District Administration articles from January 2005

District Administration archives from January 2005

In search of the elusive answer.(Editor's Letter)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... For years, trying to "fix" public schools' problems has become kind of a parlor game. Nearly everyone involved in education (and a good many people not involved) have taken a shot at coming up with the "answer" for why this country's K-12...

Thanks for the apology.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I was one of your readers who protested some of the columns written by Gary Stager. Therefore, I understandably was attracted to your editor's letter in the November 2004 issue ("Mea Culpa," p. 9). Only rarely do I find editors with the courage...

Keep Gary Stager, lose the apologies.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Joe Hanson has invited readers to share their thoughts about Gary Stager's two columns ("Kerry's Educational Plan," August 2004, and "Direct Instruction," October 2004). Here goes: Stager is absolutely right about the ignorance of...

ETS Pulliam's focus on standards drives student scores past expectations: Paramount High School showed significant improvement in almost every area.(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... CASE STUDY: Paramount High School In the fall of 2001, Paramount High School was identified as a "1-1" school. In California, that meant that the school was in the bottom ten percent of schools in the state. Even worse, it meant that...

Voters send mixed messages on funding education.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... Voters who went to the polls in November sent mixed messages on referendums designed to increase education funding in several states. In Washington, residents voted down a measure creating charter schools. Residents in Washington, Nevada,...

No cash to repair technology in L.A.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... At least $1 million in computer equipment at Los Angeles Unified School District is unsalvageable because the district did not have enough money or expertise to maintain it, officials stated, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. ...

Hot technologies.(People want to know, "Does it work and is it effective?")
January 1, 2005... "Don't touch that, it's hot," is a familiar warning, but the Consortium for School Networking says the adage doesn't apply to educational technology. The group's new report, Hot Technologies for K-12 Schools, lists 12 emerging technologies...

Rebuilding book nooks in NYC.(People want to know, "Does it work and is it effective?")(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Twenty-five elementary school libraries will be built or rebuilt in New York City schools by September. The Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit organization fighting poverty in New York, has already refurbished or built 31 elementary school...

School using watermarks on report cards.(People want to know, "Does it work and is it effective?")(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Students in a Maryland High School will have a tough time if they try to doctor their report cards. River Hill High School in Howard County became one of a growing number of schools to use paper with a watermark to prevent students from...

Colorado schools deal online learning trend.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Rather than combat what Colorado Chancellor of Education William J. Moloney feels is inevitable, the state has embraced online learning. In the 2000-01 school year, just more than $1 million was used for 166 cyberstudents. In three years, about...

Growing trend.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Online education is a growing trend across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 12 states have established online high school programs and five others are in the process of creating them. In addition, 25 states allow for...

Detroit voters take power back.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... In November, city residents took back the right to elect the members of the Detroit Public Schools' board of education. The state had taken control of the district in 1999, according to The Detroit News. So next November, the city will...

Report cards for Tykes.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... For the first time, Boston Public Schools are issuing report cards three times a year for kindergartners to ensure they can write, count and follow directions. Children will be scored on a scale of 1 to 4 in 36 categories including if they...

E-rate weathers change.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... E-rate, the federal telecommunications program that was on hold for four months, finally resumed spending in November. Cash problems had bogged it down and put off more than $400 million in projects from 2003 and 2004. Since 1996, E-rate...

Schools get more rights under revised IDEA law.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... Educators got an early holiday present when the lame-duck House and Senate reconciled differences and re-authorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in late 2004. The revision aims to reduce paperwork and court cases,...

Reforming schools.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... A former Houston Independent School District administrator opened a new center to help reform school systems. The Center for School District Effectiveness, founded by Cathy Mincberg, former HISD chief business officer, is set to assist...

Mexico muy caliente with Spanish teachers.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... While Spain was the hot spot to recruit Spanish-speaking teachers for American schools, Mexico is now muy caliente. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has signed an agreement with government officials in Mexico to encourage teachers to teach...

Debate over NAEP: too easy?(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)
January 1, 2005... A study of the nation's report card, or National Assessment of Educational Progress, contends that math problems for fourth- and eighth-graders in 2003 were just too easy, in part because they only tested student skills using whole numbers ,...

