District Administration articles from September 2006

District Administration archives from September 2006

Introducing our new blog site.(school summer starts new educational site)(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... When's the last time you had one of those moments when popular culture or non-educator friends or even a board member said something about education so nonsensical that it made you crazy, but also scared you into thinking that maybe a lot of...

Sign language learning.(Gayle Robertson teaches for deaf, expensive fees makes the disabled children out of help)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Oregon School for the Deaf teacher Gayle Robertson speaks with sign language in Salem, Ore. All over the country, legislators are wrestling with questions about state-run residential schools for the deaf and the blind, expensive to operate and...

Going green.(Taylor Warner member of garden club and its influence on leadership)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Taylor Warner, a junior at Clarke County High School in Berryville, Va., is a member of the school's garden club and a mentor to many younger students. Beyond the practical aspects of growing food and vegetables, gardening also helps with...

Cell phone debate.(Steven Cao on usage of wireless telephones in schools)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Steven Cao, a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, poses for a portrait in front of the school with his cell phone. Cao says, "My mother, she needs me to have the cell to call me and check up on me." A ban on cell phones in New...

Maryland school offers first homeland security program.
September 1, 2006... High school students at Harford County Public Schools in Bel Air, Md., will get the nation's first taste in disaster preparedness, high-level computer science and law enforcement over the next few years. "If you think about the times we...

Facing the unexpected.(IT disaster potential)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... When it comes to IT disaster potential, administrators must know how technology investments can be protected. The Consortium for School Networking recently released a professional development module for education technology leaders, called...

Public education gets support.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In this century, as vouchers for private school get more play, evolution in science class grows even more controversial, and book banning remains, the need to support public education grows fiercer, according to M Donald Thomas. Thomas,...

New rules for Texas.(educational laws)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... New rules are forming in Texas to regulate everything from how districts spend their money to how student test scores must improve every year, according to The Dallas Morning News. The rules, written by the state's education chief Shirley...

Stat blast.(students participating in school activities)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... AFTER-SCHOOL STAT 62% of students who were asked to participate in after-school programs held at their schools and not in after-school centers 9% are in more traditional after-school settings, such as the YMCA or Boys & Girls...

Illinois gets serious on leadership.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... All new Illinois principals will be paired with a mentor for a year as part of new law in the Prairie state that will strengthen the state's system for licensing and supporting new and experienced principals. IL-SAELP, or Illinois State...

Virginia's grad rate higher than U.S.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Virginia's students tend to graduate at a better rate than the national graduation rate, but black students are still far below whites, according to the Washingtonpost.com. About 75 percent of Virginia's public school students graduated in...

Japanese snoozers.(school students to have naps for better mental function )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... As the U.S. tries to impose more testing and work and less play on younger and younger students, Japanese high school students are catching some zzz's at their desks during the school day. Meizen High School in Fukuoka, Japan last year...

Edison slips.(Edison Schools Inc.'s students improve performance)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Three Baltimore elementary schools that were taken over by the state and run by Edison Schools Inc. have seen lower test scores this year. Two elementary schools dropped at least 10 percentage points in most grades and scores for fifth and...

District changes policy over same-sex class.(American Civil Liberties Union Foundation)
September 1, 2006... A 13-year-old scuba diver, firefighter cadet and kung fu student who filed a lawsuit against the Livingston Parish School Board in New Orleans in a first-of-its-kind case over its plans to segregate her middle school by sex won. The...

Biological differences?(educational discrimination)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... According to the lawsuit, one expert cited by the school system contended: "Because of biological differences in the brain, boys need to practice pursuing and killing prey, while girls need to practice taking care of babies. As a result, boys...

Public concern regarding childhood obesity.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... 89% agree childhood obesity will lead to higher health care costs for all Americans. A MAJOR PROBLEM 2006 84% 2005 77% A MINOR PROBLEM 2006 15% 2005 21% NOT A PROBLEM 2006...

Mobility the key in 2011.(online learning annual growth rate)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Predictions from a national survey of the top 2,500 U.S. school districts show that more than half of all student-computing devices will be mobile by 2011 while online learning will grow at an annual rate of 26 percent until 2011. ...

Strategy sent to Congress for reauthorization.( National Education Association )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In a comprehensive report, the National Education Association spelled out what it will take to make the federal No Child Left Behind act work for all children. Congress looks to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act next...

