Roughly half of U.S. superintendents to retire soon
Today’s school superintendents are more likely than they were 10 years ago to be women, and to be older—and nearly half are planning to retire in the next…
School Administration
School Technology News for K-12 and higher-ed school administrators.
Teen software whiz shows challenges facing schools
Ninth-grader Alex Britton, and the friends he has made throughout North America with the help of Skype, offer insight into the challenges schools face in educating members of…
Forum explores how to spur school innovation
Innovation was a key theme of President Obama’s State of the Union address on Jan. 25, and it also was the theme of a recent forum in Washington,…
Feds launch new education data tool
The federal Education Department has launched a new website that aims to provide easy access to key state and national education data for all school stakeholders.
Amid economic uncertainty, ed-tech leaders do more with less
Though education budgets might be frozen or face further reductions in school districts from coast to coast, some educational technology leaders have found innovative ways to update their…
In Florida, virtual classrooms with no teachers
On the first day of her senior year at North Miami Beach Senior High School, Naomi Baptiste expected to be ... Read more
Movement to shrink class size falters amid budget austerity
In several states, small classes are becoming a casualty of the recession, ending roughly two decades of shrinking classroom size, ... Read more
Ed tech vs. larger class sizes: Worth the trade-off?
Thrusting his state into the center of the debate over education reform, Idaho public schools chief Tom Luna called for more educational technology in the classroom and a…
Editorial: Too many education cooks
For the two decades that California has had a secretary of education, the position has never made much sense. Appointed by the governor, with a staff of a…
Should student test scores be used to evaluate teachers?
The so-called value-added model is an “imperfect, but still informative” measure of teacher effectiveness, especially when it is combined with other measures, according to the preliminary results of…
Troubled R.I. school hits bumps on road to education reform
The teachers at Central Falls High School in Central Falls, RI, struck a deal to get their jobs back last year after the entire staff was fired in…
The top 10 ed-tech stories of 2010: No. 5
In March, the Education Department (ED) released a draft version of its new National Educational Technology Plan, and after collecting responses from the public, the department issued a…
Jackson Browne: Singer, L.A. charter school board member
Jackson Browne is a commercially successful and critically acclaimed musician. He is also a longtime activist on causes ranging from Tibetan independence to opposing nuclear power. And now…
Fla. school board shooter had turbulent life
Clay Duke held a Bay City, Florida school board at gunpoint Tuesday, saying he was prepared to die. He fired at board members, missing them by inches, and…
Education colleges to be put to test
Ohio will soon become the first state in the nation to grade colleges on how well they train teachers to help students succeed, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
Teacher-tenure standards raised
The city Department of Education changed its tenure policy yesterday with new rules designed to weed out its bad teachers and reward its best ones with jobs for…
US education chief meets NYC’s future chancellor
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday that incoming New York City schools Chancellor Cathie Black "has the potential to be a fantastic leader" and he will do…
How to spur more technology use in the classroom
Superintendents and educational technology directors discussed how to ensure that technology is integrated into the curriculum during a Dec. 7 webinar sponsored by the Consortium for School Networking.
New York teachers still in idle limbo
For her first assignment of the school year, Verona Gill, a $100,000-a-year special education teacher whom the city is trying to fire, sat around education offices in Lower…
New breed of student information systems is emerging
The market for student information systems is undergoing tremendous change in the wake of several recent ed-tech mergers and acquisitions—and this trend has important implications for school software.
Teacher ratings get new look, pushed by a rich watcher
Bill Gates is investing $335 million through his foundation to overhaul the personnel departments of several big school systems, reports the New York Times.
More public schools trying single-sex education
Single-sex education appears to be making a comeback, but with a new twist: A small but growing number of traditional public schools are experimenting with separate instruction for…
Duncan: Ed tech can help cut costs
Calling the crisis facing school budgets “the new normal,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told school officials Nov. 17 to look at saving money in their districts by increasing…
Students, ed-tech company form extraordinary partnership
The educational search-engine firm netTrekker Inc. is part of a new initiative at one Ohio high school not only to spur community support for education, but also to…
Big school problems await new chancellor
In introducing herself this week to a surprised city as the next New York City schools chancellor, Cathleen P. Black asked for the one thing that may prove…
Editorial: Why Cathie Black?
Joel Klein, New York City's schools chancellor, is quitting to go to work for Rupert Murdoch - to help him put the News Corp. empire "in the education…
Publishing exec to lead nation’s largest school system
In another striking example of the belief that public education should be run more like a business, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has named a top publishing…
Teacher’s death exposes tensions in Los Angeles
The value-added assessments of teachers--which use improvements in student test scores to evaluate teacher effectiveness--has grown in popularity across the country with support from the federal Department of…
The biggest ed-tech ‘pain points’—and how to solve them
Scott Farmer, IT director for Virginia Tech, says getting campus officials who know nothing about technology to understand his department’s needs was one of the key challenges keeping…
Video to be a key part of student teacher evaluation
Aspiring teachers are preparing for new, more demanding requirements to receive their teacher license: Under a new teacher evaluation system being tested in 19 states, evaluators will watch…
Ark. school board member who posted anti-gay rant will quit
The head of an anti-bullying group has applauded the decision of an Arkansas school board member to resign after posting on Facebook that he thinks gay youths should…
List of failing students mistakenly sent to all students
An e-mail listing 18 students at risk of flunking out of Wesley College in Delaware was mistakenly e-mailed to every student at the college, according to a report…
How not to use Facebook, if you’re a school official
A northern Arkansas school board member, commenting on a campaign to get people to wear purple to show support for bullied gay and lesbian youth, purportedly posted a…
Survey reveals school leaders’ opinions on 21st-century skills
As school district leaders increasingly incorporate so-called 21st-century skills into their instructional strategies, many believe the federal government should support the development of new school assessment models that…
Purdue’s student achievement technology goes national
A Purdue University-piloted tool that uses educational technology—and online “signals”—to warn some students that their grades are dropping, offer study-habit suggestions, and provide positive reinforcement to students who…
Schools reformers mull meaning of Rhee’s departure
Michelle Rhee became a public face of education reform during her tenure as head of the District of Columbia's schools, but she found out that reform isn't always…
School of One boosts individual learning
Although an innovative school model in New York City called the School of One has just started its first full year of implementation, it already has garnered national…
U.K. schools install facial recognition cameras to curb tardiness
In a controversial move that could make taking attendance a thing of the past, some U.K. schools are using cutting-edge cameras to scan students’ faces as they enter…
Opinion: Stop trashing teachers!
Obama’s misguided policies and the overhyped documentary Waiting for “Superman” have turned America against its teachers, education expert Diane Ravitch writes for The Daily Beast—and this vitriol is…
Bush Institute launches initiative for principals
The first initiative of the George W. Bush Institute will focus on improving the performance of school principals, reports the Associated Press. "We know the teachers have a…