One of the problems with data, and K12’s reliance on it, is that data ages. And ages quickly. But public education, especially, in its quest for accountability has established itself around officially reported data that states require from school districts periodically through the year. The complexities of collecting, auditing, reporting, and responding to district-reported data…
Human resources, I’ve come to learn over my career, is as much about risk management as any OSHA policy, equipment maintenance, or investment strategy. A company may choose not to perform maintenance on its conveyor belt to save cash for a year or two, but the risk of that critical component failing and causing major…
Just days after a student was harassed by an adult for openly identifying as gay during a school board meeting in Massachusetts, the MASCD (Massachusetts Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) had an organized response to the incident. Gathering dozens of educators and advocates from across the Commonwealth into a webinar to discuss and work-through how…
Over this past month I’ve had conversations with districts from coast-to-coast that are at a breaking point. District leaders are taking previously unheard-of steps to try to head off… no, it’s too late for that… to catch up to the stress that’s crushing the spirits of educators. The stresses that set upon our educational system…
Spoiler alert : Schools are social environments, and “Community” has been a major factor in keeping teachers, administrators, students, and parents engaged over the last 24 months. On Tuesday, October 5th Dr. Matthew X. Joseph moderated a conversation with 5 educators to discuss what we thought we’d learned over the last year, and how those…
A K1212LEADERS Webinar– October 5th, 2021- 7:30 PM (eastern) Education has changed during this time of pandemic learning. As a result, there are new challenges daily in education regarding effectively educating students and leading schools/districts. Join 5 K12Leaders from the classroom, school, and district level as we reflect on the opening of school and share…
It feels like there’s a finish line in sight… it just happens to be a dozen or so weeks away, and then we can take a breath. Maybe. For many educators, anticipating the end of the 20-21 school year involves a blend of dread, relief, and hope. In this update I’m condensing many of the conversations…
The AP posted a story yesterday that should be interesting for any of our data-centric friends… Despite the surge in COVID-19 cases among Massachusetts teachers and students, there’s no indication that school buildings are where those cases are being transmitted. According to Russell Johnston, senior associate commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary…
While we continue to track important data points across the country to assess the safety of returning to classrooms, and while we try to measure the impact of the pandemic based on standards attainment, there is some encouraging news… and it’s all based on opinion. A post last week from The Brookings Institution almost-everyone-is-concerned-about-k-12-students-academic-progress/ reminds…
While schools undoubtedly need some degree of accountability in order to assess effectiveness and identify areas for continual improvement, one of the major lessons from this past year of intermittent instruction was that effective education involves the entire learning community. Parents, libraries, and even municipalities all play significant roles in supporting kids’ learning. Unnecessary challenges…