Testing & tutoring trends.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... * A greater interest in Web-based products * Accelerated adoption rates of content and assessments serving English-language learners * Greater collaboration among state education departments * Schools continue to adopt new...

NCLB drives shift in funding.(No Child Left Behind Act )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... State assessment directors are spending 80 percent more time dealing with test security issues than they were five years ago. Also, districts are spending more money on assessment, tutoring and test prep services. Two trends are ongoing in...

Florida's progress.(grading evaluation)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Since the late 1970s, Florida has kept track of students with a unique identification number to ensure they were learning what they were supposed to, according to the state Department of Education. And the hard work of the state's...

Arizona joins in suing feds.(english education standardized )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Arizona is suing the federal government for demanding that the scores of standardized tests--given in English--of students learning English be counted after only one year, not the three years as was in use. The lawsuit claims that Arizona...

Report: impact of NCLB shows little change.(No Child Left Behind)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... As the White House claims achievement is raising in nearly half the states in the nation and most of them have narrowing racial achievement gaps from one report, another report shows that gaps are not narrowing, but staying relatively the same....

Addressing childhood obesity.(Curriculum Update)
September 1, 2006... School districts continue to look for ways to educate students about nutrition and exercise. Here are two interesting new programs. The New York City schools sent more than 235,000 Fitnessgram reports to parents and students. These "report...

In-school, round-the-clock math tutoring.(Curriculum Update)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In an effort to improve math education at the Culture and Language Academy of Success in Los Angeles, co-founder Sharroky Hollie formed a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Mathnasium learning center. "In our first three years," says Hollie...

Grow your own.(Curriculum Update)
September 1, 2006... Fifth graders at Pioneer Elementary in Escondido, Calif., grow the vegetables that are later available in their cafeteria.

Steps to improve computer science.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The New Educational Imperative." Improving High School Computer Science Education, recently released from the Computer Science Teachers Association, found what many people already suspect: Countries that once looked to the U.S. for help in...

An easy way to teach patriotism.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... One of the first projects high school Spanish teacher Phyllis Lee plans to undertake this year is a lesson in community service. Her students at Wilson High School in Florence, S.C., will communicate in Spanish with U.S. troops via a new Web...

After-school programs.(survey)(Survey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Junior Achievement, which recently launched three new after-school programs, surveyed more than 1,000 teens aged 13 to 18 about after-school programs. Here are some of the results. 45% attend after-school programs other than sports ...

Taking care of business.(Administrator Profile: Catherine Hamblett)
September 1, 2006... In 2003, two years after Catherine Hamblett became superintendent of Litchfield (N.H.) Public Schools, Litchfield separated from the larger district of Hudson, taking with it an elementary, middle and high school, and leaving behind an entire...

Share and share alike.(District Profile: Amarillo (Texas) Independent School District)
September 1, 2006... Imagine coming up with a new way to distribute curriculum to more than 2,000 teachers at 52 campuses? That's what Dirk Funk, instructional technology facilitator for the Amarillo (Texas) Independent School District, was charged with two years...

School of the future arrives: a partnership between Microsoft and the School District of Philadelphia brings about innovation.
September 1, 2006... THE FUTURE ARRIVES IN WEST Philadelphia on Sept. 7, a first-of-its-kind building and concept in the world of how K-12 public school should operate. About 750 high school students, mostly minority and living below poverty level, will...

Roaming charges: wireless VoIP handsets are more expensive than their analog counterparts, but some districts find they're worth the cost.
September 1, 2006... AS VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL becomes more integrated into schools, district officials are faced with a key question when bringing voice from the network to the classroom: should they keep their analog phones or go for the pricier but more...

Bullies in cyberspace: administrators may be reluctant to address this latest social problem--yet they may have no choice.(SCHOOL SECURITY)
September 1, 2006... It began as a typical teenage scuffle: someone said something about someone's girlfriend, whose friends felt compelled to retaliate. Overnight, administrators at the Hawaii Department of Education had a bigger problem than many thought...

Scared straight: financial mismanaging, misspending, over budgeting, squandering, embezzling--by any verb, school districts are losing money they shouldn't.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Cover story)
September 1, 2006... The headlines can be brutal: School superintendent arrested. Officials say embezzlement scheme netted $8 million. And suddenly a Google search turns up criticism of the district's practice not just from standard media articles, but CPA...

