District Administration articles from December 2004

District Administration archives from December 2004

What's next.(Editor's Letter)
December 1, 2004... One week before the Nov. 2 election, the one thing I knew for sure was that if President Bush was reelected educators would have more answers than questions regarding the future of No Child Left Behind. But consider the state of K-12 education...

Schools tighten security in cyberspace.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
December 1, 2004... A perceived terrorism threat to several public school systems (the FBI dismissed them as a false alarm) nevertheless has raised concerns about school security on the Internet. The FBI said a computer disk found in Iraq that contained...

Report: what's next for reading.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... More than eight million students in grades 4-12 (as of 2003) are struggling readers, according to U.S. Department of Education data. A research panel has teamed with Carnegie Corp. of New York and the Alliance for Excellent Education to...

Nitty gritty new way of teaching?(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Department of Education has issued a $5 million grant to create a computer tool that will track professional development and help enhance classroom teaching. Co-Nect, a Massachusetts-based professional development company, is...

Gap widening between rich and poor.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... New findings, released by The Education Trust, show that a financial gap between poor and wealthy districts is getting bigger. In 36 states, the highest-poverty school districts receive less state money than the lowest-poverty districts...

Phones not just for calling friends.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The beloved cell phone is not only a friend these days but will be a school tool. Twenty-five New Hampshire schools are encouraging students who own Web-enabled cell phones to use them to access homework, class assignments and other...

Speak up, teach!(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
December 1, 2004... More than 11,000 K-12 teachers spoke up recently about how they use technology for teaching, for administrative work and at home. The Internet-based survey, Speak Up Day for Teachers was sponsored by Net Day, an educational technology...

California to revamp school spending options.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
December 1, 2004... California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is making waves and most recently has approved legislation that will revolutionize the way schools spend their money. The hope is that the new law, signed by Schwarzenegger in late September, will...

Online classes at standstill with E-rate mess.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Schools have stopped receiving new grants from the E-rate program as the Federal Communications Commission put a moratorium on the program. The commission is conjuring up new rules on how it spends $2.25 billion yearly to provide high-speed...

New teacher-to-teacher lessons.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Department of Education has a new e-Learning tool to offer teachers on-demand professional development to meet a plethora of student needs and improve student achievement. Designed for elementary and secondary school teachers and...

Minnesota launches new teacher initiative.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
December 1, 2004... Minnesota is launching a new education initiative that will change the way teachers are recruited, trained, rewarded and retained. Based on sweeping recommendations by the Teaching Commission, a nationwide bipartisan consortium, the state is...

$7 billion for cyberspace lessons and laptops.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The hottest high-tech sellers in schools this year will be wireless laptop carts and online courses, and schools will spend more than $7 billion on these and other new technologies in the next year, according to predictions in a report released...

No more naps in school.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
December 1, 2004... In yet another clue that school is getting more serious, the once-demanded nap time in kindergarten is becoming a dinosaur--of sorts. Particularly in a few counties in Maryland, axing naptime is part of an increased push on curriculum and...

Bush likely to expand NCLB but no major changes.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)
December 1, 2004... The re-election of George W. Bush to a second term likely means the No Child Left Behind Act will be expanded, but not significantly changed, say some education experts. Bush, who during his campaign frequently touted the law that passed...

Paige to resign as education secretary.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)(Rod Paige)
December 1, 2004... Education Secretary Rod Paige will resign his Cabinet position. Paige, 71, came to prominence as an award-winning superintendent in Houston before becoming secretary in a time of huge change in federal education policy. An outspoken defender of...

Web site faults law despite noble goals.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A new Web site, launched by Results for America, a project of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute, is designed to help the public understand how the law's school reforms appear to be faltering and how it has sparked local...

A smooth transition ... with some aid: Mikeidra is one of several students the magazine is featuring to personify how the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act is helping or not helping students.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)
December 1, 2004... LaTrice Pew, mother of seventh-grader Mikeidra Mitchell, admits she was worried about the transition to middle school in the Hamilton City School District in Ohio. Two years ago, her daughter's grades dropped, and her reading comprehension...

Debate is over: NCLB works.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)(No Child Left Behind)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Forget debating NCLB's funding, the effectiveness of standardized tests or parents' ability to send their child to a higher performing public school. Former Education Secretary Rod Paige announced recently the "debate is over" about...

