When it comes to expressing your appreciation to teachers, here's the drill: if the words don't come easily, don't let them get in the way. This guide is full of simple, affordable, straight-from-the-heart actions and gifts that will speak louder than words. And for those who are comfortable putting pen to paper, check out suggestions for written…

Social media is fast becoming as ubiquitous as the air we breathe. In recent months, many schools and districts around the country have taken steps to create social media policies and guidelines for their students and staff. In the author's work with several districts to draft these documents, he has seen many approaches that work well, and some…

The Common Core State Standards call for students to develop digital media and technology skills. One way to help them reach that goal: incorporate gadgets they're already familiar with--cell phones, tablets, and smartphones--into their learning environment. Mobile devices are becoming essential to students' daily lives. According to a 2011 Pew…

This report calls for federal, state, and local policies that support the exploration and redesign of the nation's learning system, including the structure of the traditional school day and academic year. The report finds that access to high-quality educational opportunities is crucial to helping children succeed in an increasingly complex, global…

In "A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement," published in 2002 by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Anne T. Henderson and Karen Mapp reviewed years of research on parent involvement, and their conclusions are unequivocal. When parents are involved in school, students…

Virtual schools make available a world of new courses from obscure electives to advanced placement classes that challenge students intellectually and open up new doors educationally. Thanks to the anytime, anywhere nature of online courses, students with a range of special circumstances (from health issues to job or family constraints) don?t have…

The Child Development Center of the Hamptons (CDCH) is a K?7 charter school founded to educate disabled and nondisabled students side by side in the classroom. Classes are small, averaging 15 students per grade. All students take their courses together, except for special ed pullouts for speech and physical therapy sessions. Each class includes…

Nearly half of all new teachers leave the job within five years. What is killing their spirit? How can they be convinced to stay? This article attempts to answer such questions in presenting one person's account of why she left the teaching profession. Statistical data relating to teacher employment and turnover; reasons for leaving among…

This once sleepy community, founded by Mormon missionaries in 1855 and jumpstarted by gambling 85 years later, now gobbles up real estate faster than a conventioneer chowing down at a midnight buffet. Every day of the week, two acres of Las Vegas area land are developed for commercial or residential use in a frenetic drive to accommodate the…