The Virginia Board of Education is committed to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) program and opposed to adoption of the newly developed Common Core State Standards as a prerequisite for participation in federal competitive grant and entitlement programs. The Standards of Learning are clear and rigorous and have won the acceptance and trust…

This case describes the experience of a new school board member in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Marta Perez, as she discovers a wide range of ethical and management problems in the school district and attempts to deal with them. Layered throughout the case are challenges pertaining to the school board's roles and responsibilities,…

The author, who has served as a school board member and district superintendent, advocates that school districts use an academic return on investment approach to evaluate and make decisions about spending, specifically in special education. This approach requires that schools formally evaluate all programs, efforts, and strategies by multiple…

The history of Mexican American school segregation is complex, often misunderstood, and currently unresolved. The literature suggests that Mexican Americans experienced de facto segregation because it was local custom and never sanctioned at the state level in the American Southwest. However, the same literature suggests that Mexican Americans…

One of the State Board of Education's (SBE) strategic plan goals is to advocate for an effective, accountable governance structure for public education in Washington. The development of this goal comes from Board members' experiences over the last five years to understand and address the complexity of Washington's education system and their role…

An elected school director works every day as an advocate for public education in his community. At each board meeting, crucial decisions that affect the lives and education of children are made as he determines the needs of the students and families he is accountable to. But are those needs being communicated to his elected representatives in…

Saving energy in schools through behavior is all about believing that it is possible and that it can be done. Schools can play a valuable role in teaching students about becoming energy efficient and in leading their communities to become more efficient, too. In the process, one positively impacts the environment, teaches social responsibility,…

Leading Charlotte foundations formed a funding collaborative to support a five-year district turnaround initiative to dramatically improve educational outcomes for students in the West Charlotte High School corridor, one of the city's lowest-performing feeder zones. The "Project L.I.F.T." initiative involves four areas of education…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland, is the 17th largest school district in the country, with more than 146,000 students and 200 schools (34 of which are National Blue Ribbon and 27 of which are Title 1). Wielding a budget of more than $2 billion, MCPS is also one of the top performing school districts in the country, with a 90%…

Over the past 15 months, the Virginia Board of Education has been redesigning its public school students' high school educational experience to better prepare them to participate in the global economy. To lay the groundwork for this redesign, the Profile of a Graduate was developed. The profile in turn grew out of a broader review of Virginia's…

The Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP) is a maturing and stable program. In 2016-17 it included: (1) Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) in English Language Arts (ELA) and math for students in grades 3-8 and high school; (2) Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) in science for grades 5 and 8; (3) End-of-Course exams in math and…

Youth suicidal behavior is a significant public health problem, and schools can play an important role in youth suicide prevention. However, schools cannot do this alone; they need the student's family members and peers, and other professionals and community members, to do their part. School personnel, and particularly school-employed mental…

Local school wellness policies (i.e., wellness policies) provide an opportunity to create and support a healthy school environment, promote student health, and reduce childhood obesity. Because they are required for all school districts participating in the federal Child Nutrition Programs including the National School Lunch Program and the School…

Educators from eight institutions engaged in collaborative self-studies of their own practices to gain deeper insight into the significance of narrative-based writing supporting the process of teacher induction. A series of teacher induction institutes based on narrative writing processes provided the context for critical exploration of the lived…

When a bond referendum comes around for a school district, it often is the culmination of years of planning, strategizing and communicating to the public. Especially in these economic times, passing a building referendum is challenging. Complete transparency among the superintendent, school board and community is essential to communicate the…