Moving on: out of personal tragedy, this education leader found a way to lift others up.(Administrator profile: Jerome Colonna, Beaverton (Ore.) School District)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... December 1999. Justin Colonna, a 23-year-old college student from Eugene, Ore., died in a snowstorm while hiking 12,300 feet up on a Colorado peak. For his family, it was a crushing blow. His father, then-superintendent of Redmond (Ore.)...

Here today, here tomorrow: this urban district devised a successful plan to drive up school attendance.(District profile: Fort Worth (Texas) Independent School District)
December 1, 2004... Omar Ramos confesses he's a sucker for competition. Once he heard that staff at nearby Western Hills High School had convinced a business partner to donate a PT Cruiser as a prize for student attendance, he saw that his offering of Blockbuster...

Mall schools: is the answer for your district's at-risk problems as close as the nearest mall?(DA on location)
December 1, 2004... You probably know the Simon shopping malls for its upscale chain stores, busy food courts and commercial success around the country. You may not know about the brand of public education that's available in a growing number of those malls. ...

Vallas sets the pace: opinionated, impatient and anything but staid. The Philadelphia school leader is shaking up urban education. Here's what he thinks about No Child, Edison and how to get along with unions. PLUS, what he's planning on accomplishing next.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... You don't have to make it all the way into Paul Vallas' office to find out the personality of the CEO of The School District of Philadelphia. Just by waiting outside his modest office you can hear Vallas discuss issues, loudly but without...

Learn to work, work to learn: districts are redefining career connections through today's career and technical education programs.
December 1, 2004... Myth #1--Shop class is populated with academically challenged students. Myth #2--Career and technical education is inferior to college prep. Whether they're vocalized or not, these statements are common. And today in many districts,...

Social awareness on the back burner: withering social studies instruction in elementary schools has experts biting their fingernails, debating testing and seeking partnerships.
December 1, 2004... It's a crisis. Social studies, particularly in the elementary grades, has been pushed to the back burner in schools. Time is the biggest nemesis. Increased attention to math and language arts under the federal No Child Left Behind law is...

Children first: urban districts have been dealing with a growing special ed population by doing a better job identifying these students and measuring exactly how they learn.
December 1, 2004... A New York Times headline warned last February "Pupils Seem to Disappear In Shambles of Special Ed," evoking the image of clusters of abandoned children drifting through a war-torn schoolyard. The ensuing article chronicled tens of thousands of...

Leading the Way @ District Administration.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... To our readers: District Administration magazine exists to help school district leaders make informed decisions on behalf of their students, staff, and communities. In addition to our regular editorial content, another way we accomplish...

Online courses go to work: AMDG's 150-plus academic courses serve K-12 and job training centers.
December 1, 2004... The online school and job-training model has come a long way since it was first introduced more than a decade ago in Maryland. Liz Glowa, Director of Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities Program (MVLO), has seen a dramatic improvement...

Study shows L.A.'s at-risk students making significant academic progress with LANGUAGE![R] literacy intervention: LANGUAGE! The Comprehensive Literacy Curriculum accelerates literacy acquisition by systematically building students' vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills.
December 1, 2004... For decades, educators have attempted to bring about significant gains in older students who've fallen behind in reading. The problem has become pervasive across the country, with nearly 70% of eighth grade students reading below basic (the...

Baltimore county schools get an edge in Algebra: cognitive tutor boosts middle school scores by a factor of three.
December 1, 2004... A challenge at a handful of Title I middle schools in the Baltimore County Public School (BCPS) system three years ago was to figure out a way to help underperforming math students, says Patricia Baltzley, Director of Mathematics Pre K-12. ...

School districts opt for math courseware to support K-12 programs: easy-to-use and effective software and print materials add up to better scores.
December 1, 2004... Recent decisions by a variety of school districts confirm the need for comprehensive mathematics programs to supplement traditional learning systems. Districts such as the sprawling Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the Joliet...

Students help capture vets' stories: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)
December 1, 2004... Wanted: More than a few good men (and women). Needed: Yesterday. Veterans History Project volunteers are helping the Library of Congress collect stories of people who have sacrificed for our country on both the home front and abroad during...

Future documenters of America.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)
December 1, 2004... When Tim Schurtter gets calls from, say, a third-grade teacher volunteering to help with the Veterans History Project, he's got to point out that the collection has quality standards. But students in younger grades can begin learning the how's...

