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School Leaders Now
As a school leader, you know the drill. One of your teachers only uses Remind, and her grade-level team does too. Another says Class Dojo is the only app that works for him, so he's using that to communicate with parents. Some of your teachers use SignUpGenius for scheduling and volunteering, while others are devoted Google Calendar and Office 365 fans. You’ve got communication apps, behavior apps and portfolio apps. At this point you can't even remember your logins to them all — and your students' families probably can't either.
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Education Week
There's never been a clearer scientific picture of the ways damaging experiences and intense, chronic stress can hurt a child's ability to learn in school. But for many schools, the picture of what trauma-sensitive schooling looks like in practice is still developing. "We're in an all-fired hurry because there's this 'trauma' thing and we have to help our kids," said Melissa Sadin, the director of the Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Initiative, a national group that trains school and district staff.
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By: Aileen Miracle (commentary)
 Are you about to start the school year, but aren't sure where to start? In this article, I'm detailing five must-do's for back to school. My first must-do is to print class lists and your schedule. Class lists are great to have for attendance, creating seating charts, figuring out small groups, and more! I love to have class lists both in paper form (for my class list and fire drill binders) and in Excel so I can easily copy and paste them into programs and apps.
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Education DIVE
While most school districts are required to provide transportation for their students, the issue of transportation is growing more complex and can be one of the major financial drains on a school district. If school districts provide their own transportation, as most do, they must wrestle not only with finding enough qualified school bus drivers, but also with bus maintenance, optimizing school bus routes to provide the greatest efficiency, and ensuring student safety.
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Education Week
Charter schools continue to employ more racially-diverse school leaders — though still a small percentage — than traditional public schools, according to new federal education data released today. In the 2017-2018 school year, for example, approximately 29% of charter school principals were black and Hispanic, with another 4.8% identifying as "other," a group that included Asians, Native Americans, and those of two or more races. Among traditional schools, only 10% of principals were black, while 8.6% were Hispanic of any race.
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EdSurge (commentary)
Jonathan Haber, a contributor for EdSurge, writes: "In a previous EdSurge piece, I described how economics and technology trends tend to drive educational innovation by providing models that reformers build into their visions, sometimes unconsciously. Architecturally, this plays out in new schools resembling whatever is culturally perceived as representing modernity (the factory in the early 20th century, the Google headquarters today). It has also impacted the role that teachers play in the mind of educational policy makers and reformers — for good and ill."
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Education Week
Sudden disasters — from hurricanes to school shootings — demand schools respond to widespread trauma on the fly. Janet Pozmantier, the director of the three-person Center for School Behavioral Health in Houston, said the scale of the need for trauma and mental-health services in the 31 southeast Texas school districts they serve has been daunting, after a mass school shooting in Santa Fe last year or in the wake of the hurricanes that swept — and regularly continue to sweep — the Texas coast.
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The Lead Change Group
Do you often feel that the day gallops away with you and you don't get done what you wanted? Do you get frustrated by all the items that distract you in your day? Well, the good news is that you are not alone — but the challenge is that you are being reactive in your business, rather than pro-active. Great leaders understand that they need to grab the reins and take charge of their business if they are to be successful. They need to lead their day, rather than let the day lead them. And whilst this is easy to say, it's often more difficult to do in practice.
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By: Catherine Iste (commentary)
 The honeymoon period for new employees provides a prime time to set the stage for unlimited success. While some employers unfortunately also call this the introductory period and try to use it as an evaluation window within which to weed out new hires, we should look at it as a litmus test for our own success and a chance to invest in the success of an employee. Employees come in ready to make an impact, optimistic about the opportunity and eager to learn. Here are three steps to take to fan that flame of enthusiasm into a sustainable fire.
