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Perspectives

Meeting the Promise of Continuous Improvement

Meeting the Promise of Continuous Improvement

The term continuous improvement has been part of the lexicon of school improvement for decades. From state accountability systems and district and school improvement plans to teacher and classroom protocols, continuous improvement practices have been replicated at different levels of scale throughout our educational system. Yet all evidence suggests that... Read the full article >
Case Study: Fleming County Schools

Case Study: Fleming County Schools

About Fleming County Public Schools Fleming County Public Schools, located in an agricultural area on the edge of the Appalachian foothills of Kentucky, is a small school system serving approximately 2,300 students across four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. About 70 percent of students participate in... Read the full article >
Using Classroom Observation to Create a Learner-Centric Culture

Using Classroom Observation to Create a Learner-Centric Culture

Districts that are serious about creating learner-centered classrooms need quality information about how well their classrooms are at encouraging active learning, using individual monitoring and feedback, and employing technology to encourage more hands-on, student-directed activities in their classrooms. Teachers need to understand through direct observation of their work the extent... Read the full article >
STEM Graduates Not Workforce Ready? Employers Should Look in the Mirror as to Why

STEM Graduates Not Workforce Ready? Employers Should Look in the Mirror as to Why

For well over a decade, business groups and politicians of all stripes have been strongly decrying the dearth of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) students in the United States. This deficiency, they assert, imperils the United States’ position as a global economic and military power. Further, as jobs progressively... Read the full article >
The Human Side of Robotics Education

The Human Side of Robotics Education

Robotics education has emerged as one highly visible indicator of the growing student interest in STEM programming in the schoolhouses of Crown Point, Indiana. Currently, Crown Point High School hosts six VEX Robotic teams made up of 38 students who regularly compete at the state, regional and national/world level. Also, the... Read the full article >
Case Study: Norris School District

Case Study: Norris School District

Overview Norris School District, located roughly 12 miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska, serves over 2100 students in a rural setting.  The Elementary (PK-4), Middle (5-8) and High (9-12) schools are co-located within a 270-acre campus.  Student enrollment has been steadily rising as the community shifts from a more agricultural base... Read the full article >
AdvancED Michigan Fall Conference 2014 Student Panel

AdvancED Michigan Fall Conference 2014 Student Panel

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AdvancED System Accreditation in Action

AdvancED System Accreditation in Action

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Say No to ‘Checklist’ Accountability

Say No to ‘Checklist’ Accountability

Calls for scorecards and rating systems of higher education institutions that have been floating around Washington, if used for purposes beyond providing comparable consumer information, would make the federal government an arbiter of quality and judge of institutional performance. This change would undermine the comprehensive, careful scrutiny currently provided by... Read the full article >
It’s Time to Abandon Our Rube Goldberg Accountability Contraptions

It’s Time to Abandon Our Rube Goldberg Accountability Contraptions

A Rube Goldberg, according to Webster's Dictionary, is "a comically involved, complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation." We can see these contraptions in operation in school administration in the fetishizing of strategic planning, which has become something of an end in itself, and particularly in how we... Read the full article >