District Administration articles from May 2002

District Administration archives from May 2002

Lovin' learning.(Editorial)
May 1, 2002... This letter was supposed to update on the education of my five-year-old, Ethan. I introduced you to Ethan in November when I chronicled the decision my wife and I made to send him to a Montessori school and delay kindergarten for a year. ...

Students ask: "why should we hire you?" (District plus: tips and ideas for successful district leadership).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... In the Clayton (Mo.) School District, student opinions count. "The kids are the clients," says David Skillman, Clayton High School's principal, who experienced their involvement first hand when he was hired last year. Besides an interview with...

Save the trees--and your desk. (District plus: tips and ideas for successful district leadership).(CD's vs paper documents)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Looking for an escape from that ever-growing "To Read" pile? The San Bernardino County (Calif.) Superintendent of Schools Office has a solution. For the monthly assistant superintendents' meeting, the office used to compile a binder full of...

Multimedia means multi-tasking. (District plus: tips and ideas for successful district leadership).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Some educators say professional development is important to initiate multimedia projects. But students who have a knack for computers can act as teachers to other students. "As long as one or two students are really exalted about it they...

New Web tool calculates tech costs. (District plus: tips and ideas for successful district leadership).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... As anyone who buys computers and related education technology knows, calculating true costs is confusing. Sure, it is easy enough to look at the retail price for, say, 1,000 new laptops and estimate the total a district will spend on the...

Philadelphia team chooses Edison. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Edison Schools)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... In a move that drew cheers and jeers, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission recently hired Edison Schools as the lead consultant in a move to improve the school district. On the day of the announcement, a crowd gathered chanting, "No...

Florida to enhance education Web site. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Facts.org, Florida's education information site, will add to its student content next year. To date, Facts.org is the state's college advising Web site, listing profiles of 75 colleges and universities, degree information and advice on...

Gates foundation gives $40 million to create new high schools. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).
May 1, 2002... The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is donating $40 million to create 70 special high schools for the disadvantaged. Saying that the last years of high school are often "squandered academically," and that too many disadvantaged students drop...

A grant to reward urban district excellence. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Broad Prize for Urban Education)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, aren't the only philanthropists bent on improving education. Eli Broad, businessman and noted giver to education, has created the Broad Prize for Urban Education. He will grant $500,000 to the urban school...

Recruiting teachers from the ranks of the unemployed. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).
May 1, 2002... The recession has hit many industries, including technology. Even though economic indicators point to an upcoming recovery, there are still many displaced professionals. It hasn't escaped the notice of several district human resource directors...

AASA elects new president. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(American Association of School Administrators)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... John Lawrence, superintendent of the Troy, Mo., school district, will be the next president of the American Association of School Administrators. Lawrence has served on the AASA executive committee since 1999 and has been a member of the...

Mindsurf partners with McGraw-Hill. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... New technologies thrive on partnerships, such as the one recently formed between Mindsurf Networks and McGraw-Hill. Beginning this fall, Mindsurf's Discourse instructional software will run McGraw-Hill's Glencoe Algebra I curriculum. Discourse...

One size doesn't fit all. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).
May 1, 2002... Schools fail. This is a hard fact for school districts across the country. Districts are desperate for ways to bring failing schools and the students who drop out of them back into the educational fold. One approach that seems to be working is...

College Board to consider SAT I changes. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(standard achievement test)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The College Board may change SAT I, the standard achievement test, to put a greater emphasis on math and to ask students for a writing sample. In June the trustees will vote on the proposed changes at their annual meeting. Meanwhile, the board...

SIF makes useful connections. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Schools Interoperability Framework)
May 1, 2002... The Schools Interoperability Framework, run by the Software & Information Industry Association, reports encouraging news this spring. The group's first Connect-a-thon was a success. The Web-based test successfully ran Apple, Novell and other...

Superintendent hires investigator to ferret out non-residents. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).
May 1, 2002... It happens in many districts. Students lie about where they live in order to be educated in a better school district. Such was the case in Mainland Regional High School District in Linwood, N.J. There school Superintendent Edwin Coyle went...

State ed tech directors get their own association. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... State education technology directors now have their own association, SETDA. John Barley, director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, is a key advisory committee representative. As Pennsylvania's former state...

Fairfax County schools may seek corporate sponsors. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Colleges and universities do it, so why not high schools? For years, higher education institutions have been naming academic buildings and sports arenas after corporate donors. Now administrators in Fairfax County, Va., are considering selling...

ISTE's textbook covers tech standards for teachers. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(International Society for Technology in Education)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The International Society for Technology in Education has released a new book to help teachers use technology. National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers: Preparing Teachers to Use Technology, contains 32 demonstration lessons...