Judging a book by its uniform.(Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... On the outside, students that don uniforms look good and supposedly do better academically, as well as act more peaceful in school. But a new book claims uniforms are not effective in curbing school violence or raising achievement. The...

Did the tail wag dog?(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)
January 1, 2005... The jury is still out as far as how much some state rule changes in accountability plans for No Child Left Behind affected schools' performances last year. In spring 2004 47 states asked the U.S. Department of Education to approve changes...

High schools: the next frontier to tackle.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The nation's governors will take a crack at improving U.S. high schools at a special conference next month in Washington, D.C. The National Education Summit on High Schools will focus on increasing graduation rates and ensuring that high school...

More people unite for more changes in law.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)
January 1, 2005... In yet another attempt to change the No Child Left Behind law, more than two dozen national education, civil rights, disability, children's and citizens' groups are asking Congress this year to refocus the federal law on positive measurements...

Promising practices for no child.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The U.S. Department of Education features successful and promising practices in education in the new No Child Left Behind booklet, Innovations in Education: Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification. Promising alternative routes include...

Teachers say student performance unaffected by law.(Inside the law: analyzing, debating and explaining no child left behind)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... More than 68 percent of primary and secondary school teachers think test scores or students' performances have not improved in their classes since No Child Left Behind was implemented, according to a recent Teacher Opinion Poll. The...

Fearless of heights: discontent--even with a positive status quo--keeps this education leader striving for ever higher goals.(Administrator profile: Kathleen Macy, Stillwater (Minn.) Area School District)
January 1, 2005... Kathleen Macy knows a thing or two about perseverance. When her family moved from a Los Angeles suburb to a Minnesota farm when she was 14, she got used to sun-up to sundown work rather quickly. From her first paid job picking radishes by hand,...

Seeing the world, staying at home: this county fights its geographic isolation by providing and promoting videoconferencing for student and staff enrichment.(District profile: imperial county office of Education, Calif.)
January 1, 2005... The frail, older woman began rolling up her sleeve, and 200 miles away, a classroom full of high school students leaned forward to watch her. As part of a history unit on the Holocaust, administrators and teachers in the Imperial County...

Piggyback ride.(District profile: imperial county office of Education, Calif.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In order to get enough network power to provide videoconferencing, Imperial County administrators simply looked down. They forged a partnership with a local utility company, imperial Irrigation District, which had installed a network backbone...

Around the world trip.(District profile: imperial county office of Education, Calif.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Although teachers can use videoconferencing to create virtual field trips with museum and library resources they can also tap into more personal resources. Johanna Shick, a high school teacher in the Borrego Springs Unified School District,...

Making the connection.(District profile: imperial county office of Education, Calif.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... It isn't only students benefiting from the county's videoconferencing prowess. Teachers and administrators use it to connect with far-flung peers. Some of these meetings are formal, but there are also many ad-hoc meetings between teachers,...

Heading for the border.(District profile: imperial county office of Education, Calif.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Videoconferencing in Imperial County is part of the region's BorderLink Project, a federally funded Technology Innovation Challenge Grant designed to boost technology use for K-12 students in Imperial and other rural San Diego counties. The...

Delayed trip.(District profile: imperial county office of Education, Calif.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The county is eager to make videoconferencing as common in a classroom as blackboards and doodled-on textbooks. But the technology still has some limitations, says Imperial High School history teacher Pete Martinez. Last year, he was asked to...

What they're saying: on November 17, 2004, President Bush nominated Margaret Spellings to serve as the nation's eighth education secretary. Here's what education insiders and Washington players have to say.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... Karl Rove, the president s political strategist, was quoted this fall as saying Spellings is "the most influential woman in Washington that you've never heard of." "Margaret Spellings... believes that every child can learn, and that every...

Microsoft high: Philadelphia and the software giant combine to create the "most unique education structure in the world".
January 1, 2005... HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN IDEA so good that you know if you can just tell the right person, they'll agree and it will happen? That, more or less, was the script when the CEO of the School District of Philadelphia, Paul Vallas, met with Microsoft...

