More than 5 million American children face a rarely discussed educational challenge that has profound impact: seeing a parent spend time in prison. One in four black children in 2014 had a parent behind bars by the time they were 14 years old—more than double the rate for black children born in 1978, according to […]
While detention remains a staple of student discipline across the country, many school leaders are looking at ways to modify the practice, or even replace it, with approaches that may be more effective in actually reducing bad behavior. Classic detention, where bored students sit silently and unproductively in classrooms after school, has limited value as […]
Xenia Community Schools in Ohio faced a crisis in 2012 that forced administrators to slash $10 million from its annual budget. The district signed a five-year contract with a transportation contractor and saved $458,000. Still, such a move can be a challenging—and sometimes controversial—issue for many districts. Xenia Community Schools in Ohio faced a crisis in 2012 that forced administrators […]
For Portland Public School students in Oregon involved in The Circus Project, tumbling, acrobatics, juggling and conditioning activities help them learn to trust each other and themselves more. "The students pay attention because of the intensity of the experiences and the perceived risk in circus" says Jenn Cohen, The Circus Project's founder and artistic director. […]
Districts spend over $25 billion annually on teacher absences, and consistent absences negatively impact student achievement, past studies have shown. "What's the Real Story on K-12 Employee Absences" a January report from Frontline Research & Learning Institute, examined teacher and classified staff (such as aides and administrative assistants) absence data during that month from 4,776 […]
Blended learning can support a more personalized approach to education. You've no doubt heard of the teaching approach in which students spend part of the day learning online at their own pace and part of the day receiving instruction from a classroom teacher. But there are still a number of misconceptions about what blended learning […]
Urban districts struggling with budget cuts can increasingly look to foundations, nonprofits and private companies for support in driving district success efforts—from enhancing instruction to expanding healthcare to boosting college preparation. "Collaboration across sectors is necessary to solve problems whose root causes are complex and multifaceted, and which need extensive, coordinated resources from many different […]
If you are a team leader—a department head, grade-level lead, coach or an administrator—chances are high that conflict makes you nervous. It makes most of us nervous, and when we’re in a position of leadership, there’s an implicit understanding that we’re supposed to do something about conflict. We may even worry that we contributed to […]
The digital classroom is no longer a new concept—half of school districts nationwide believe they've completed their 1-to-1 initiatives and the infrastructure required, according to the annual Digital School Districts Survey from the Center for Digital Education, published in March. The survey, which was open to all U.S. public school districts, reported that personalized learning […]
In what appears to be an average classroom, students from Pullman School District 267 in Washington wear devices that measure their pulse, eye movements and brain waves as a teacher gives a lesson. The classroom is part of the Neurocognitive Science Lab at Washington State University, which opened this year. The lab, funded by the […]