California resumes construction on its most expensive high school. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The Belmont Learning Complex in Los Angles was to be the crown jewel of the Los Angeles school district. Instead, it has turned into a money pit. After spending $154 million on the high school complex, which is planned to house 5,000 students,...

Tax breaks for teachers who pay for supplies. (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The average teacher spends $400 per year on supplies. This out-of-pocket spending is worth a tax break, says the U.S. Senate. In early March, the Senate passed a tax provision to allow teachers to get this money back. The tax benefit will put...

Can schools help curb the teen drinking epidemic? (Notebook: usable education information from schools, business, research and professional organizations).
May 1, 2002... Nearly one-third of high school students binge drink--or, in plain language, drink to get drunk--at least once per month. Teen Tipplers: America's Underage Drinking Epidemic, released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at...

U.S. Supreme Court weighs a new kind of school test. (Government spotlight: the latest news from and about education from the U.S. government).
May 1, 2002... Education officials await a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to determine if they can test students for drug use. Of course, schools already have the OK to test student athletes, but the outcome of the current case, heard in March, will determine if...

Paige seeks to close the achievement gap. (Government spotlight: the latest news from and about education from the U.S. government).(Rod Paige)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... On average, American black students trail white counterparts in reading proficiency and math. Statistics show that 28 percent more white students than black are proficient in reading; 29 percent score higher in math. Department of Education...

Q&A with Joseph Baust Sr. of the North American Association for Environmental Education. (Science).
May 1, 2002... Q: Where should environmental studies fit into the school curriculum? A: Environmental education [fits] nicely into any component of a classroom curriculum, as the umbrella from which all subjects can be taught or as a part of social...

Statistics picks up steam. (Mathematics).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Mention statistics education and many minds conjure up rigid instruction based on obscure formulas. "My joke is that [statistic] sounds almost like sadistic," says Larry Feldman, director of SEQuaL, the Center for Statistics Education through...

Roll call: National History Day alumni sought. (Social Studies).
May 1, 2002... Most anniversary events seek to honor the past. For the upcoming 25th anniversary of the year-long National History Day program, looking back in time is especially appropriate. Many of the program's alumni have become teachers or...

Framework illuminates invisible reading processes. (Language Arts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Like expert crafters, a growing number of teachers consider their students apprentices. Through the National Institute on Reading Apprenticeship, teams of teachers and administrators from about 150 districts have learned how the RA framework...

Keeping the ABCs in the classroom and off the report card; are letter grades really important? One upstate New York district not only thinks they aren't, but is eliminating letter grades in favor of a benchmarking system. (district profile).(Niagara Falls (N.Y.) City School District)
May 1, 2002... What is insane? In Niagara Falls, N.Y., residents are used to crazy behavior. Besides the disconcerting monthly suicides, there are the stunts. People have walked tightropes over Niagara Falls, gone over in barrels, big plastic balls, kayaks,...

A quiet storm brings change: this North Carolina superintendent boosted the achievements of minorities, in part, by creating needed programs and increasing his district's budget. (administrator profile).
May 1, 2002... Take a troubled urban school district with almost two dozen non-performing schools, impoverished students and racial imbalance and what do you get? A recipe for educational disaster? No. A challenge, says Eric J. Smith, superintendent of...

Capturing what teachers see: how technology powers observational assessment. (21st century assessment).
May 1, 2002... Long, long ago, in some mythical classroom of the lost world, if you wanted to know how well a student was learning, you'd just ask the teacher. Teachers then not only had eyes in the back of their heads, but powerful eyes all around that could...

Implementing hands-on programs: these NSF-supported curriculum centers offer valuable online resources. (the online edge).(National Science Foundation)
May 1, 2002... The National Science Foundation has arguably done more to improve K-12 science, mathematics and technology education in the United States than any other sponsoring agency. Starting decades ago, the NSF funded the development of large-scale...

In search of the holy grail: better living through Turkey Jerky and other "amazing" products. (speaking out).
May 1, 2002... On the front seat of a New Orleans taxi was a television the cabbie managed to watch while driving. The TV was tuned to an infomercial for a miracle home food dehydrator. The show demonstrated all of the ways in which this amazing technology...

The fine line: it's a never-ending question between school boards and superintendents: who has authority over what issues and how can both sides coexist peacefully and effectively?
May 1, 2002... Earlier this year, a superintendent in Prince George's County, Md., was fired by the school board, temporarily reinstated after a Sunday evening circuit court session and redeemed by an antiquated state law. This all happened during 10...

3D and far out: take one part equipment, one part training, mix with enthusiasm. What do you get? A multimedia program that propels students to push the limits of traditional education. (Focus: multimedia)(Cover Story).
May 1, 2002... Imagine: You're standing behind a camera in outer space and watching Earth rotate in front of you. The camera zooms away, Earth gets smaller, without warning, an orange/reddish light shoots past you. You hear a loud "boom" as the entire planet...