Whole in one: education leaders who make thoughtful choices about their own continuous learning can drive entire districts forward.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... First came the workshop. Then came a glimmer of an idea. Next came the goal, which changed everything. It was Raymond Yeagley who set it all in motion. The Rochester (N.H.) Schools superintendent attended a Quality School Portfolio workshop a...

Heart of the school: the school library is as valuable as learning how to read and compute. But it's a tough sell for administrators.
January 1, 2005... Students in Appoquinimink School District in Odessa, Del., were getting gypped for years. Nine years ago, they had library media centers that were showing signs of age, full of outdated material, sometimes 20 years old, and very few library...

The effective school board: do whatever it takes to get your board to understand its role and to communicate civilly with each other.
January 1, 2005... School boards usually only make news when something goes drastically wrong. Just take a quick look into the mess currently being sorted out in New Orleans, where it seems Superintendent Anthony Amato and his board have been in court more than...

Q&A with performance poet Nile Stanley.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... Q: How do educators tend to respond when you say poetry helps children learn to read? A: Generally, I find educators know that reading poetry is good for the mind and the soul. Also many [teachers] themselves learned to read through the...

Banking the best of tests.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... George DeBoer's research team is putting a lot of questions and answers through the ringer. In the end, the concept of having assessments precisely aligned with content standards will be all the clearer to everyone. As deputy director of...

Mutual funds get in the game.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Diversity--the financial portfolio kind--is certainly an investing rule of thumb. And often mutual funds, generally less volatile than stocks, are a first investment choice. So it makes sense that students in the Securities Industry...

Of money and basketball.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)
January 1, 2005... Another game promoting financial literacy is played on the court rather than in the market. Cambridge Credit, a credit counseling provider, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., have created a semester-long...

Targeting reading difficulties.(Curriculum update: the latest developments in math, science, language arts and social studies)
January 1, 2005... Identifying a suspected reading disability is the first step in helping a child. With that in mind, Reading Rockets and LD OnLine are launching Target the Problem, a project to help educators and parents recognize specific reading difficulties....

Odvard Egil Dyrli on podcasting: do-it-yourself radio is spreading across the Internet like wildfire.
January 1, 2005... Last November, armed with only a computer, a microphone and free Audacity software, Will Richardson prepared his first online audio broadcast. The supervisor of instructional technology and communications at New Jersey's Hunterdon Central...

It's all here in black & white: why is red[R] professional development the best way to raise reading achievement?(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... The research is clear. The single most important factor in helping students become proficient, lifelong readers is their teacher. Therefore, educators all across the country struggle with a common challenge--how to make sure their teachers have...

Gary Stager on the State of Ed Tech: why the tech movement is on life support.
January 1, 2005... The educational computing movement, once led by educators inspired by the transcendent power of the personal computer to revolutionize the learning process and transform schools, is near death. The sad state of affairs is based on a profound...

Writing: the neglected R returns.(Research corner: essentials on education data and analysis from research authority AEL)
January 1, 2005... Writing has received less attention lately than the other two Rs, reading and 'rithmetic, but rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Beginning in 2005, the SAT college entrance exam will require students to write an essay, and the...

ClassStation solutions: Polycom.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.polycom.com, Hardware, $16,999 and up These four video conferencing packages offer different distance learning systems that enable teachers to gain access to two-way interactive content, subject matter experts, museums, research,...

Teachers' Domain Professional Development courses: WGBH Educational Foundation.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.teachersdomain.org/courses, Internet, Approximately $150/ participant These science courses were designed to broaden educators' knowledge of science content and teaching methodologies and help them integrate technology into the...

Realis SX50: Canon.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.usa.canon.com, Hardware, $3,999 This multimedia projector features the company's proprietary AISYS optical technology, which offers 2500 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 1000:1. Also, with LCOS technology, it offers higher SXGA+...

Lexia primary reading: Lexia Learning Systems.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.lexialearning.com, Software, $120-$500 This reading software targets students between the ages of 5-8. It tracks student progress, correlates with curriculum standards and lesson plans and provides strong curriculum support in phonemic...