Me, myself and my math.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)
December 1, 2004... Do you love or hate math, and why? Describe your favorite math teacher. What have your "real-life" experiences been with math? When students write a math autobiography, there are no right or wrong answers--and no calculators required. ...

Storm brains allow at-home learning.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)
December 1, 2004... Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola, Fla.--hard. Every school in the district of Escambia County was damaged, and students missed 19 days this fall. But thanks to quick actions from administrators, the community newspaper and even Gov. Jeb Bush,...

New scale for measuring math.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... It's here-after four years of development and a national field study of 11,000 second to 12th grade students. MetaMetrics, which created the well-known Lexile Framework for Reading, has launched a similar scientific scale for measuring math...

Odvard Egil Dyrli on wiki sites: these web sites offer collaboration opportunities but have potential drawbacks.
December 1, 2004... The Houston Independent School District is one of the topics in the free online encyclopedia called Wikipedia. The reference describes the accomplishments of individual schools and the work of former employees Rod Paige and Laura Bush. But it...

Gary Stager on last-minute gift ideas: if you're looking for a last-minute gift idea for a friend or colleague, why not consider one of my favorite things?
December 1, 2004... Books What do YOU Mean by Learning by Seymour Sarason (Heinemann) At 84, prolific author Seymour Sarason may have written the best book of his career. The psychologist who has written about the "predictable failure of school reform" for...

Being An American: Exploring The Ideals that Unite Us: The Bill of Rights Institute.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.billofrightsinstitute.org Program, $12.95 This curriculum was designed to help middle and high school students examine who they are and what they stand for as Americans. Through activities, historical narratives, writing exercises and...

The Fall of Great Empires: Schlessinger Media.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.schlessinger.com Video, $39.95 Each of the four programs in this series is 30 minutes long and targets grades 9-12. It covers the beginning of Egypt to 1806, when the Roman Empire fell to Napoleon. A teacher's guide accompanies each...

Apple HD Cinema Display Extension Kits: Gefen.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.gefen.com Hardware, $217-$4,065 These kits, which are tailored to fit pre-set distance specifications, contain the appropriate extension devices and the required cabling to relocate a 20- or 23-inch Apple HD Cinema Display, keyboard,...

Physical Science Simulation: Plato Learning.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.plato.com Internet/Software, Site licenses: Web-based version $100/year, CD-ROM version $300/year This standards-based curriculum is the second in the Plato Middle School Science Series. It uses computer animation and multimedia...

NetSupport, NetSupport DNA 2.0.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.netsupport-inc.com, Software, $960 (25 users) The software was designed to help schools and other organizations inventory and manage their IT assets. This latest version offers a software distribution warehouse that helps reduce network...

Data Rescue v10.4.3 for Mac: Prosoft Engineering.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.prosofteng.com, Software, $89 This software is used to recover files from a problem hard drive, rather than simply trying to "fix" the problem, which can lead to more hard drive damage. The latest Mac version was designed for improved...

Visual Thesaurus: ThinkMap.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.visualthesaurus.com Internet, Site license $240 and up This online thesaurus and dictionary, designed for ages nine and up, offers an animated display of words and meanings that are related to the item in the center of the display. It...

The Civil War: American Against American: Find the Fun Productions.(Social Studies)
December 1, 2004... www.findthefunproductions.com Videos, $120 This three-part Civil War video series, running approximately 116 minutes, targets upper elementary and middle school students. Combining storytelling, original and period music, shadow puppetry...

Daily Geography Practice: Evan-Moor Educational Publishers.(Social Studies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... www.evan-moor.com Curriculum, $29.95 Each grade-specific edition of this daily practice series for grades 1-6 was designed to help children learn geography skills. Based on the 18 National Geography Standards, it features a 15-minute lesson...

ProQuest Platinum: ProQuest Information and Learning.(Social Studies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... www.proquestk12.com Internet, Site license $3,000-$5,000/year This online database contains more than 2,200 periodicals covering many curriculum-specific subject areas. Its features include full-text coverage of The New York Times and The...

By the numbers on technology forecast: a data bank on education trends for district leaders.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... K-12 public schools are projected to spend $103.46 per student-or a total of approximately $5 billion-on technology in 2004, a one-year increase of 18% Source: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2004, www.schooldata.com ...

