Students cope with anxiety while recovering credits Michael Gagne Educators in Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools intend to remove the obstacles that prevent students who have severe social anxiety from attending school, a phenomenon known as “school refusal behavior.” The initiative is a small district-run-and-funded therapeutic day program designed as an alternative setting for high school students on individualized education plans. Read more>> How to improve learning and instruction with education technology Sponsored by Rosetta Stone Education Two out of three teachers want more technology integrated into the classroom to help students extend their foundational skills, facilitate higher order thinking, and complement face-to-face instruction by blending with daily activities. Download this e-book now to learn more. Read more>> Holding schools accountable for the teachers they teach NPR Should schools of education be held accountable for producing teachers who can raise their students' achievement? The new guidelines for teacher-prep programs are one of the strictest federal accountability rules in higher education. And they have teeth with low-performing programs being in danger of losing access to federal TEACH grants. Read more>> 45 ways to support struggling readers in your district Sponsored by Learning Ally More than 10 million American students struggle to read, but only 2.3 million receive special help. Implementing effective intervention tools and techniques is essential to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to learn. Download this guide to uncover 45 practical ideas to try with teachers, students and parents. Read more>> Graduating more high school students is great, but are they prepared? St. Louis Post-Dispatch Employers must now question the true worth of a high school diploma if they cannot rely on it as an accurate barometer of basic skills. The nation is already flush with college graduates who are struggling to find employment, giving employers even less of an incentive to treat a high school diploma as a badge of distinction. Read more>> Creating a culture of innovation, starting with your school board Sponsored by BoardPaq Your district can adopt technology that allows board members to review key documents between meetings. This will enable the actual meetings to be used to tackle the challenges that stand in the way of creating a culture of innovation. And your district can do all of that by using BoardPaq, the board portal of choice for a growing number. Read more>> Quality arts education makes a difference Victoria Advocate It is unlikely that students will ever be evaluated on primary vs. secondary colors, the duration of a quarter note or their ability to memorize and deliver a soliloquy. But this doesn't mean that fine arts classes don't have a significant positive effect on students' performance in all subject areas. Indeed, they do. Read more>> Are Detroit’s most terrible schools unconstitutional? The New York Times At one Detroit school, just 4 percent of third graders scored proficient on Michigan’s English assessment test. At another, 9.5 percent did. Those students are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that asserts that Michigan is denying their clients the right to a minimally adequate education, an issue that has been raised over the years in courts in other states under their state constitutions. Read more>> | 