Conn. legislator looks to increase transparency in school administration reviews

Three proposed bills this legislative session could fundamentally change how superintendent contracts and evaluations are handled in Connecticut. One legislator has introduced three bills this session, all calling for more transparency in educational leadership and designed to reduce education costs. Read more>>

With a $621 million price tag, Superintendent James Lane's plan to enhance education in Chesterfield Public Schools breaks down into three major categories: compensation, retirement and academic enhancements. To start, every full-time staff member will get a raise that will increase to 10 percent over the next five years. Read more>>

Arizona school districts estimate the state's new minimum-wage hike will cost them a combined $11.5 million over the next six months, most of which will pay wages of employees outside the classroom. School leaders are asking for additional state funding to mitigate the cost of raising the minimum wage and providing paid sick days. Read more>>

District Administration

District Administration’s new comprehensive special report on the makerspace movement is now available for free to school district leaders nationwide. This 50+ page, tablet-friendly e-book covers strategies for integrating makerspaces into the core curriculum, how to build a makerspace and where to find PD, among a range of other topics. Read more>>

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive actions, in which he promised to crack down on people in the country illegally and withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, a tide of school officials struck back, promising to protect such students and their families. Read more>>

For the first time in 14 years, the Philadelphia School District has assessed the state of its aging buildings, and the results are staggering: The system identified more than 12,000 outstanding repairs. It would cost nearly $5 billion to do the work. Officials predict that they will need to spend $3 billion in the next 10 years to address urgent problems. Read more>>

A bill that would require school buses to have seat belts is being considered by lawmakers in Washington, one of more than a dozen states where school seat belt measures are on the legislative agenda this year. Read more>>

Ray Bendici

In the latest round of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam, given to more than 500,000 15-year-olds in 72 nations, students in the U.S. once again scored in the middle of the pack—and below average in math—raising concerns and sending educators looking for answers. Read more>>

Maine schools, communities, parents and government should take a cue from Iceland, a country that dramatically turned around its rates of teen substance use in under two decades thanks to a radical shift in focus. The country turned away from talking about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and instead put its energy into supporting healthy alternatives to drugs—or “natural highs.” Read more>>

For the older folks among us, a memo from state education officials in the spring of 2011 that cursive writing would no longer be a part of the required curriculum came as a bit of a shock. What would become of a future generation of adults unable to sign their own names? Yet another law dictating what teachers should teach is neither needed nor probably welcomed. Read more>>

One of the hurdles we often encounter with employers is the lack of funds to give young people vital work experiences. Funding for job training is imperative. What this critical, youth workforce development movement needs most is universal advocacy and the will to provide internships for every high school student in the region. Read more>>

Vernier Software & Technology is working with Google to expand the availability of software that can graph scientific and engineering data on mobile devices. Science and STEM students can now use Vernier sensors to collect and graph data in real time within Google’s Science Journal app on Google Play for Android devices. Read more>>

Promethean introduced the ActivPanel with InGlass touch and writing technology and ClassFlow Desktop, an interactive lesson delivery software. ActivPanel’s InGlass provides a built-in digital whiteboard for free-form handwriting and drawing, saving and sending capabilities, and a simultaneous touch and pen surface. Read more>>

BloomBoard and Spring Branch ISD have partnered to launch multiple new competency-based professional learning programs to over 2,400 educators across the district. Six learning programs have been designed for the 2016-17 school year, focusing on new teacher induction, leadership training, blended learning and more. Read more>>

The Marion County School District Board of Education's interim superintendent, Kandace Bethea, was named as the district's superintendent. She served as director of curriculum and instruction of Marion School District One and as the deputy superintendent for the newly consolidated Marion County School District before being named interim superintendent in June 2016. Read more>>

The Brentwood School Board hired Brian Lane, deputy superintendent at Mehlville School District, to lead the Missouri district starting July 1. Current Superintendent David Faulkner will retire on June 30. He has worked in public education for three decades. Read more>>

The Pennsylvania district's school board turned a temporary solution into a permanent with the hiring of William R. Shirk Jr. as the district's superintendent. He has been serving as acting superintendent since the resignation of Shellie Feola in August. He has been Pottsgrove's assistant superintendent since 2013. Read more>>