Colleges blame high schools. High schools blame middle schools. Middle schools blame elementaries—and everyone tends to blame funding, poverty, bad parenting and other factors for low student achievement. A new movement that promises closer cooperation between higher ed and K12 aims to end this legacy of passing the buck. Educators from New York City to […]

BARTLETT, TENNESSEE—Only a handful of superintendents have launched a brand-new district. Even fewer have done it only months after being involved in a large-scale merger. Meet David Stephens, superintendent of Bartlett City Schools in a middle-class Memphis suburb. Stephens—whose father, grandfather, aunt and uncle all taught in Tennessee school districts—was chosen in 2013 to lead […]

Many things threaten to keep a public education leader up at night. With some issues, it’s because they stir excitement and inspiration; but with others, not so much. To bring the persistent, insomnia-inducing challenges into clearer focus, the 2018 installment of DA’s annual Outlook issue gives prominence to the voices of educators and experts who […]

With districts facing a shortage of bilingual teachers, paraprofessionals present a rich source of candidates. They often have strong ties to the community and already know students and parents, says Santiago Wood, executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education. “I don’t believe districts can continue to rely solely and perpetually on overseas recruitment […]

What should happen and what will happen in various areas of education over the next few years elicits different answers from educators and from other experts. For example, one expert on teaching believes districts should be supported with the funding to retain their best teachers. However, this expert believes state policymakers will continue to lower […]

Administrators who don't feel their staffs have the time to manage community programs have contracted with outside groups to organize and oversee services.

At four elementary schools in Idaho's Boise School District, families in need can go to specially designated community rooms to pick up food, clothing and other necessities.

Fourteen teachers in Utah’s Ogden School District reached the classroom via a nontraditional, perhaps looser route. Rather than attend a teaching college and earning the standard credentials, they leveraged their bachelor’s degrees and professional expertise. The new state rule that allows this—called Academic Pathway to Teaching—mimics new policies a handful of other states have passed […]