Up for debate: as blogs and social networking sites grow even more popular, is it up to schools to set the brakes?
September 1, 2006... In some ways, what is happening with blogging is classic kid stuff. Who hasn't grown up hearing bragging in school hallways about killer parties, flirting with older guys, or getting cigarettes and liquor with ease? The difference today is that...

In the spotlight: projector companies respond to educators' calls for quieter, more cost-effective options.
September 1, 2006... "I don't know how anyone teaches without a projector," says Douglas Johnson, director, media and technology for Mankato (Minn.) Independent School District 77. The promise of LCD projection systems is significant. Teachers can use projectors to...

Growing Community Schools: these schools deliver academic improvement, increased attendance and reduced mobility.(COMMUNITY RELATIONS)
September 1, 2006... Education cannot succeed if schools ignore the realities of 21st century families and communities, contends Martin Blank, staff director of the Coalition for Community Schools. The flip side? Schools can nurture success among the entire student...

Learning styles: want to have teachers reach every student? Think seeing, feeling, touching.(INSTRUCTION METHODS)
September 1, 2006... Most students hate assigned seating. However, in Karen Hull's classroom at the Little River School in Kansas, the students requested it over and over. That's because Hull, a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, grouped her...

How effective is your Web site? Free online tools help measure site success.
September 1, 2006... Greenville County Schools, South Carolina's largest public school system with 79 schools and 65,000 students, is committed to regularly updating its online resources. And each year Superintendent Phinnize Fisher chooses top sites from among the...

Education's place for debate: introducing The Pulse.(Alfie Kohn's The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.)
September 1, 2006... Scene 1: During a recent conference I was telling some colleagues about Alfie Kohn's provocative new book, The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2006). In the book Kohn makes several arguments,...

Enhanced math.(Problem/Solution)
September 1, 2006... Problem: Middle school math students in Canton City (Ohio) School District were performing below average on state assessment exams and not making AYP. Solution: The district integrated Texas Instruments' Navigator Classroom Learning System...

School facilities and learning.
September 1, 2006... We know how to design buildings for minimal heat loss, says Professor Stephen Hempell, but "no one knows how to prevent learning loss." Hempell isn't being pessimistic, and he is well aware of research showing that physical variables such as...

The Macintosh iLife 06 in the Classroom: Peachpit.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... The Macintosh iLife 06 in the Classroom www.peachpit.com, $39.99 In this interactive guide, author Jim Held shows how digital media can be an integral part of the classroom routine, enhancing the learning experience in many subject areas....

Selling Us the Fortress of Techno-Security Equipment for Schools: Routledge.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.routledge-ny.com, $24.95 This book explains how technologies once reserved primarily for war have become a common fixture of even schools. It explores the results and implications of metal detectors, surveillance cameras networked to...

Nagios: System and Network Monitoring: No starch press.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.nostarch.com, $44.95 This new guide to open source applications clearly explains its functions and features. Readers will learn how to install and configure the Nagios core, all standard Nagios plug-ins and selected third-party...

Critical Technology Issues for School Leaders: Corwin press.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.corwinpress.com, $30.95 Author Susan Brooks-Young offers practical technology strategies for issues most critical to busy school leaders. Its four sections include: New Literacies, focusing on the latest technology advances and...

Robot Modeling and Kinematics: Charles river media.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.charlesriver.com, $49.95 Readers will learn the fundamental topics of robotics. Key features include concise, mathematical coverage of the fundamentals of robot modeling and kinematics, the Denavit-Hartenberg modeling technique with...

The Power to Transform: Leadership That Brings Learning & Schooling to Life: Jossey-bassa.(Leadership Books)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.josseybass.com, $28 Author Stephanie Pace Marshall argues that by focusing on reforming the contents of schooling and not transforming the context and conditions of learning, we have created false proxies for learning and eroded the...

Managing to be Different: Educational Leadership as Critical Practice: Routledge.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.routledge-ny.com, $21.95 In this book, Ron Scapp argues that educational leadership has come to rely too heavily on corporate models, values and personnel to guide the direction of academic administration from elementary school through...