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Fast Company
Research shows that having a best friend at work, or what some call a "work spouse," can be a good thing. Gallup research has found a "concrete link" between having a best friend at work and the amount of effort employees put into their jobs. The research firm says that 63% of women who strongly agree that they have a best friend at work are engaged in their jobs. Just 29% of those who don't have an office bestie say they are engaged in their work.
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Inc.
It would be wonderful if the way people view an effective leader did not depend on your gender. But the reality is that women leaders, according to an opinion piece in the New York Times, can fall into a likability trap — in which the same authoritative behavior that men in leadership positions display triggers intense dislike from others when it's used by a woman.
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eSchool News
We've all heard about veteran educators who have been teaching the same way for years and are reluctant to integrate technology into their practice. Why should they? It's scary to try something new, especially in front of a class of kids who seem to already be tech experts. Adam Juarez and Katherine Goyette have heard it all.
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EdTech Magazine
Even amid the proliferation of mobile technology in K–12 schools through BYOD programs and one-to-one computing, desktop computers remain a popular choice. But given the advancements of Infrastructure as a Service and the growth of cloud computing, are traditional computer labs passé? Not yet. However, virtualization and cloud solutions offer potential cost savings and instructional flexibility that should have school leaders thinking more about whether traditional labs should stay or go. For now, about 48 percent of the teachers and students who responded to a 2018 report about classroom technology from Cambridge International reported using a desktop computer in schools. The rate of desktop computer use was highest in the U.S., at 75 percent.
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Prodigy Game
 The search for better teaching strategies will never end. As a school leader, you probably spend too much of your time thinking about how to improve the learning experience of the students that pass through your school throughout the years.
After all, what they learn (and how they learn it) will become a part of these students as they grow, hopefully helping them become successful adults.
This is the main goal of competency based education: giving each student equal opportunity to master necessary skills and become successful adults.
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District Administration Magazine
When deciding to introduce new classroom technology, educators must address its effectiveness and return on investment. But first, they must understand why they are bringing the new technology into the classroom. We asked a number of ed tech leaders to explain their thought processes when implementing new classroom technology.
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EdScoop
Many of today's students are digital natives — born with a seemingly innate understanding of how technology works — but with the proliferation of internet-connected devices, teachers have a critical role in educating kids to live and build a safer, more secure digital world, technology experts said at an event in Fairfax, Virginia.
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EdScoop
Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, but one area still challenging schools is the tiers for evidence-based interventions and materials. In a recent webinar hosted by edWeb.net, leaders from the Ohio Department of Education explained how a statewide initiative is helping administrators and teachers not only understand the tiers but also provide assistance in selecting the best materials for their students.
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By: Julie Anne Wells (commentary)
 When children walk into the classroom on the first day of school, they are often met with colorful posters, ample writing utensils and nametags emblazoned on their desks. But how often do we stop to consider how these personal touches and useful tools got to the classroom? According to a study published by the National Center of Education Statistics in 2018, 94% of American public-school teachers used their own money to pay for school supplies during the 2014-15 school year. They spent $480 on average that year, and they were not reimbursed.
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Tech&Learning
Going back to school is an exciting time, and it's essential teachers create a warm and welcoming culture until the day students walk out for summer break.
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eSchool News
The new school year has already started in some states, and students will return to classrooms over the next few weeks in other states. As the new year kicks off, there are a few assessment trends educators will want to track. Some assessment trends might include new perspectives on what it means to gauge student learning, rethinking the value of traditional tests and turning instead to innovative methods. Others will focus on equity and student disengagement.
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Teaching Channel (commentary)
Sarah Brown Wessling, a contributor for Teaching Channel, writes: "We hope you were able to catch the beginning of our First Days Series, where we captured those beautiful, elusive (and often awkward) first days of school. In this second batch of first day videos, we're taking a closer look at getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Here's why. The uncomfortable is necessary in creating culture. After all, it's part of the shared experience. And it's having a shared experience that helps connect people and bring them closer."
