Most educators are lifelong learners, but too few seize opportunities to share their passions, interests, and knowledge with their students. To honor lifelong learners, schools can carve out a staff retreat with well-stocked bookshelves, create a database of experts on all topics, celebrate unusual holidays and little-known world events, and hold…

From threats of violence to emotional insecurity, many students enter schools burdened by fear. By addressing these concerns directly, clearly communicating expectations, creating engaging, open-ended curricula, and viewing students holistically, teachers can begin to create peaceful classroom communities. Such actions bring hope to students and…

Much credit for the tangible feeling of caring at an Idaho elementary school is due to partnerships that faculty, families, and students have forged across grade levels. These cross-grade buddy systems have put the brakes on bullies, fostered student friendships, and resolved personality conflicts among staff members. (MLH)

Every student deserves a school that is inviting, academically challenging, and safe. A Maryland elementary school's appealing exterior and cheerful, warm interior create a welcoming atmosphere for both parents and students. A successful looping experiment that keeps teachers with the same students from fourth through sixth grade helps kids…

At their weekly school meeting, all members of a Massachusetts elementary school come together to build community and to celebrate one another. Each week, 20 to 40 parents show up, often with toddlers, sometimes with grandparents. Participants pledge the flag, sing songs, recognize students' birthdays, make announcements, and enjoy student…

The organization of space profoundly affects learning. Students feel better connected to a building that anticipates their needs and respects them as individuals. Built in 1971, Crow Island School, in Winnetka, Illinois, is a prize-winning facility that has provided generations of children with windowed classrooms, skylights, adjacent workrooms,…

As his geology students' specialized knowledge of the Mesozoic era increased, a high school teacher realized he needed a way to showcase their work. The Mesozoic Resource Center's biggest hit was a walk-through diorama showing how life might have been during each of three Mesozoic periods. Highlights included two gigantic student-built dinosaur…

Describes a teacher educator's efforts to connect children's literature, sponsored by a partnership between Northern Illinois University and Chicago Public Schools. In one project, student teachers used award-winning picture books to inspire African-American eighth graders to create pastels on black paper. In another, regional folk tales inspired…

New Haven (Connecticut) Public Schools realized that pushing students academically was useless without creating a positive school climate to address their social and emotional needs. James Comer's School Development Program is the district's guiding principle. Via planning and student-support teams, school community members decide on life-skills…

To deliver powerful presentations to parents, teachers should prepare handouts; indicate preferences for being contacted; find out what information parents have already received; provide a signup sheet for individual conferences; be organized, clear, concise, and cordial; deflect unrealistic suggestions; leave time for questions; anticipate…

As this historical overview shows, viewing grade retention as a panacea for education woes ignores its negative effects on children. Today's retention rate is high, matching that of the early 1900s. Retained students are more likely to drop out, have underprivileged backgrounds, be male and African American, and have less educated parents.…

A three-county survey of administrative credential students in California found that 26% of respondents serving in administrative positions are considering leaving their jobs; 62% of qualified candidates are staying in the classroom. Solutions to principal overload include hiring more assistant principals and grooming inhouse talent. (MLH)

Through a structured "grow your own" model, the Capistrano Unified School District in California is focusing on developing leaders from within. Strong teachers with leadership potential are actively recruited to enter the administrative arena as elementary-teaching assistant principals. Assistant principals are given principal-level…

Elements of California's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program, which provides new teachers with one-on-one mentoring and professional support in their first two years of practice, are being applied to UC Santa Cruz's pilot project for beginning principals. Principals need intensive coaching and support when assuming their duties. (MLH)

A veteran principal shares his gleanings about leadership. Administrators are advised to lead from the heart, understand their school's culture, learn to lead and develop staff leaders, garner staff commitment, make friends in high places, ensure adequate resources, make time for themselves, and share important lessons with others. (MLH)