Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

15 questions to ask when evaluating communications platforms

Key points:

  • Home-school communications systems help to build trust and establish consistency in a school community
  • Districts must be clear in their communications, and to do so, they must select the right platform
  • See related article: Your top 5 school-home communication challenges, solved

The importance of effective home-school communications has never been higher. Families expect to be kept informed of their child’s activities, academic progress, and expectations. However, confusion and frustration often ensue when messaging is not centralized or when individual messages contradict each other.

In today’s educational environment, it is vital the school or district have a clear message with leaders understanding exactly what is to be communicated. It is equally important that families trust the authenticity of the communications.…Read More

Your top 5 school-home communication challenges, solved

Key points:

Implementing a unified communication solution focused on family engagement provides school districts with multiple benefits. An intuitive, easy-to-use program can standardize communication between school and home, for example, and increase overall family engagement.

Selecting the right K-12 communications platform that supports the needs of everyone and is purpose-built to engage families can save everyone time, increase technology adoption, save money, and diminish or eliminate any confusion.…Read More

Vector Solutions Releases New Student Safety & Wellness Courses to Address Topics of Concern for Students Today

Tampa, FL – June 16, 2022 – Vector Solutions, the leading provider of training and software solutions to help schools make their operations and communities safer, smarter, and better, has created a new set of online courses for students focusing on important safety topics such as trauma awareness, dating violence, human trafficking, and more. The courses are the latest addition to Vector’s award-winning library of Student Safety & Wellness Courses.

The short online video lessons help schools teach and promote discussions about important safety, wellness, and social and emotional learning topics that have a big impact on individual students and the school community. The new collection of courses includes:

  • Active Assailant Preparedness
  • Dating Violence Awareness
  • Human Trafficking Awareness
  • Sexual Abuse Awareness
  • Trauma Awareness

Each course is broken into short, age-appropriate modules for grades 9-12 and grades 6-8. The courses will be available for schools to implement at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.…Read More

PowerMyLearning Honors Student, Family, and Teacher at 2022 Innovative Learning Awards

NEW YORK (PRWEB) MAY 16, 2022 — PowerMyLearning, a K-12 nonprofit that unlocks the power of collaboration between families, teachers and students, recognized  Brooklyn Landmark Elementary for exemplary resilience throughout the pandemic. At the nonprofit’s Innovative Learning Awards on Tuesday, May 10, a student-family-teacher “trio” was honored with the Triangle Award for demonstrating how teachers and families both play a significant role in academic achievement and student wellbeing.

“Today’s students are facing unprecedented trauma from the pandemic resulting in a critical need to double-down on student wellbeing. The school community at Brooklyn Landmark Elementary understands that a strong support system engages both teachers and parents,” said Elisabeth Stock, PowerMyLearning CEO and co-founder. “That is why PowerMyLearning gives our Triangle award to an exceptional student, caregiver, and teacher each year.”

The Triangle Award winners from Brooklyn Landmark Elementary are:…Read More

6 ways to foster a growth mindset in your school community

The COVID-19 pandemic unfolded last year, slowly necessitating the need to bring about unprecedented social isolation and safety measures, in all aspects of daily life. One area that saw the maximum change in mindset was the education sector.

Overnight, all schools and universities closed the school buildings for their learners.

The educators began stretching their existing abilities, thriving on challenges and seeing failures as a heartening springboard for growth and getting back to find solutions. Slowly realizing that this was the ‘new normal’ to stay, the most imperative aspect for all schools was to build socio-emotional wellbeing and a growth mindset.…Read More

State of School Safety Report Reveals 30% Gap between Parents and Administrators on Perception of School Safety

NEWTOWN, CT – July 13, 2021 – A report developed by Safe and Sound Schools and Raptor Technologies, based on a nationwide survey of school district administrators, public safety staff, teachers, parents, and students, has identified significant gaps in attitudes about school safety. The 2021 State of School Safety Report shows students and parents are less confident than administrators in critical areas, including a 30-point gap when asked if their school takes a proactive approach to safety awareness. Concerns include how proactive schools are regarding student and campus security, how the school community would respond in a campus emergency, and preparedness to reunify children with guardians following a crisis. 

The report reveals a distinct difference in understanding of the steps schools are taking to address parent and student concerns about safety. Additionally, the survey generated feedback on topics such as how schools handled the COVID-19 pandemic, apprehension about the mental health of returning students, and the overall preparedness of schools to handle emergencies.

As students return to the classroom this coming fall, concerns around safety and security are top of mind.  The most significant discrepancy demonstrated by the survey was the level of confidence district administrators and security personnel have in tackling safety issues compared to the confidence levels of students and parents. For instance, where 86% of administrators feel prepared for an active shooter event in their district, only 51% of parents and 44% of students feel the same. Additionally, where 85% of security personnel and 87% of administrators feel prepared to handle mental health emergencies, only 44% of students and 45% of parents feel that school districts have the right resources in place. …Read More

Swing Education Recognizes Substitute Teachers for Their Positive Impact on Students and the School Community

Three exemplary educators – Wanda Drayton, Marcella Kerbein, and Valerie Pierce – to be inducted into Swing Education’s Substitute Teacher Hall of Fame

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 11, 2021 – Swing Education, a staffing application connecting schools to substitute teachers, has selected three exemplary educators to join its Substitute Teacher Hall of Fame. The 2021 class of inductees – Wanda Drayton, Marcella Kerbein, and Valerie Pierce – were selected among substitute teachers from across the country for their outstanding work as educators and their notable contributions to the students, teachers, and schools they serve.

“Day-in and day-out, substitute teachers play such an important role in their school communities,” said Mike Teng, CEO of Swing Education. “This year’s Substitute Teacher Hall of Fame inductees are truly standout educators in the profession who, like so many other substitute teachers out there, continue to make such a measurable impact through their hard work and dedication.”…Read More

Edthena Names Winners of the 2021 Teacher Leader Impact Awards

Educators from across the country recognized for their measurable impact within the school community

SAN FRANCISCO (May 6, 2021) – Coinciding with Teacher Appreciation Week, Edthena is announcing this year’s honorees for the Teacher Leader Impact Awards which recognizes the outstanding achievements of teacher leaders nationwide. All nine of the honored educators were nominated by an administrator in their district for making a measurable impact on others and creating positive lasting change.

“We were blown away by the truly remarkable accomplishments and contributions of teacher leaders from across the country,” said Adam Geller, founder and CEO of Edthena. “From supporting students and fellow teachers to spearheading school-wide initiatives, all of the honored educators exemplify true leadership and are so deserving of this recognition.”…Read More

Simplify student health care management

Frontline School Health Management has expanded their offering to include COVID-19 training, tracking, data analytics and reporting for students AND staff to support and ensure the physical, mental and behavioral health, well-being and regulation compliance of the full school community as they develop plans to address social distancing, COVID-19 case tracking and more in addition to their existing responsibilities.

  • Comprehensively and easily collect health data on students, their families and school staff (e.g., symptoms, testing, immunity and other data)
  • Educate, implement and enforce practices to increase safety and reduce risk
  • Provide comprehensive tracking, reporting and oversight
  • Support mental and behavioral health issues among students

For additional information visit Frontline Education

…Read More