Upper deck U.S. history: Upper Deck.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.upperdeck.com, Trading Cards, $2.99/10 card pack Collectable cards in this 300-card set depict the greatest people, places and moments in U.S. history, from Columbus and the colonists to the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Insert cards...

Tungsten T5: palmOne.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.palmOne.com/tungsten-t5, Hardware, $399 This handheld device offers 256MB of flash memory, protects information if it loses its charge and doubles as a portable flash memory drive. Its high-resolution 320x480 screen offers both...

DNG converter: Adobe Systems.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.adobe.com Software, Free This tool translates raw photo formats into the .DNG format, a new unified public format for digital camera flies that can preserve digital photos in original form. The software simplifies digital imaging...

TurboTools 1.0.1: Big6 Learning Resources.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.big6turbotools.com, Software, $995 This software was designed to help teach information and technology literacy to students of all ages. It walks students through a process to create projects and complete assignments, such as research...

The reading assistant manager: Soliloquy Leaning.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.reading-assistant.com, Software, $2,000 This network software program aims to help students in grades 1-6 meet national and local reading fluency requirements. It provides a guided oral reading experience by "listening" to students as...

InClass: The InCom Corp.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.incomcorporation, com, Hardware/Software, Estimated at $2,100/classroom This wireless, radio frequency, ID-based system can be adapted to almost any school environment to take attendance. Students wear an RFID tag in a proprietary...

The middle ages: the building of nations: Teaching for Thinking.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.teachingforthinking.com Software, $3.9.99 Designed for middle and high school students, this title features the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius as narrator. He explores the morality, politics and social order of eastern and...

DS+25 digital projector: Christie.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.christiedigital.com, Hardware, $14,495 This high resolution, single-chip DLP digital projector offers 2500 lumens brightness, a 4:3 aspect ratio. 2500:1 contrast ratio and native SXGA+ resolution in a compact design. It's compatible...

The Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus: Oxford University Press.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.oup.com/us, Book, $40 Developed for writers by writers, this thesaurus lists more than 300,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms, as well as contains nearly 200 word banks and collections of nouns that can add exact detail to a writer's...

SD-R5372 drive: Toshiba Samsung Storage Technologies.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.sdd.toshiba.com, Hardware, $149.99 This double layer, dual-format DVD recordable drive can write DVD+R double-layer at speeds up to 5X and DVD+R single layer up to 16X. Other features include a power control system that adjusts speeds...

Powerlite 821p: Epson.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.epson.com, Hardware, $3,099 This projector combines 2,600 ANSI lumens with XGA resolution and a 1.6x power zoom lens that can project a clear, large image from either long or unusually short throw distances. Other features include two...

webEdition: webEdition Software Ltd.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.webedition-cms.com, Software, Free This vendor offers its Web site content management system free to K-12 schools throughout North America. The program helps schools keep their Web site content up-to-date, whether it's contact...

SynchronEyes 5.1: SMART Technologies, Inc.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.SynchronEyes.com Software, Lab license $1,199 This lab instruction software for Microsoft Windows, which comes in six languages, helps teachers control the whole computer lab or networked classroom and provide individualized instruction...

PresentationPro packages: Califone.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.califone.com, Hardware, $500 and up These five wireless presentation packages offer a complete wireless sound system that fits the varied communication needs of schools and classrooms. Each package includes a lightweight PA system with...

MLC 226 IP, 104 IP MediaLink controllers: Extron Electronics.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.extron.com, Hardware, $1,145 and up, $795 and up Both remote control panels provide universal projector control in a classroom or other small-scale environment. They can be monitored and accessed from any computer connected to a tAN,...

Connections for comprehension: Curriculum Associates, Inc.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.curriculumassociates.com, Books, $7.95 each Designed to improve student reading comprehension, this series for grades 1i8 contains six paired reading selections featuring fiction, nonfiction or both. Lessons are followed by...