The Boss of the Whole School Effective Leadership in Action: Teachers college press.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... store.tcpress.com, $24.95 As a former elementary school principal, the book's author--Elizabeth A. Hebert--offers inspiration and guidance to aspiring and practicing administrators. Using real-life stories, the book examines the...

What Every Rookie Superintendent Should Know: Surviving Year One: R&L education.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.rowmaneducation.com $39.95 This book lays the foundation with a systematic mind-set, strategic-thinking approach and skill set which help the rookie survive a decreases learning-curve time. It features a conversational approach between...

On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning and Communities: Solution tree.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.solution-tree.com, $29.95 Many educational leaders throughout North America offer their guidance on how to help students achieve at even higher levels and provide practical strategies for developing professional learning communities....

Leading and Supervising Instruction: Corwin press.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.corwinpress.com, $25.95 Written by John C. Daresh, this book demonstrates how school leaders can achieve strong instructional leadership while placing student learning in the foreground. It coaches principals on implementing effective,...

The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing: Da capo lifelong books.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... www.perseusbooksgroup.com, $24 Author Alfie Kohn examines the usual defenses of homework--that it promotes higher achievement, "reinforces" learning, and teaches study skills and responsibility. None of these assumptions, he shows,...

Projectors: Sony.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, $1,500 to $11,250 A new line of projectors with features such as low fan noise, low power consumption, high brightness, and multiple input connections are now available. The MPL-FX52, priced at $11,250, has 6000 ANSI lumens,...

E-Series: Gateway.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, starts at $599 Both the E-1500 and E-2600 offer a range of Intel processors, the high performance ATI Radeon Xpress 200 chipset with integrated Radeon X300-based graphics and a PCI Express slot for future graphics expansion. The...

Sympodium ID350: Smart.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, $2,249 Being interactive is a little more manageable with this interactive pen display. Featuring a more compact design than previous models, the 15-inch display still has a battery-free tethered pen, integrated USB hub, the...

Career Planning for High School and College Students: Success Discoveries.
September 1, 2006... Online program, $195-$600 This online, self-guided career planning and assessment program focuses on identifying career options that create passion and success. It maps the student's personal values and behavioral style, matches those...

Filemaker 8.5: Filemaker.
September 1, 2006... Software, upgrade $99, new license $299 For a database program with lots of bells and whistles, consider FileMaker Pro 8.5. This new version allows users to put a live Web browser right in the database, is a Mac Universal Application,...

PLATO Courses: PLATO Learning, Inc.(introduces online education)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Online courses, $65-$110 per student, per course These semester-long courses are now available in Algebra 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B; English 9A, 9B, 10A and 10B; biology semesters A and B; physical science semesters A and B; geography semesters A...

TechLiteracy Assessment: Learning.com.
September 1, 2006... Online assessment, annual fee starts at $5/student This online assessment tool was designed to measure elementary and middle school students' proficiency with information and communication technology. A mix of multiple choice and...

Controllers: PCSC.
September 1, 2006... System, starts at $1,295 For building access and security, this new generation of NRX controllers for the LiNC-Ez building management system feature integrated communication enhancements, such as onboard XBee-PRO, LAN, WiFi and RS 485....

Transport 1300: MPC Computers.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, starts at $1,249 This notebook is 1.5-inches thick and weighs 5.5 pounds. It includes Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology, a 14.1-inch widescreen LCD, Windows XP Home or Professional, Intel 945GM chipset with support for DDR2...

TeacherFileBox.com: Evan-Moor.
September 1, 2006... Online Subscription, $9.99/month More than 7,000 supplemental learning activities that were written and tested by educators for pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade students comprise this print on-demand library. All materials are aligned...

English Explorers: Benchmark Education Company.
September 1, 2006... Program, starts at $37/six pack of individual titles, teacher's guide and audio CD English Explorers is a thematic series of science and social studies chapter books designed to help teach the English language and literacy skills to...

Integrating Handhelds into the Writing Curriculum: K12 Handhelds, Inc.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Curriculum, $34.95 This curriculum includes 44 lessons for infusing technology into the writing process. Lessons cover brainstorming, organizing, revision, editing, publishing and presenting and include strategies for writing personal...