Tungsten T5 handheld and Treo 650 smartphone: new features help administrators, educators and students connect to information and people.(New Models)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2004... THE NEW Tungsten T5 handheld and Treo 650 smartphone introduced this fall offer features sure to fit the bill for students, teachers and school administrators. The Tungsten T5 handheld with 256MB of flash memory enables students and...

WiFi high school goes online in Ontario: teachers and administrators opt for handhelds for classwork and admin tasks.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... NORTH GRENVILLE DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL is located north of the border in Kemptville, Ontario, but by placing palmOne handheld wireless computers in the hands of its 35 teachers this school about 45 minutes south of the Canadian capital Ottawa has...

Handhelds motivate teachers and students in Oklahoma schools: two districts take different paths to similar outcomes as handhelds fulfill the promise of one-to-one computing.(Case History)
December 1, 2004... HANDHELDS vs. LAPTOPS present an interesting choice for some Oklahoma K-12 educators, often with unanticipated results. One example is the Shawnee Public School District's (Shawnee, OK) decision last year to go with the handheld option. "I...

Faculty & staff 'summer camp' offers edVentures for success: strong and targeted staff support is the common denominator for successful handheld implementations.(Professional Development)
December 1, 2004... Handheld computers have tremendous potential for integrating technology across the curriculum, improving personal productivity, and sparking higher motivation by staff and students. To unlock this potential, schools and districts find that...

PETCs are spreading the word in L.A.: Los Angeles takes handheld training to a new level--countywide and to all of its public and private K-12 schools.(Professional Development)
December 1, 2004... THROUGHOUT LOS ANGELES COUNTY, superintendents, teachers, students and parents are learning about palmOne handhelds. This massive undertaking is made possible by a simple yet powerful seed--the palmOne Education Training Coordinator (PETC)...

Did you know your palmOne handheld can ... field-tested ideas from palmOne-using educators.(Real-World Tips)
December 1, 2004... Create a Word document on your handheld and send it to your desktop--and rice-versa? (Documents to Go) Easily create cooperative learning groups in the classroom with the Sorting Hat program? (www.freewarepalm.com) --Submitted by Kathy...

The sixth grade steps up big with handhelds in Newport-Mesa: 'for the cost of 110 desktop or laptop computers we bought 1,100 powerful handhelds for the entire sixth grade'.(Cross-Curriculum Applications)
December 1, 2004... THE NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, a southern California school district that spreads across 58 square miles towards the blue-green waters of the Pacific Ocean, doesn't do things by half. TAKE ITS LARGE-SCALE handheld implementation...

Teacher: here's how teachers have used their Tungsten E!(A Day In The Life)(Calendar)
December 1, 2004... 6:30 Calendar--Tungsten E's built in Calendar Consults calendar to review the day's agenda. 7:00 miniSync--BoxWave Charges palm0ne handheld while commuting to school. 7:30 Documents To Go--DataViz Uses Word...

eBook central takes a classic approach to handheld literature: 'perpetual' licensing permits handheld-equipped schools to buy once and distribute forever the world's greatest titles.(Licensing)
December 1, 2004... THE CLASSICS are timeless. However, they are not inexpensive to stock--until now, thanks to the recent change in policy by eBook Classics, which is now offering schools perpetual licenses for up to 500 titles that include such classics as...

Quizzler.(Assessment)(www.quizzlerpro.com)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Pocket Mobility www.quizzlerpro.com The Quizzler product family by Pocket Mobility Inc. provides a rich set of tools for both students and teachers. You can make your own quizzes or download free quizzes, take quizzes on your handheld in...

Participate.(Assessment)(www.handshigh.com)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Hands High Software, Inc. www.handshigh.com Participate makes tracking classroom participation easy and quick. Add participation points to any student with one tap. It even shows you who you should call on next. Participate will give you a...

Red-e Set Grow.(Assessment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Red-e Set Grow www.Redesetgrow.com Assessment-based software solutions in Web, CD-ROM, handheld-to-Web and handheld-to-local PC solutions that: * Scale to meet both large and small scale needs * Automate scoring and test...

LearnStar, Inc.(Assessment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Learnstar, Inc. www.learnstar.com Why Wi-Fi? LearnStar--interactive educational software that makes learning fun! Whole-class activities motivate students and focus their attention resulting in documented test score improvements. Academic...