A time and a place: research shows that students achieve more when schools recognize and respect languages other than "standard written English." So, why have educators been slow in adopting corresponding practices? (Focus: reading/language arts).
May 1, 2002... "We ain't where we supposed to be." When a teacher walking through the hallway at Newson Park Elementary School of Newport News (Va.) City Public Schools overheard these words, she pulled the third-grade culprit out of line and told him that...

Conflict resolution: conflict is inevitable. So, when you think about keeping your schools safe, consider communication. (Focus: safety & violence prevention).
May 1, 2002... Images of students fleeing deadly shooting sprees in 1998-99 in Colorado and Arkansas set a new tone in classrooms nationwide. Then there was the plot in 1999, to kill six faculty members in a small Kansas City school. It was foiled by...

Talking heads: a former Secret Service agent shares tips for thwarting possible violence in his district. (Focus: safety & violence prevention).
May 1, 2002... It's an age-old tradition, something that has been around since the beginning of modern man. Some experts say it is the core of any violence prevention or safety technique around. It's talking. "Having alarms, lights, cameras,... that...

Opus one: critics of computers in education often argue the investment in technology detracts from the arts. This does not need to be the case. Increasingly powerful and easy-to-use music hardware and software can rejuvenate any school music program.
May 1, 2002... Did you ever wonder how Stevie Wonder can play just one keyboard and yet produce an orchestra of sounds? The easy answer is because of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The MIDI is essentially a networking protocol that allows musical...

Computer in a key chain. (new products).
May 1, 2002... M-Systems, www.diskonkey.com, Hardware, $49.99-$199.99 (8MB-256MB available) What's smaller than a pen, fits on a key chain, and allows you to move documents and other files seamlessly between home and work, as well as between a Mac and a...

Chalk one up for research. (new products).(Bigchalk Multimedia)
May 1, 2002... Bigchalk, www.bigchalk.com, Internet, site license up to $1,700/year (district-wide discounts available) Bigchalk Multimedia is an online reference database for middle and high school students devoted to multimedia content. With more than...

Record, stream and archive lectures. (new products).
May 1, 2002... OPTX International, www.screenwatch.com, Software, $695 ScreenWatch Producer is designed for media departments to record, stream and archive classroom instruction. The new version 4.0 includes a Slide Navigator module that automatically...

Safe and hassle-free computing. (new products).
May 1, 2002... Symantec Corp., www.symantec. com, Software, $69.95-$99.95 Norton SystemWorks 2002, a problem-solving suite designed to help keep PCs running at optimal performance levels, has several new features. Included in the suite are: Norton...

Unclog the cogs. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... Fablevision, www.braincogs.com, Software, $149.95 (single computer) $349.95 (10 computers) BrainCogs is a CD-ROM designed to be an interactive coach for learning and studying. Featuring a "cognitively challenged" band of musicians whose...

Do you know where your textbooks are? (New Products).
May 1, 2002... Follett Educational Services, www.fes.follett.com, Software, $995 (single-user license)-$1,495 (multi-user license) Using TextLink, schools can reduce the cost of replacing lost and stolen textbooks. The latest Windows version 4.20 includes...

Tapping tiny keys. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... Datadesk Technologies, www.datadesktech.com, Hardware, $69.95 The LittleFingers keyboard allows children to reach all of the computer keys more naturally and comfortably--without having to stretch. This helps prevent repetitive stress...

Keep traffic flowing. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... YASC, www.sniff-em.com, Software, $115 and $100 per license With Sniff-em, Windows administrators can create logs of Internet use, detect network intrusion and filter packets based on size or origin. IT managers can debug applications,...

OS X at ease. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... O'Reilly, www.oreilly.com, Book, $24.95 Mac OS X: The Missing Manual is for users of the new operating system who want more than the pamphlet of printed instructions that comes with the product. A hybrid of Unix with an Apple-designed...

Shaping strategic readers. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... International Reading Association, www.reading.org, Book, $29.95 Two reading educators, Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, have developed a research-based system and practice for teaching comprehension that helps students become...

Subscribing to math practice. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... Meridian Creative Group, www.meridiancg.com, Internet, 31-100 users for $19.95 per student/year (discounts for additional volume) With 171 topics covering general middle school math, pre-algebra and algebra, LarsonMath.com can be used...

Close the achievement gap. (New Products).
May 1, 2002... American Productivity and Quality Center, www.apqc.org/pubs/, Book, $20.00 Learn how a diverse school district stared down the widening gap separating high-performing students from low-performing ones and did something about it. Closing...

The heart and soul of education: remember to focus on the power of learning and not the importance of school. (understanding the times).
May 1, 2002... I was sitting in my 12th grade physics class, carving my initials into the top of my desk. It wasn't that I believed physics to be irrelevant; to the contrary, though I knew little about physics, I concluded that it had to be important. After...