Winter PD: The “P” Is For Personal

Iowa school poverty and report card rankings…

The media has exposes us to less than polite exchanges when people are disagreeing. In fact, the term "politically correct" has become a bad word for those who feel sided lined as our culture has moved away from name calling. This year's presidential race is causing us to confront the issues again as it raises the ugly head of name calling again.  Will those using the freedom of speech on a political stage influence our efforts to model and teach how to say what you think and feel…

View: Public opinion forced Cuomo to flip on education

Has all the supervision and rating made a difference in teacher performance and student achievement?  Now the suggested standards for those supervising the principals will guide the task of central office leaders.  Will that improve the principals' evaluation process or improve their performance?  Will it lead to another accountability level, which is very important, certainly, or will it lead to a coaching system rooted in personal and professional growth and…

 More and more, my impression is that K-12 education is rigged to be bad. I sum this up by saying: the fix is in.

I have a new piece on American Thinker titled: Only you can prevent bad public schools.

 This perspective grew out of my sense that the Education Establishment, left to itself, will never…

I am a retired superintendent and have developed a unique service to help you change or land the teaching job you desire.  During my career, I reviewed thousands of applications.  After selecting the pool of candidates to interview I was never quite sure I had selected the "best pool".  I often thought it would be great if I could have watched them teach.

With my service administrators who are screening teacher candidates can watch you teach and read an evaluation.

GET…

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's recent comments about the mismatch theory have caused justifiable uproar. Many who never previously heard of mismatch theory applied to education are now in debate about its authenticity and relevancy. The theory of mismatch, although complex, and Justice Scalia's…

Ten Teaching Tweaks for New Teachers

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Excitement about the reauthorization of ESEA and the demise of No Child Left Behind is accompanied by a collective sigh of relief. Another sigh of relief came from New Yorkers this week as well. They received news of the recommendations from group of education officials, teachers, parents, and state representatives who are serving as Governor Cuomo's task force for changes to the Common Core Standards and the…

For millions of years--okay, several thousand--children were taught to read with nursery rhymes,  cute little stories, Jack  and the Beanstalk, and every other kind of sweet temptation you can dream up for young minds. You give them literary candy. You give them verbal toys. You pull them into the whole notion of reading, of liking books.

So right from the start I thought David Coleman was way off base. He wants children to read difficult stuff. He wants them…

What Kind of Parent Involvement Helps Children the Most?

In this American School Board Journal article, Patte Barth, director of the Center for Public Education, reports on a new National School Boards Association study of parent involvement. Researchers found that the practices most likely to produce higher student achievement take place at home:

• Monitoring…

What Makes Superstar Teachers Effective?

In this perceptive article in The School Administrator, Neil Bright of the State University of New York/New Paltz says, “What the very best teachers do to produce the best results from students is not some unknowable mystery.” Here is his list of the key factors that lead to classroom success:

• Taking a wider view of…

Teachers Evaluating Teachers 

In this important Education Week article, consultant Julia Koppich and Daniel Humphrey of SRI International challenge the widely-held belief that teacher evaluation must be separated from teacher support. “It’s an assumption that makes perfect prima facie sense,” they say, “but as our research shows, the assumption is wrong… Truly effective evaluation programs…

How schools will be different without No Child Left Behind

Updated by Libby Nelson on December 11, 2015, 9:10 a.m. ET @libbyanelson libby@vox.com…