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Forbes
Many educators now accept the overwhelming evidence behind phonics instruction. But they often don't realize that by simultaneously teaching children to guess at words, they may be doing damage that's hard to reverse. Last year, journalist Emily Hanford delved into the widespread misunderstanding in the education world about the best way to teach reading.
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Language Magazine
Imagine you and a traveling companion are visiting the Netherlands to see fine art. You tour a beautiful museum, but your guide speaks only in Dutch and all of her materials are in Dutch. Fluent in Dutch, your traveling companion has the opportunity to read about specific works, ask directions, and converse with docents. But since you do not speak Dutch, there is only so much you can glean from the tour, despite your deep interest in and knowledge of art history. In this situation, you simply do not have the tools to get what you need out of the experience. You find the entire visit frustrating.
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Education DIVE
One of the greatest balancing acts administrators perform is that between school security and culture. On one hand, hardened security measures like metal detectors, cameras and armed guards can negatively impact a school's culture and environment as a warm, welcoming space for learning by creating a prison-like atmosphere instead. There's also an ever-growing body of statistics and research showing that "zero-tolerance" disciplinary measures have pushed many students into the criminal justice system, and that tactics based in social-emotional learning, like restorative justice programs, are a better option for minor disciplinary issues.
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School Leaders Now
The onboarding process for teachers is critical in schools, but equally important is the incorporation of School Resource Officers into your school community. Not only are they the first line of defense in case of an emergency, they can also help the school in many other ways. The success of an SRO in your building requires preplanning with both staff and the officer. Finding a balance between enforcement and community relations can positively impact the school, students and community.
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EdTech Magazine
Millions of students lack the ability to access the internet from home — a problem compounded by increasing expectations from educators that students do so to complete homework and research. Innovations in next-generation Internet of Things applications are helping to reduce those disparities, which characterize what's known as the homework gap.
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MindShift (commentary)
Katrina Schwartz, a contributor for MindShift, writes: "I met Brianna Sedillo when she pitched my radio station a personal perspective on anxiety, a topic that comes up over and over as teachers and parents try to support young people. "Everything kind of started with the anxiety and depression after the passing of my grandfather," Brianna said. 'He was kinda my safe space. And losing that was really big.' Brianna missed her grandfather's supportive presence acutely during her middle school years, which were difficult. Middle school can be a difficult time for anyone, but for Brianna it was particularly hard socially because her family moved several times. She had trouble making new friends and felt each change of school acutely. Despite all that, she was a good student; she made the honor roll all three years in middle school."
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Education DIVE
The gap is narrowing between what states consider proficiency in math and reading — and the standards set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, according to a new "mapping" study released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics. Comparing the 2017 NAEP results for fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math to state assessments for the 2016–17 school year, the report shows that since 2007, the difference between state cut scores for proficiency and the "NAEP equivalent" has grown smaller and is sometimes almost half of what it was. In all but eighth-grade math, the gap is also smaller than it was in 2015.
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NAESP
The NAESP Board of Directors has announced the resignation of Bill Jones, director of Zone 5, effective Aug. 1, 2019. Jones has been a stellar NAESP leader and carried out his responsibilities in a highly professional manner. As an outstanding principal representative for Zone 5, Jones served as a strong vocal advocate for ensuring a quality education for all children. Jones will be assuming a new leadership role as a principal coach in his home state of Kentucky. NAESP wishes Jones the very best as he pursues the challenges and opportunities of this new position.
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NAESP
After looking into the poll findings, NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks, Ed.D., CAE, issued a statement following the release of the report "Frustration in the Schools: Teachers speak out on pay, funding, and feeling valued." "Principals partner with teachers to improve student achievement, close the achievement gap, and ensure all students have access to a pathway to success," said Franks. They depend on teacher leaders to step into leadership roles and help them create a positive school culture. But the frustrations expressed in the 51st annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools demonstrate more work needs to be done to ensure a strong and sustainable educator pipeline for teachers and school leaders alike.
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