One major problem in developing school district budgets immune to cuts is the model administrators traditionally use--an expenditure model. The simplicity of this model is seductive: What were the revenues and expenditures last year? What are the expected revenues and expenditures this year? A few adjustments here and there and one has a budget.…

Billionaire businessman Eli Broad, one of the country's most active philanthropists, founded the Broad Superintendents Academy in 2002 with an extraordinarily optimistic goal: Find leaders from both inside and outside education, train them, and have them occupying the superintendencies in a third of the 75 largest school districts--in just two…

Coordinating a summer school program can be a very tedious process. Everyone involved, from the support staff to the teachers to the administrators can become overwhelmed with the politics and population enrolled in one's summer program. However, with full understanding of its student population and resources, schools are then prepared to initiate…

In this article, the author describes how his district develops clearly focused professional learning communities (PLCs) and raises its student achievement rating from "one of the worst" to one of the best. Sanger Unified School District in California's Central Valley had been named one of the worst school districts in California. It…

On March 15, 2007, Santa Barbara residents were shocked when a baby-faced 15-year-old high school student was stabbed to death in the heart of the city's fashionable State Street shopping district. His assailant, just 14, was a member of a rival street gang and a student at the local junior high. "It was a wakeup call for the entire…

During summer vacation, many students lose knowledge and skills. By the end of summer, students perform, on average, one month behind where they left off in the spring. Participation in summer learning programs should mitigate learning loss and could even produce achievement gains. Indeed, educators and policymakers increasingly promote summer…

This article illustrates how effective a threat assessment program like the Mid-Valley Student Threat Assessment (STAT) program can be in dealing with violent and threatening students. STAT is a a regional system that draws together resources from schools, mental health agencies, law enforcement bureaus, and other youth-serving organizations in…

Students attacking other students. Students attacking teachers, support staff, and even community members. Disrespectful and threatening language, overwhelmed or inattentive parents, and an administrative system that often appears unable to bring back order in the classroom. These are stories have become an everyday part of teaching in urban…

High-quality organized sports are a gateway to academic achievement, better grades, improved chances of attending college, and success in the labor market--and these benefits are especially important for low-income youth. The author's report analyzes several distinct strands of research on the effects on youth of participation in organized sports.…

According to James Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), breakfast is not the solution to the problems in America's schools, but it is the fastest, easiest, cheapest way of boosting school performance. According to FRAC, the federal breakfast program run by the Agricultural Department reached a record 7.7 million…

A student's inability to keep pace with the demands of the classroom can produce feelings of inadequacy, performance anxiety, depleted motivation, and even behavioral maladjustment. Too often, schools respond to such students with well-intentioned procedures or guidelines that fail to meet the needs of the thwarted learner. However, in recent…

Over the past decade, a wave of education reform has swept the nation. Yet the general public remains largely unaware of it, even though the reforms are arguably among the most successful public policy initiatives of the past quarter century. One reform that has the potential to leave its mark for many years is the P-16 initiative. This article…

In this article, the author discusses "Wiki-ality" and "truthiness"--notions that explain a lot about life in the 21st century. Both words were coined by Stephen Colbert, an American comedian and actor. Colbert coined the word "Wiki-ality" based on Wikipedia, a popular online encyclopedia which seems far more…

The paper trail leading to reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, scheduled for 2007, is already clogged and will keep getting more so. One needs to select sets of recommendations carefully to avoid being awash in conflicting or redundant ideas. In this article, the author presents a critique, that calls for a major shift in…