Kurzweil 3000 v.10: Kurzweil Educational Systems.
September 1, 2006... Software, $395-$1,495 Designed for struggling readers, the software uses a multi-sensory approach by presenting printed or electronic text on the computer screen with added visual and audible accessibility. With Remote License-To-Go....

DSRAZOR for Windows: Visual Click Software.(New Products: THE LATEST OFFERINGS IN BOOKS, HARDWARE, INTERNET AND SOFTWARE)
September 1, 2006... Software, Base retail price for 250 user objects is $2,158 (special educational pricing available) This management, reporting, and security tool will help streamline new user imports to the system by allowing bulk additions, assist in...

The 30,000-Foot View: The Hawk Group.
September 1, 2006... Education Program The company has partnered with the developers of The 30,000-Foot View to help educate school districts on how the software helps users analyze multi-year budget projections. The management level, data-driven, financial...

Universal Reader IGT: Premier Assistive Technology.
September 1, 2006... Software, $79.95 The technology was designed to help students who struggle with literacy. It translates text on the fly into eight different languages: French, Spanish, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean and Japanese. Press CTRL...

PASeries Writing: Pearson Education.
September 1, 2006... Online Assessment, $13.74 per student/ year Developed for students in grades 6-12, this product provides online assessment and regular practice throughout the school year to measure student progress and improve writing performance. Its...

VBEduCast: VBrick Systems.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, $5,495 This video streaming and multimedia solution helps empower educational institutions to deliver presentations easily and economically, via existing IP networks or the public internet. It provides live video of presenters...

Waypoint: Subjective Metrics.
September 1, 2006... Waypoint Web-based software, $95 for individual license to $2,495 for a site license Teachers spend a lot of time writing comments on student papers. This new Web-based software program allows them to create and save standard comments and...

FlashDisc: msystems.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, $14.99 (three pack) When only a small amount of data needs to be shared, and it doesn't matter if the disc comes back, this storage device offers 16 MB to 32 MB of space, enough room for 400 text documents, 10 presentations, ...

P10 document camera: Elmo.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, $2,158 This XGA output portable document camera can store 2,048 images on one 256MB SD memory card, which can be archived when downloaded to a PC's hard drive or displayed as thumbnails for quick file searches. For multimedia...

Drug Detection Technology: Mistral Security.
September 1, 2006... Aerosol Canisters, Free One aerosol can detect four major drug classifications. Users wipe a hand, or any surface area, with special paper, spray the swipe, then watch for potential color changes. This drug detection program is a...

iListen: MacSpeech, Inc.
September 1, 2006... Software, starts from $99 This speech recognition program is powered by the Philips FreeSpeech engine. Users can open applications, click the mouse or surf the Web with just the sound of their voice. The user interface floats above other...

Finale 2007: Makemusic, Inc.
September 1, 2006... Software, $350 academic price, multiple unit and upgrade pricing is available This release, for both Macintosh and Windows, is a major upgrade of the company's music notation software. Finale now offers the ability to automatically create...

Provos Tracking: Provost Systems (formerly EFM Company).
September 1, 2006... Technology $5,000-$12,000 Provost Tracking was specifically designed to enable secondary and post-secondary virtual and hybrid institutions to assess and measure student utilization or records and services. It also helps administrators and...

DataSafe v. 3.9: Fidelis Security Systems.
September 1, 2006... Security System, $65K to $95K, 32-bit /64-bit per sensor This extrusion prevention system prevents unauthorized network transfer of critical or sensitive information across all channels on gigabit speed networks. New alert management and...

BrainWare Safari: Learning Enhancement Corp.
September 1, 2006... Software, $349/user Designed to help children develop their ability to process information faster and more effectively, this software program is delivered in a video game-like format. As children travel on a learning safari--with...

Dynamic Sensor System: Vernier Software & Technology.
September 1, 2006... Hardware, $249 to measure acceleration, force and altitude, then send the data to computers. It consists of a three-axis accelerometer, force sensor and altimeter built into one unit. It can be used to study pendulum forces, roller coaster...

Calendar of events.
September 1, 2006... SEPTEMBER 2006 CEFPI 83rd Annual International Conference September 17-18 Phoenix, Ariz www.cefpi.org ASIS ASIS International Conference September 26-28 San Diego. Calif. www.asisonline.org ...