The Commissioner's annual report provides the Governor and Legislature with information reported by school districts concerning incidents of serious student misconduct grouped into the following five major reporting categories: violence; vandalism; harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB); weapons; and substance abuse. An analysis of trends…

In this testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) discusses the status of school districts' planning and preparedness for emergencies. According to the testimony, federal and state governments support emergency management in school districts with a range of resources…

In this article, the author discusses how a school district in Modesto, California deals with religious diversity. Modesto requires that every 9th-grader in the district enroll in a semester-long world religions course. Ninth grade made sense--students were old enough to handle the subject material, and the emphasis on religious diversity happened…

The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program was established in response to growing national concerns about students too often lost and alienated in large, impersonal high schools, as well as concerns about school safety and low levels of achievement and graduation for many students. Authorized under the "Elementary and Secondary Education…

Anytime, anywhere, learning provides opportunities to create digital learning environments for new teaching styles and personalized learning. As part of making sure the program is effective, the safety and security of students and assets are essential--and mandated by law. The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) addresses Internet content…

In the past three decades, program evaluation has sought to more fully engage stakeholders in the evaluative process. But little information has been gathered from stakeholders about how they share in evaluation tasks and whether role sharing leads to confusion or tensions between the evaluator and the stakeholders. This article reports findings…

To help inform policymakers and the public about the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 42 indicators of important developments and trends in U.S. education. These…

Each September in Wisconsin students return to school, football games draw enthusiastic crowds, and homecoming week is celebrated. Trees lose their leaves only to be re-adorned in white in that generation bridging tradition known as toilet papering. Community residents have differing opinions on "tp"ing, in large part determined by whether they…

This report describes statistical indicators developed by the Council of the Great City Schools and its member districts to measure big-city school performance on a range of operational functions in business, finance, human resources and technology. The report also presents data city-by-city on those indicators. This is the second time that…

As a result of Columbine and other events, states and districts across the United States have responded with vigor to a call for a renewed focus on school safety. This paper examined one such effort undertaken by Harrison County Public Schools, located in West Virginia. The district received federal funding for surveillance equipment used to…

Safety in New Mexico's schools is one of the most important issues facing our communities. Every school and school district in the state make it a priority to identify and implement ways to increase the safety, security and integrity of students, teachers, staff, parents and visitors at our schools on a daily basis. Safety is critical for…

This article reports, that in a growing number of districts, school leaders are ranking the threat of sex offenders-some of them the parents of enrolled students--as one of their chief student-safety concerns. That threat, they say, is a primary reason for investing thousands of dollars in a Web-based tracking system that tells school officials if…

Since 9/11 and Columbine, school safety has become a prevalent issue in education policy in the United States. As a result, states and school districts have responded with innumerable efforts to improve school safety. Harrison County Schools, located in West Virginia, received federal funding to supplement surveillance equipment at middle and high…

Public education matters, whether you're a student, parent, teacher, administrator, employer, or taxpayer. Although you undoubtedly know something about public education, you may be unaware of important facts about the U.S. educational system or may be surprised to learn how things have changed in recent years. This edition of "A Public…

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative was designed to encourage collaboration among school districts and local community service providers in the provision of behavioral health prevention and early intervention efforts. These efforts would address the physical safety of students as well as provide mental health, violence prevention, and…