School Administrator: May 2018

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Making School Scheduling More Strategic
BY NATHAN LEVENSON
A task often left to a single site administrator could benefit from collective attention and expertise of staff.

• To build a great schedule, find an expert

Logical Thinking Behind Later School Starts
BY ALAN N. WECHSLER
The stories of how several school districts successfully maneuvered daily scheduling reform in support of teen sleep research.

• Advice for reform: Move slowly and listen
• Kevin Skelly: Sleepless in San Mateo
• Communication needs for time shifts

One Destructive Course Option: Zero Period
BY GLENN W. “MAX” MCGEE
As a superintendent, the author had a rationale for eliminating a predawn class period to benefit student health, but his decision sparked a tempest among ambitious students and their parents.

The Contagion of the Four-Day Week
BY PAUL T. HILL AND GEORGIA L. HEYWARD
The option of reducing school operations by a day each week may be growing in appeal, but analysis from the Center on Reinventing Public Education wonders whether the evidence warrants its use.

• A primer on the four-day week
• Advice for moving to shorter weeks

Beating the Achievement Gap One Vacation at a Time
BY MARGUERITE C. RIZZI WITH JULIETTE A. MILLER AND LYNDA J. FEENEY
How a 3,700-student suburban district uses before- and after-school programs, as well as break times, for remediation and enrichment.

• David Hornak: Balanced calendars stem learning losses

Time in Pursuit of Education Equity
BY JEANNIE OAKES
A senior fellow at the Learning Policy Institute believes learning time reforms that cross ideological divides will benefit students most in need.

STARTING POINT
Understanding the logistical aspects of leading unpopular changes in school schedules.

STATE OF THE SUPERINTENDENCY
Engagement in Their Work
Are superintendents as engaged as others in their work, and does this vary in districts of different size and location?

BEST OF THE BLOGS
Excerpts from four superintendents’ blogs on leading in tough times.

ETHICAL EDUCATOR
Outing a Parent Offender
The father of a female student, according to police, has confessed to paying for sex with a teenage prostitute. His name does not appear on the county’s database of sex offenders because police call him at low risk to re-offend. Should the principal share any information with the school’s parents?

LEGAL BRIEF
Community Dissent and the First Amendment
BY JOEL BUCKMAN
What a school attorney believes you ought to consider when responding to public expressions at a board meeting or on the sidelines of the playing field.

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
Effectiveness Begins With Ongoing Communication
BY TERRE DAVIS
How a newly hired superintendent turned around a bad situation involving a domineering board member with micromanaging tendencies.

MY VIEW
A Personal Challenge: My Semester in 4th-Grade Band
BY KIMBERLY S. MORITZ
A superintendent sought an up-close experience in a modern learning environment — and she got it by taking up clarinet with student musicians.

MY VIEW
Demoralized Teachers and What Local Leaders Might Do
BY DORIS A. SANTORO
A book author’s ideas for reversing dissatisfaction through moral questions.

MY VIEW
Returning Teaching to Teachers
BY CAROLYN E. BUNTING
The problem of over-direction and the pressure of outside demands on classroom instructors.

Reading & Resources

• Book Reviews
• Why I Wrote This Book...
• Bits & Pieces

 

  

PRESIDENT’S CORNER
School Schedules: Stuck in the Twilight Zone?
BY GAIL PLETNICK
Can educators navigate a journey to “a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination?”

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE
Making Time for Mastery
BY DANIEL A. DOMENECH
Recognizing that students can learn anywhere and at any time is the optimal starting stage.

PEOPLE WATCH
The monthly comings and goings of AASA members.

PROFILE: Mary Sieu
BY LIZ GRIFFIN
A masterful collaborator and convener on behalf of kids.