These three practices can help educators align their school's professed beliefs with its actions. Do your beliefs about social justice align with school policies and student experiences? Are you examining social justice on a systems level and drilling down to the root causes of disparities in student learning and success? Erica Buchanan-Rivera…

Schools who hope to implement a schoolwide behavior management policy should make sure to involve teachers in the process. Sprick and Knight discuss ways that school leaders can get started on developing and executing an overall behavior strategy that gets buy-in from all staff. Forming a leadership team, giving teachers voice and choice, and…

Vitriol--and even violence--between U.S. citizens of different groups reaches another high mark this year. Racism is one of the strongest challenges of our time. But racism isn't insurmountable, U.S. institutions--with schools as ground zero--can lessen racism if they examine their own racist thinking and policies and, especially, encourage…

Risk takers of all kinds have joined the effort to find new and better ways to structure nearly every aspect of teaching and learning. But as teacher leader and blogger Ariel Sacks notes, "Sadly, most of the experiments in education reform come from the imaginations of people who don't actually teach children." Top-down experiments…

Many teachers believe that denying students the opportunity to retake tests and redo assignments teaches them responsibility and prepares them for the working world. In reality, writes Wormeli, this practice has the opposite effect--it retards student achievement and maturation. In the real world, adults learn by repeated practice; they are not…

Cyberbullying is a growing problem because increasing numbers of young people use computers, cell phones, and other interactive devices as their main form of social interaction. Cyberbullies use technology to harass, threaten, or humiliate their peers. Online aggression isn't just traditional bullying with new tools. It's widespread, devastating,…

To manage effective grading reform, education leaders must engage teachers, parents, communities, and policymakers in a rational discussion about grading. Doug Reeves suggests that leaders start the conversation with a discussion of the principles on which all stakeholders can agree; make clear what will not change under the new grading policy; be…

Madison Elementary School, a K-6 school of 335 students in Marshfield, Wisconsin, recognizes the value of student feedback and strives to learn more through monthly student meetings, whole-class sit-downs, and student exit interviews. As the principal of Madison Elementary School, the author meets with a group of students for half an hour during…

Self-destructive educational trends engaged in by schools, which will destroy the schools without help from radicals, are discussed. (DB)

Intensive analysis of the policies and practices of two high-achieving schools confirms that a coordinated school-wide emphasis on reading pays off. Four references are provided. (Author/DCS)

As four recent events in the Denver area show, parents' rights and society's needs sometimes collide, with battles often fought in public schools. This issue should be explicitly recognized in school policy. Policymakers should address disputed facts; develop guidelines for including parents in determining outcomes, solutions, and evaluation…

The explosion of technology available to schools--and specifically, the ways in which students can misuse technology--has caught many educators off guard. School leaders are now being asked to protect students against potential harmful material they may encounter in cyberspace. The issue of cyberbullying--using technology to harass, intimidate,…

Author evaluated the role that society has placed upon speed''. (RK)

New York's Johnson City Central School District adopted the teacher support. Includes seven references. (MLH)

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has developed model guidelines ensuring that potential school-business relationships are based on sound educational values, serve clear educational purposes, and unambiguously promote student welfare. Establishing ground rules for structuring business involvement with policy and programs…