SchoolNet 5.0: SchoolNet, Inc.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.schoolnet.com, Software, About $3 per student/module This software was designed to help school districts analyze data, assess performance and individualize instruction. This latest version includes a tracking tool that enables educators...

LT245 and LT265 projectors: NEC.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... www.necvisualsystems.com Hardware, $2, 195 and $2,495 Both of these portable projectors offer remote desktop control and the ability to broadcast information to multiple projectors and computers. Features include IEEE802.11g, a flexible...

By the numbers on educational equality: a data bank on education trends for district leaders.(Illustration)
January 1, 2005... ATTITUDE Percent of high school seniors' response to the question, "How do you feel about school?" MALE Like it very much 30% Like school some 47% Don't like it very much/not at all...

Laying out.(Computer literature: graphic design: books on the latest software for technology directors and IT staff)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In high school teacher Ron Barnett's newspaper and year-book classes in St. Helens School District #503 in Oregon, Adobe's InDesign is making great waves in designing layout. Making the switch from Page-Maker, Barnett uses Adohe's...

Peachpit Press: Adobe InDesign CS classroom in a book.(Computer literature: graphic design: books on the latest software for technology directors and IT staff)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... www.peachpit.com This is a beginner-to-intermediate graphic design students' dream, using a series of project-based lessons, tested in Adobe's own classrooms and labs, for a complete grounding in page design. The series offers detailed...

Peachpit Press: InDesign CS Visual QuickStart Guide for Macintosh & Windows.(Computer literature: graphic design: books on the latest software for technology directors and IT staff)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... www.peachpit.com InDesign CS Visual QuickStart Guide is the fourth version of the book. It uses real examples, pictures, and concise commentary to explain step-by-step how to work through the software and show the reader what to do. It...

McGraw-Hill Osborne Media: how to do everything with Adobe InDesign CS.(Computer literature: graphic design: books on the latest software for technology directors and IT staff)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... www.osborne.com This book, worth-while for users of all levels, is about what InDesign does, why it works and when to use it. The reference uses short, real-world projects and provides details to convert layouts from Quark or PageMaker 2....

Wiley Publishing: Adobe InDesign CS Bible.(Computer literature: graphic design: books on the latest software fortechnology directors and IT staff)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... www.wiley.com As InDesign CS offers new features to upstart layout programs this reference book is a comprehensive tool to create catalogs, brochures, magazines or interactive PDFs. The book allows users to apply formatting to nearly any...

Don't go it alone: strategic partnering can help school districts improve services and cut costs.(Publisher's Letter)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... This special supplement to District Administration, sponsored by ARAMARK, is designed to help school district leaders explore the potential benefits of partnering for facilities management and food services. Although many district leaders...

School smarts: smart strategies on how to generate savings, increase efficiencies and enhance quality.(Partnering For Success)
January 1, 2005... ALTHOUGH CLASSES don't start until 9 a.m. at Northwest High School, nearly 40 students line up to enter the school's library at 7:30 every morning. But it's not the books, magazines or computers that attract them. It's the coffee. The...

Myths & facts K-12 realities.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Misperceptions about outsourcing can lead any school district in the wrong direction. Listed below are some common myths that still exist in the school community. MYTH We'll lose control over our food services or facilities management...

Healthy choices: for better selection, nutritional awareness and cost savings, districts are opting to outsource food services.(Food Service)
January 1, 2005... ALMOST EVERY DAY, television news and newspapers report on the growing challenge of childhood obesity. While waistlines are expanding, school budgets clearly are not. Combine these two ingredients and districts have the perfect scenario for...

Double duty: how this school district receives greater impact partnering for food and custodial services.(Case Study)
January 1, 2005... MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, the food service program at Duval County (Fla.) Public School District was more than $2 million in debt. Facing a serious financial crisis, school officials opted to try something new-they outsourced their entire...

On solid ground: outsourcing facility operations and maintenance keeps school buildings up-to-date and contributes to a positive learning environment.(Facilities Services)
January 1, 2005... IT SEEMED like an impossible task for the school district: cut energy consumption, enhance building cleanliness and streamline work-order management--all within a short time frame. Yet, that's exactly what occurred at Detroit Public...