What are the top transportation challenges at school startup? The biggest challenges are routes, drivers and buses. School bus routing is more complex than other routing. District routes can be affected by ongoing school enrollment and by families moving. During the summer, districts experience higher turnover in bus drivers, which can impact startup. Lastly, readying […]

Robert Sexton has worked with school-based tech for more than 15 years, so there’s not much he hasn’t seen. “Kids are pretty ingenious; keeping up with them is a challenge” says Sexton, currently the director of technology for Olentangy Local School District, just north of Columbus, Ohio. That challenge is mitigated by the district’s secret […]

The reach of K12 bulk purchasing and co-op agreements has expanded substantially as more districts join to save substantial amounts on everything from software to playground equipment, according to a recent AASA report. Education funding has recovered somewhat since the 2008 recession, yet 73 percent of superintendents surveyed consider their district still “inadequately funded” says […]

This spring, schools have experienced a profound increase in student suicides and attempts, as well as school shootings. Recognize that as bad as things have been this spring, things are likely to be worse next fall. Contention over race, origin, LGBTQ, and sexual assault/harassment will increase, along with contention over gun control in the context […]

How do you go from a career in telecoms and airport security to chief innovation officer for one of the largest school districts in Washington state? According to Derrick Brown, the man who’s done it: Be a lifelong learner. “For anyone in technology, or anyone really, who thrives and doesn’t like to be complacent, you […]

We know from personal experience as principals and superintendents, and from research, that it takes a dynamic leader with a particular set of skills and knowledge to turn around a school or school system. Sadly, there are thousands of schools across the country that are chronically low-performing, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Layer […]

You know the names. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Columbine High School, Santa Fe High School and many more. These examples of domestic terrorism have heightened our awareness, making us feel vulnerable when entering a school. Students are trained what to do if a shooter opens fire in classrooms, corridors and […]

Looking to illustrate an abstract concept from a novel she’d read, an Oklahoma high school student turned to her building-level school librarian. Then, with the school librarian’s encouragement to tinker in the makerspace, the girl sculpted a clay model of a kneeling woman balancing a 3D-printed replica of the earth on her back. “She was […]