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.

Demystifying the role of the school board director

Key points:

In the often stormy waters of public education, there’s an analogy I like to use to describe what school boards do: I think of each school district as being a ship–not a smaller size boat, but more like an ocean liner. In a time when there is confusion around what school board directors do and don’t do, this analogy can help clarify the role of the school board.

Think of the superintendent as the captain, the one who’s responsible for steering the ship and making sure everyone is doing their job to ensure it’s heading in the right direction. School board directors are akin to the navigators. They’re looking out across the horizon and pointing toward where the ship should be heading. That direction should align with the community’s desires as well as the needs of the students. School boards lay out big, long-term priorities such as strategic planning, budgetary goals, and financial stability. They also support and evaluate the superintendent, who is their only employee.…Read More

This heroic superintendent won’t quit in the pursuit of district excellence

The 2023 eSchool News K-12 Hero Awards honors educators for their exemplary use of innovative edtech to support student learning. Profiled and interviewed here is winner Dr. Jesus Jara, superintendent of Clark County School District nominated by Edmentum.

Dr. Jesus Jara is a passionate educator who serves as Superintendent of Clark County School District (CCSD), the 5th largest school district in the nation educating more than 300,000 students – 64 percent of the student population in Nevada.

Since assuming the role of superintendent in 2018, Dr. Jara has been on a mission to move the district from pockets of excellence to an excellent school system, where every student can thrive. It was clear to Dr. Jara that, post-pandemic, his students were struggling.…Read More

4 reasons we put all of our district communications on one platform

With 22 schools and 8,000 students—nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch—we have to cover a lot of area in our district. We’d been using a number of applications to maintain open lines of communications with our parents and guardians. We knew that some were working, and others weren’t, and we wanted to create a more unified school-home communications approach.

In 2020, our new superintendent brought a robust communications platform with him when he joined our district. As soon as we saw the platform’s various functionalities and how it eliminated the need for all of those disconnected communications strategies, we were hooked.

Here are four reasons why we decided to consolidate all of our district communications on a single platform:…Read More

Phenix City Teacher Wins Marbury Technology Innovation Award

Phenix City, AL— Last week Central High School teacher, Tim Loreman was recognized as an exemplary educator in technology. He received the 19th Annual Marbury Technology Innovation Award from the State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Eric G. Mackey. 

Loreman is the television production teacher who instructs students on writing, capturing, and producing television programs. His classes regularly produce episodes of RDTV, Central High School’s news channel. Students also produce ASHAA’s coverage of the Red Devil Football Team and Softball Team. Students are given the opportunity to gain experience in planning and filming system commercials that aired on WTVM for the 2021-2022 school year.

“When I was first hired I was given the charge to bring Central High School to the forefront of the state in video production, social media, and sports broadcasting. My students have outdone themselves over the past four years and proving their capabilities in this field. Any honor I receive is a direct result of their hard work and dedication,” said Loreman.…Read More

Bringing our history to light can improve our students’ futures

In November 2021, the Institute for Education Innovation (IEI) held its Fall Superintendent Summit at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V.–one of the most stunning resorts in the U.S.

But as with many of the nation’s iconic landmarks, from The White House to Harvard University, the legacy of The Greenbrier is directly tied to the greatest stain on our nation’s legacy: the enslavement of Black people. During the Summit, we invited Toni Ogden and Janice Cooley of the Greenbrier County Historical Society to provide a historical context of our surroundings.

The original resort was built in 1858 largely by enslaved people, and as late as 1910, when the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway acquired the property, the company continued to exploit Black workers. African American staff members were expected to cater to the whims of white guests in the style of the old plantations before returning home to overwhelming poverty.…Read More

How Are Some Leaders Able to Connect With Their Communities, Followers, and Stakeholders in Ways That Others Struggle?

March 23, 2022 – Even with the deluge of leadership books on the market, a superintendent of a large school district and his colleague, the head of a prominent PR firm, still struggled to find a book that spoke to them. So they wrote one themselves. Dr. Quintin Shepherd and co-writer Sarah Williamson use their combined decades of experience in the education and corporate spheres to create a unique model for leadership that is anchored by compassion and a powerful new language. The Secret to Transformational Leadership presents the personal journeys of such professionals as a pediatric cancer specialist, a president of an innovative nonprofit, and a former investment banker who became an online entrepreneur.

The authors use their experiences to illustrate how we are at a precipice for real change in the way we perceive and enact leadership. This book offers practical advice about how to adopt a new language of leadership. And if we can help others think differently, ultimately, we can create a ripple effect of empathy, compassion, kindness, and a sense of purpose for our life’s work.

DR. QUINTIN SHEPHERD, a true visionary for the future of education, is the Superintendent at Victoria Independent School District in Victoria, Texas.  SARAH WILLIAMSON of SWPR Group works with leaders in education to create thoughtful public relations programs that promote growth, build momentum, and enhance learners’ academic success and overall well-being.…Read More

School superintendents say navigating political divisions is their biggest challenge

Eighty percent of U.S. school superintendents say that navigating political divides over issues ranging from school closures to mask mandates to teaching about racism in schools is the most difficult part of their job. Nearly half say they are considering or planning to leave their job in the next two to three years.

These are among the findings in a new report, “2022 Voice of the Superintendent Survey,” released by education company EAB at the School Superintendent Association (AASA) National Conference on Education (#NCE2022).  

The results offer an important look at how education leaders are navigating an ongoing pandemic that is taxing administrators, classroom teachers, support staff, and stakeholders.…Read More

Happy habits: SEL matters more than ever

“My hope is these extra couple of days will allow everyone to take a little extra time for themselves and their families. Family is, after all, much of what Thanksgiving is all about.”

–Dr. Kelvin R. Adams, Superintendent of Schools, St. Louis Public Schools

Like St. Louis, school districts across the country opted to add an additional partial or entire week off during the holiday season/winter break to allow the students and adults to find time for and take care of themselves.…Read More

Addressing students’ pandemic ‘learning loss’

A new phrase as a result of the pandemic, “learning loss,” captures the concern that students’ learning has been compromised over the past year and a half. However, before the strategies for addressing the concern can be identified, it’s important to define and articulate what is meant by learning loss.   

The observation is true that many students aren’t at the same place in their subject mastery as similar pre-pandemic students. For example, in North Carolina, where I serve as a Superintendent, a recent report revealed that just 45 percent of public school students could pass state standardized tests, down from 59 percent two years earlier. (Testing was waived for the 2019-2020 school year).  

The question then for many is how do we help these students catch up? That question, however, assumes that the standard by which students were assessed two years earlier is the appropriate assessment tool for students today.  …Read More