Research has established a link between the experience of trauma and school misbehavior and academic failure. Surveys show that as many as a quarter of children in rough Chicago neighborhoods have witnessed a shooting, but helping these children is proving to be difficult. Traumatized students often misbehave in school and fall behind, but many…

Few of today's teachers can remember an economic situation quite like the one individuals now face. To find analogies for the collapse of the housing bubble and the subsequent credit crisis, they have to search not their memories but their textbooks. "The Great Gatsby" and "The Grapes of Wrath" suddenly make more sense now. What will happen next?…

In January, four juniors died in an automobile accident; in February a member of the previous year's graduating class committed suicide; in March a member of the faculty died suddenly; and a crazed gunman killed three current and one former student. Spring 1999 was a season of sadness. Several Penncrest faculty meetings were devoted to reviewing…

So much of teaching is now driven by data (i.e., test scores) and dictated by "best practices" that teachers are losing confidence in their own creativity. Yet, despite these unfortunate consequences of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the important work of teachers remains unchanged. That work is the work of connecting personally and…

School attendance is an ongoing concern for administrators, particularly in middle-level and high school. Frequent absences affect student learning, test scores, and social development. Administrators who understand the causes of school refusal behavior and are aware of effective intervention strategies can help provide supportive school…