May. Schools must let transgender students use the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity, not what's listed on birth certificates, the Obama administration says. "This […]
The increasing shift to online learning and collaboration has created new concerns around student privacy. Keeping data as secure in the cloud as it would be in a locked file cabinet requires communication, diligence and strong policies. "Privacy is not a new issue but it certainly has risen to the top in part because so […]
