It all started when the author's daughter, also a Madison teacher, called her. "We need to call people to the rally at the Capitol." That Sunday rally in Capitol Square was just the first step in the massive protests against Governor Scott Walker's infamous "budget repair bill." The Madison teachers' union declared a "work…

School librarians often wonder whether school superintendents and school board members understand and support intellectual freedom for students in K-12 schools. In this article, an administrator and a school board member discuss their thoughts and the actions they took to support access to information in the face of formal challenges to school…

The Recovery School District (RSD) was created by Louisiana legislators in 2003 for the purpose of transforming schools with a history of failure by placing them under state control and oversight. The RSD's scope was expanded in 2005 to allow it to take over the lowest performing schools in Louisiana. This had its most profound impact on New…

Business managers interact with everyone from students to support and instructional staff, to boards of education, to community members, to legislators. These stakeholders' knowledge about education trends, best practices, school finance, legal requirements, and state and federal politics varies dramatically from each other's and from those of…

To help state educational agencies (SEAs) learn about and adapt best practices that exist in other SEAs and other organizations, the Building State Capacity and Productivity Center (BSCP Center) working closely with the Regional Comprehensive Centers will create multi-state groups, through a "Collaborative Benchmarking Best Practices Process" that…

Recess provides students with a needed break from their structured school day. It can improve children's physical, social, and emotional well-being, and enhance learning. Recess helps children meet the goal of 60 minutes of physical activity (PA) each day, as recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. National…

School boards are very powerful entities whose decisions have a significant impact on millions of students in the United States. Since the formation of the first local school boards in Massachusetts in the late 1700s, these groups of local officials have directed public education in their communities (Land, 2000). Throughout the nineteenth…

Literacy is increasingly essential for Americans' health, economic well-being, civic engagement, access to higher education, and social participation. Rapid growth in technology and globalization have increased demand for both universal literacy and higher levels of literacy than in the recent past. Yet national and international assessments…

This article features an interview with Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings. In this interview, Hastings relates that he told the "Wall Street Journal" in 2008 that he started looking at education--trying to figure out why our education is lagging when our technology is increasing at great rates and there's great innovation in so many other areas…

One of the core priorities of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), articulated in its most recent strategic plan, focuses on educator capacity. In 2012, BESE passed new program approval standards for educator preparation programs across the state. The standards ushered in new expectations for the 80 sponsoring…

A large and growing body of evidence over the past several decades has shown that school leadership is a key factor in improving school performance and student outcomes. Increasingly, funders and developers of school leadership programs are articulating talent development frameworks, or leadership development pipelines, that conceive of school…

This report by the Kentucky Department of Education states that "the school council shall have the responsibility to set school policy consistent with district board policy which shall provide an environment to enhance the students' achievement and help the school meet the goals established in KRS 158.645 and 158.6451." The report's 18…

Implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS), now adopted in a large majority of states, requires significant support. To realize the potential of these new college- and career-ready standards, states must focus significant attention on how to prepare educators for implementation. Key among the strategies is high-quality, sustained…

For most of the more than 14,000 districts nationwide, the critical task of hiring a new chief executive is entrusted to the school board. There are a few exceptions, such as when there are mayoral takeovers of districts and the mayor appoints a CEO. As board members rarely have the requisite experience or time to search, they often turn to…

In 2004, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) released a "State Education Standard" focused on the issues and challenges facing rural schools. Ten years later, NASBE facilitated a study group on rural education to discuss what has changed and what new challenges require the attention of state education…