April 2015
With shrinking budgets and increasing pressure to improve student achievement, more districts are using instructional coaches to support their teachers in hands-on ways, from helping them analyze data to modeling teaching strategies.
When a school loses a teacher to another school or district, the fallout can be far-reaching, affecting both the bottom line and student achievement – especially in low-performing schools. How can school board members determine whether their district has a problem hanging onto good teachers?
Some school districts are trying out new ways to retain teachers by giving extra support for newly certified staff and by keeping veteran teachers happy. The Carroll County and Shelby County districts have come up with different ideas.
In legal lingo, it’s the “bright-line test,” meaning a clearly defined rule. But for schools facing cyberbullying issues, the line is often less clear. But there are ways that school leaders can protect their students from cyberforces outside the school building.
In an off-year legislative session made even shorter by a couple of snow days, education bills were plentiful, from measures to close achievement gaps to snow day waivers, though plenty of bills also bit the dust.