WiFile.(Connectivity)
December 1, 2004... Hands High Software, Inc. www.handshigh.com WiFile brings your school's Network Neighborhood to the Palm OS. With WiFile and a wireless Palm device, you can browse networked computer servers, copy files to and from your Palm OS device, and...

eReader Pro & The Classics Collection.(eBooks & Resources)
December 1, 2004... Motricity http://education.motricity.com Motricity's Education Solutions are the perfect resource for educators, students and administrators. The Classics Collection from eReader.com, a division of Motricity, contains 500 titles...

CopyWrite: teach kids to write.(eBooks & Resources)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Revelation Computing www.revComputing.com CopyWrite teaches handwriting to beginning writers by modeling letter outlines for students and recording their writing performance for later playback. CopyWrite motivates students to learn...

ThoughtManager.(Language Arts & Multimedia)
December 1, 2004... Hands High Software, Inc. www.handshigh.com Brainstorming and outlining skills are critical to the development of good writing, and ThoughtManager makes it easy. ThoughtManager captures student ideas, and then allows the student to organize...

MathAmigo.(Math & Science)
December 1, 2004... --the unique and complete Math program for K--8 for Handhelds Valiant USA www.mathamigo.com Your students will love this individualized learning scheme that supports and motivates their understanding of math. You will love the PC-based...

Inspiration[R] for Palm OS[R].(Math & Science)
December 1, 2004... Inspiration Software[R], Inc. www.inspiration.com Energize students with Inspiration[R] for Palm OS[R], which combines the learning benefits of Inspiration with the versatility of the Palm Operating System. Students can now use a handheld...

Vernier LabPro.(Math & Science)
December 1, 2004... Vernier Software & Technology www.vernier.com/palm With the Vernier LabPro interface and Data Pro software, you can collect science data with Vernier sensors on your palmOne handheld. (Choose from 50 different sensors.) Data-collection...

BoxWave Solutions.(Personal Productivity)(PDA utility)
December 1, 2004... BoxWave Corporation www.boxwave.com Avoid the pitfalls common to handheld devices. BoxWave produces award-winning products such as the miniSync and ClearTouch to address issues such as maintaining battery power and protecting your...

FileMaker[R] Mobile 7.(Personal Productivity)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... FileMaker, Inc. www.filemaker.com Don't be desk-bound--take the information you need with you on your Palm OS or Pocket PC handheld. Leverage the advantages of data portability and the functionality of a full-featured database application....

Kid Zone.(School Management)(Beiks LLC)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Beiks beiks.com/k12 KidZone lets you select and limit the applications that students can run on the device. Improves classroom efficiency and cuts tech support time. Beiks develops dictionaries, spelling checkers and other knowledge...

Principalm.(School Management)
December 1, 2004... Discovery Software Ltd www.principalm.com With Principalm, you can remotely access critical student-related information from most student management systems. Principalm allows instant access to demographic and emergency contact information,...

Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device Treo[TM] 650 by palmOne.(School Management)(www.sprint.com/education)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Sprint www.sprint.com/education Equip your teachers and staff with the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device Treo[TM] 650 by palmOne. When combined with Sprint wireless solutions for K-12, you get a mobile, fast, and affordable way to link school...

Grabba Barcode Scanners.(School Management)
December 1, 2004... T-1200 for PALM Zire 71, Tungsten W, C, T, T3 T-2200 for TREO 600 Grabba International www.grabba.com Inventory, asset management, libraries, student management and monitoring, classroom audits, janitorial and maintenance--add all these...

ScheduleFinder.(School Management)
December 1, 2004... TruSmart Technologies www.trusmart.com ScheduleFinder[TM] provides school Administrators instant access to all of their student information, photo IDs, and emergency plans on a palmOne[TM] handheld. In addition, the application integrates...

SD Deploy! 2.0.(School Management)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Grant Street Software www.grantstreetsoftware.com Think of SD Deploy! 2.0 as Ghost[R] for your Palm OS handhelds. Use SD Deploy! to quickly clone 10, 100, or 1000s of handhelds using the SD Deploy! expansion card, saving you hours of...

EdWin.(Study Aids)(www.brainmatrix.com)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... BrainMatriX, Inc. www.brainmatrix.com EdWin allows students to create, edit, and distribute information in a review book format: Question, Answer and eXplanation. With the ability to personalize content, users can organize the information...