Articles tagged with ASBJ

Is your district prepared for a natural disaster?

Hurricane Isaac left floods and power outages across the Gulf Coast this week, but officials at the National School Boards Association (NSBA) say damage to schools remains minimal.

“We’ve reached out to our colleagues in the states that were affected by Hurricane Isaac,” said NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. “Although many families and schools have been affected by the torrential rains and wind, at this point there have been no fatalities related to schools.”

Public school buildings are often used as safe havens during storms and other disasters, and schools canceled classes and activities in many parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama this week.

American School Board Journal has a compilation of stories with advice on handling natural disasters in its topical archives.

Joetta Sack-Min|August 31st, 2012|Categories: American School Board Journal, Crisis Management, Environmental Issues|Tags: , , |

Editorial discusses the importance of school boards

What does your community know about your school board and the work school board members do?

Two members of California’s Fresno Unified School District’s school board recently penned an editorial for the Fresno Bee detailing the importance of their jobs. Cal Johnson and Valerie Davis urged their community members to pay attention to the candidates running for the school board because it has such a crucial role in guiding the community’s education system.

“School boards set direction for the district; we advocate for public education as well as needed improvements; we are currently maintaining the financial stability of our districts under some of the worst economic conditions in modern history; and, most importantly, we keep a laser-like focus on improving student achievement,” the authors write.

Davis and Johnson discussed some of the challenges facing the Fresno Unified School District and others in the area, including extreme concentrations of poverty that impact students’ abilities to attend school and learn.

“Schools cannot solve these problems alone, so they seek the community’s help to alleviate the scars that poverty inflicts on so many of the children and families in our Valley,” they write. “Everything from land-use decisions to policy approaches to public safety, mental health, and recreation impact our challenge.”

Read the column at the Fresno Bee and learn more about ways to communicate with your community from American School Board Journal’s columnist Nora Carr in “Telling Your Story.”

 

 

Joetta Sack-Min|July 19th, 2012|Categories: American School Board Journal, Governance, School Board News, School Boards|Tags: , , , , |

July issue of ASBJ now online

The July issue of the American School Board Journal is a hot one. Esconced in the pages of this month’s magazine is an important tool that readers, especially new ones, will find especially helpful: The New Board Member and Administrative Guide.

As its name suggest, the special includes tips, strategies and advice on everything from utilizing data to make decisions, mentoring new members and developing leadership capacity.

Do yourself a favor and keep this issue handy during the long hot summer, to ensure you hit the ground running when the school year begins.

Naomi Dillon|July 5th, 2012|Categories: American School Board Journal|Tags: , |

Are you ready for Common Core? Answer this technology readiness survey to find out

If you haven’t done so already and you’re in one of the 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, that signed on to participate in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, take a moment before the end of the month to see if your school’s technology infrastructure is ready to handle the electronic assessments that are also part of the project.

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, the two groups chosen to develop the online tests, have jointly created the Technology Readiness Tool– a detailed questionnaire that asks schools about the state of their IT program.

Along with hardware purchasing guidelines, the readiness tool helps districts see where they are and where they need to be, in terms of technology, when Common Core goes live in 2014-2015.

As a reminder, Common Core State Standards for reading and math were released in the summer of 2010. Internationally benchmarked and designed to be clearer and more rigorous than the patchwork of state standards, the standards are scheduled to be implemented, complete with new computerized assessment systems in two years.

Read ASBJ’s March 2011 issue for a great primer on the initiative and logon to take the technology readiness assessment by June 30. The consortia will use the answers supplied by districts to make decisions on how the implementation, such as how long to keep the testing window open.

Naomi Dillon|June 20th, 2012|Categories: American School Board Journal|Tags: , , , , , |

What would do you if …

The June issue of the American School Board Journal asks readers what would you in this situation?

A superintendent was grooming one of his assistants to take over his job when he retired. He hadn’t set a retirement date yet, but the board was aware he planned to retire in the next five years and most of them were happy he’d given them enough time to make a leadership transition.

However, some board members weren’t sure it was a good idea the superintendent had an heir apparent. They were concerned that it might look like favoritism. The superintendent believed it was the best way to ensure continuity of all the reforms he and the board had put into place over the past decade. What should the board do?

Vote and tell us what you think on our Facebook page.

Naomi Dillon|June 1st, 2012|Categories: American School Board Journal|Tags: , , |

January issue of ASBJ now online

Happy New Year! And to usher in 2012, a new edition of ASBJ …  whose cover package reflects the attention to wellness and health that often comes bundled in New Year’s resolutions. However, as these stories illustrate, schools’ promises to provide a healthy environment, including proper nutrition and exercise,  can’t be as short-lived as individuals— despite a dire economy and competing interests. So get inspired motivated and most importantly, get informed by reading the latest issue of ASBJ.

Naomi Dillon|January 4th, 2012|Categories: American School Board Journal|Tags: , |

December issue of ASBJ now online

With winter season still officially weeks away, it’s possible Mother Nature could have one more unwelcome surprise ready to round out 2011, which months ago the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared as one of the most weather-extreme on record. 

Tornados. Flash-floods. Wildfires. 2011 hasn’t been fun or easy for the countless school districts and communities struck by a natural or manmade disaster. December’s cover story profiles some of the district’s who were hit the hardest and looks at how they’re recovering.

As always, December’s issue includes a rich line-up of  features, including this month’s column from ASBJ contributing editor, Nora Carr, on the importance of telling your story, visually.

Naomi Dillon|December 5th, 2011|Categories: American School Board Journal|Tags: , , , , , |

October issue of ASBJ now online

While national attention and energy has rightfully focused on the phenomenon of peer-to-peer bullying, what’s been missing from the scrutiny is a hard look at the relationships and interaction among the adults in the school community.

Enter the October issue of American School Board Journal, which is now live and online. In the latest issue, you’ll find a collection of articles that examine the issue of school culture and climate, from a variety of perspectives and perpetrators.

It’s an important and timely read on a complicated issue that has real implications for school reform efforts.

Naomi Dillon|October 5th, 2011|Categories: American School Board Journal, School Climate|Tags: , , , , |

New on ASBJ.com

The August edition of ASBJ, now online,  arrives at the same time many school athletic programs are gearing up. And while we wish every team a great season, our main concern and our cover package, is focused on keeping students safe. Toward this end, the cover story provides some insight on youth concussions, which despite growing attention and state legislation, remains a largely misunderstood injury.  A tandem article, written by Orange County Superintendent of Schools William Habermehl, provides a first-hand account of the risks and precautions that districts and schools need to take to protect their student athletes. Rounding out the series is an examination of another athletic safeguard of sorts— booster club funds, which increasingly subsidize athletic participation at schools. Read these and other great features from the August issue, now available online.

Naomi Dillon|August 2nd, 2011|Categories: American School Board Journal, Athletics|Tags: , , , , |

Importance of good nutrition becoming a staple of national discourse

A story in the Sunday New York Times highlighted the efforts Philadelphia’s public schools are taking to combat childhood obesity— and the challenges they face in doing so. I took a look at the issue last year for ASBJ, traveling down to Huntington, West Virginia, which had once been billed as the fattest city in America, a dubious distinction that earned them a visit and a makeover from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who goes into greater detail about this project here:

Naomi Dillon|March 28th, 2011|Categories: American School Board Journal, Wellness|Tags: , , , , , |
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