By Edgar Blunt “When am I ever going to use this?” is the familiar question that frustrates many teachers. Under the current structure of education, regular classroom teachers often struggle to provide a satisfying answer. Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, however, are uniquely positioned to show students immediate and practical applications of what they learn—and … Read more

By Mac Bogert TANSTAAFL The industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries arrived on waves of new technology. Innovations such as the steam engine and the sewing machine transformed how people worked, but the effects went far beyond machinery. Urbanization concentrated labor in factories; the reorganization of daily life changed communities and social expectations. … Read more

By Lisa Riggs Building Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms to Support Student Well-Being As awareness grows about the long-term effects of childhood trauma, school districts are increasingly prioritizing trauma-sensitive learning environments. These approaches aim to support students’ emotional health while improving academic outcomes by equipping teachers with practical strategies for self-regulation, coping skills, and classroom safety. At Gresham-Barlow … Read more

By Jamie Bricker and Jack Barclay The principal’s role blends school leadership with school management. These two elements are complementary: a well-structured management foundation gives leadership the space to thrive, while insightful leadership ensures management decisions serve a clear, future-focused purpose. Management tasks are often immediate and short-term—scheduling, budgets, safety, and daily operations—whereas leadership looks … Read more

By Claudia L’Amoreaux Schools today face a range of challenges—regional staffing shortages, growing volumes of evaluation requests, and periodic spikes in student referrals. The result is often the same: despite educators’ best efforts, too many students wait too long for evaluations and school teams lack timely data needed for effective educational planning. Comprehensive special education … Read more

By Charles Sosnik These are unusual times in education. Two dominant trends are reshaping schools: a severe teacher shortage and a significant decline in students attending traditional classrooms. At first glance it might seem impossible for both to be true at once, yet they are—and their combined effect is destabilizing for many districts. The teacher … Read more

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Teacher’s Guide 2017 — Free Classroom Resource The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Teacher’s Guide 2017 is now available as a free resource for educators preparing lessons for the new school year. Designed to engage students and support curriculum goals, this guide adapts the excitement of world records into structured classroom activities for Grades … Read more

By Jamie Bricker Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a monthly series examining the role of affective leadership in schools. Affective leadership focuses on working with people—listening to them, valuing them, and responding to their needs—rather than simply trying to work through or around them. When staff, students, and families feel genuinely respected … Read more

By LeiLani Cauthen What a Learning Matrix Is A Learning Matrix is an advanced design approach for modern education that puts learners at the center of orchestration—managing time, space, teachers and resources so students can operate with greater independence. In a Learning Matrix, students generate need-driven requests for scheduling, movement, teacher interaction, location (in or … Read more

By Kelly Bielefeld One of the most important duties of modern educators is to develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities so they can adapt to a future labor market that will include jobs not yet imagined. To achieve that, students must regularly engage in the deepest levels of learning: analyzing, breaking ideas down, making … Read more