By Denise L. Berkhalter, APR National school choice efforts and attempts to weaken local governance of schools have left a trail of mass confusion and grave concern about the future of public education in this nation. How this saga turns out is not clear. What is certain is that...
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As a lifelong advocate for public education and a local board of education member in Georgia for ten years, I hold strong convictions when it comes to charter schools. I totally support charter schools when approved by a local board of education. But, what about state charter schools? We...
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I’ve met many superintendents who really want to streamline costs and administrative workflow specifically in the area of paperless board meetings. But at the end of the day, many of them tell me. You don’t understand. My board is not ready to go paperless. I feel your pain. And...
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Serving on a local board of education involves commitment, focus, and accountability. From hiring the superintendent to being advocates for public education to setting policy to being stewards of the budget, local boards have tremendous responsibility. Our stakeholders expect the absolute best for our customers, our children. So, along...
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When disaster strikes…what happens to your school system’s information and records? Recent years have included multiple natural disasters from tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, lightning strikes that burn schools to many, many more. Just how safe are your records and other important information if such an occurrence happens in your district? ...
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Last February, Dr. Claire Miller, shared the story of how her district, Barrow County School System, prepared for District Accreditation. This blog is an attempt to document the steps she outlined in her presentation which I think will be very useful for other school districts who have accreditation work...
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One of a school system’s goals is often related to stakeholder engagement. How the community feels about their school(s) is critical to the district’s success. Systems rely on partners in education. Volunteering parents and friends are treasured. One often overlooked resource is our older population—our retired citizens. If we...
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As a former school board member of ten years in Georgia, I was required to complete 12 hours of training during my first year of service and six hours each year thereafter. The training requirements have now changed; however, school board members must still complete training courses so that...
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In recently buying a new pair of shoes, I reflected back on how one purchased shoes 25 years ago. Shoe stores had employees who actually measured your foot, put the new shoe on your foot, carefully tightened the laces, and had you stand up so they could press the...
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As local school systems near the end of another school year and are planning and budgeting for the 2012-2013 school year, it is imperative that an emphasis continue to be placed on early learning. While federal funds provide for Head Start for children at age three, state programs such...
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The eBOARDsolutions 2012 User Conference was held in late February in Atlanta, Georgia. Almost 200 eBOARD users gathered for a day of learning with and from their colleagues about how to take full advantage of the web-based suite of software tools that they have implemented for managing and aligning...
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Have any of the teachers in your school systems tried flipping their classrooms yet? Have you heard about it and what the advantages might be? As you know, new content is “typically” delivered to all students at the same time by their teacher. Some call this “sage on the...
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If you want to know about the latest terminology and acronyms, ask a young person! It seems that the only thing you can really count on in this world is change, and we have certainly lived through huge changes in education as well. How do we keep up with...
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This past November, I had the opportunity to be part of the Senior Consortium for School Networking Delegation to Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina. CoSN is the premier professional association for school district technology leaders. CoSN’s mission is to empower educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging...
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As we try to raise the awareness level of special education and mental and emotional needs in the world of public education, we must draw attention to what it means to be on the autism spectrum—especially on the highly functioning end of the spectrum. You see, looks can be...
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Technology has changed the way virtually every industry in the world operates – from farmers to physicians – by supporting people’s relationships with one another and their work. Just as eBay altered commerce, iTunes changed the music industry, and Amazon forever changed the corner bookstore, technology innovations are poised...
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In May 2011, tornadoes ripped through Joplin, Missouri. A community was destroyed. The hub of that community is the local public school system. The administrative building and many of their schools were leveled. Seven lives were lost within the Joplin school family. But, nothing stops the people of Joplin....
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In a world where many are nearing retirement, public education faces changes in leadership across our country. How does a school system prepare and transition with new leaders? Grow your own! Many local school systems have implemented leadership academies. These one- or two-year programs are structured for teacher leaders...
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Missouri School Boards Association’s 2011 Pre-Conference was themed “Technology Trends in Education.” As a part of the day’s agenda one of Apple’s Distinguished Educators (ADE) Jennifer Magiera shared the innovate practices she is implementing in the Chicago Public School System. Jennifer is the iPad Project Leader/Trainer for CPS, the...
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Is your school board’s work in the weeds or are you looking from a global perspective? It’s so easy to get off track. For boards of education, it is imperative that the board simply follow the system-wide strategic plan with that plan driving the monthly meetings of the board....
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