“Despite decades of existing research, most professional development programs fail to adhere to established criteria for effectiveness. The Center for Public Education found that while over 90% of teachers reported that they engaged in some type of professional development during the year, most found it to be completely ineffective.” In a recent edWebinar, sponsored by ClassLink and co-hosted by CoSN and AASA, three district leaders from Wake County Public School System Superintendent Cathy Moore, Senior Director of Digital Learning and Libraries Allison Reid, and Marlo Gaddis, Chief Technology Officer, discussed critical guidelines for implementing successful professional technology development.
While equity requires vision from its leaders, it also requires courage. During the edWebinar, “Leading for Equity: Courage to Lead with an Equity Agenda,” hosted by AASA, The Superintendents Association and AASA’s Leadership Network, Dr. Khalid Mumin, Superintendent of Reading School District (PA), and Marlon Styles, Superintendent of Middletown City Schools (OH), discussed the challenges they faced and the tough decisions they made to keep their equity agenda moving forward.
Can a new type of curriculum actually turn failing schools into successful ones, and result in greater success for students as well? This question was answered affirmatively and with confirming evidence during a recent edWebinar, hosted by AASA, The Superintendents Association and AASA’s Leadership Network, with educator and author Jay McTighe, and the superintendent and deputy superintendent of Mount Vernon City School District (NY), Dr. Kenneth Hamilton and Dr. Jeff Gorman.
Equity is one of the most overused terms in education—not just because most can’t agree on a definition, but because the promise of equity is often not backed up by action. In the edWebinar, “Leading for Equity: Intentionality for Access and Opportunity,” hosted by AASA, The Superintendents Association and AASA’s Leadership Network, Dr. Gustavo Balderas, Superintendent of Edmonds School District (WA), and Dr. Heath Morrison, Superintendent of Montgomery Independent School District (TX), discussed how they’ve approached building equity throughout their careers and why acting upon an equity agenda is an urgent, right-now need.
In December’s edFocus newsletter, we published a summary, written by John Richards, Founder and President of Consulting Services for Education, Inc. (CS4Ed), of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. The book is a thought-provoking new work by Shoshana Zuboff. In his report, Richards discusses Zuboff’s analysis of Surveillance Capitalism and how, specifically, it applies to the realm of education.
For the last seven months of 2020, school districts have gone through extreme changes regarding how learning is happening in a pandemic-induced educational environment. In a recent edWeb edLeader Panel sponsored by Project Tomorrow, Dr. Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, and Christina Fleming, Vice President of Blackboard K12, presented the Speak Up 2019-2020 National Findings titled Digital Learning During the Pandemic: Emerging Evidence of an Education Transformation. The research surveyed over 136,000 K-12 students, teachers, and parents and focused on what digital learning looked like during the pandemic and revealed potential emerging transformation evidence.
Preparing all students for college and 21st century careers can no longer be the sole responsibility of K-12 educators. Increasingly, district administrators need to add another task to their already long checklists—forging partnerships with organizations that can supplement and enhance the education being provided by local schools.
As mathematics pedagogy moves further toward thinking about the process of getting the answer rather than just the answer itself, developing problem-solving skills is key to student success. With the continued move to distance learning and digital resources, educators need to make sure any tools support this new mindset. During an edWeb edLeader Panel sponsored by ORIGO Education, the presenters offered their key criteria for digital mathematics tools and how they should support teachers and students.
“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.” This quote by Dr. James P. Comer highlights the importance of strong teacher-student connections. In an edWeb edLeader Panel, sponsored by Intellispark, the presenters concurred with Comer that it is now even more critical to monitor student wellbeing and maintain healthy relationships.
If young students say the letter R makes a /rih/ sound and M makes the /muh/ sound, there is a strong chance they might have trouble learning to read. While they studied the letters A to Z and their sounds, they probably cannot link them to actual words.