eSchool News - Innovations in Education

Navajo Preparatory School (NPS) is the only Navajo-sanctioned college-preparatory school for Native American students providing opportunities to and shaping the futures.   When COVID-19 forced NPS to shut its doors in March 2020, the entire technology department quickly mobilized to ensure learning continuity in a completely virtual environment. This proved especially challenging as its student po...

Everyone likes a good scare on Halloween, but for the Brevard Public Schools IT team, October of 2020 brought a scare they’d never before experienced. At 10 p.m. on Halloween night, Barrett Puschus, the Director of IT for Brevard Public Schools, received a call from an unknown number. Because he was outside listening to music with his family, he ignored the call, only to see a message appear in hi...

Listening to Alena Zachery-Ross, Superintendent of Ypsilanti Community Schools in Michigan, managing her district through this pandemic almost sounds like a positive story. In this conversation with eSchool News, Alena recalls her strategies for success. From a new appreciation for student voice to closer interactions with the wider community, her ideas will help any district not only survive but...

Scott Bailey, Superintendent for Desert Sands Unified School District (CA), didn’t let the pandemic get in the way of his team’s plans. Instead, he used the disruptions as an opportunity to accelerate. In this episode of  Getting There: Innovations in Education , Scott breaks down his work to innovate within the confines of a public institution. The district primarily serves five communities in th...

Every district obviously had struggles during this past year. But for Chattahoochee County School District, a small, rural community in Southwest Georgia, it was also a time to automate and accelerate. In this episode of Innovations in Education, Superintendent Kristie Brooks, Ed. D., describes how they were able to grow their student body, provide improved personal and professional development, a...

Vicksburg Warren School District (VWSD) Superintendent Chad Shealy is irrepressible. Whether you are talking about COVID response, CTE strategies, or curriculum content, Chad not only makes you feel happy you asked, but even happier with his answers. VWSD serves all of Warren County, Mississippi, and has an enrollment of approximately 7,200 students in grades Pre-K through 12. VWSD consists of thr...

For Rick Cave, Director of Technology at West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District in New Jersey, the biggest challenge to pivoting during the pandemic weren’t the platforms but the people. In this conversation with eSchol News, Rick talks about how the changing behaviors of everyone—students, teachers, and parents—made remote and now hybrid learning work and what aspects should remain once...

For Dr. Matthew X. Joseph, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in Leicester Public Schools (MA), this past year has meant fewer frequent flier miles but a huge increase in his network, albeit virtually. In this conversation with eSchool News, Matt talks about the importance of these sorts of connections for both students and faculty.

For Diane Lauer, Assistant Superintendent of Priority Programs and Academic Support at St. Vrain Valley schools in Colorado, COVID couldn’t stop teacher training. In fact, her work became that much more important. In this conversation with eSchool News, Dianne breaks down her strategies for keeping faculty on point with technology and instruction.

Data is an integral part of this district’s operations, from student engagement to staff vaccinations. For Matt Reynolds, Assessment and Data Officer for the 64,000+ students that attend  Douglas County School District  in Colorado, running the usual assessment numbers was obviously useless last year. That doesn’t mean that data collection was not an essential part of district operations. Quite th...

When it comes to integrating technology into the day-to-day workings of special education, even during rolling lockdowns and remote instruction, there is no longer a question of either/or when it comes to using tech says Tarrence (Tarry) McGovern, Director of Special Education for Kershaw County School District in South Carolina. In this episode, Tarry talks about some of the innovations in specia...

According to Tony Spence, CIO at Muskego-Norway School District, for a district to be ready for everything, it has to constantly be preparing for something. And maybe be a little bit lucky. In this conversation with eSchool News, Tony details his district’s recent major AV implementation and how it dovetailed with his district’s decision to remain in-person during the COVID crisis.

Virtual or hybrid education has been a blessing during the COVID-19 pandemic. When it’s a risk to gather and parents may not feel comfortable sending their children to a classroom, technology has allowed classrooms to take place virtually.

Henry (Hank) Thiele, Superintendent for Community High School District 99 in Thorndale (IL) can’t stop looking forward. Despite the current, daily chaos of re-opening and lockdowns, hybrid and remote learning, and other disruptive undercurrents affecting schools, he believes that being prepared for what’s next is as important as dealing with the problems of right now. In this conversation with eSc...

Marianthe Williams, School Administrator and Director of Technology for the River Dell Regional School District in Oradell, New Jersey, took a journey back in time to March of 2020 to help break down her district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Call it good fortune, or maybe just innovative planning, but the River Dell School District already created the environment and infrastructure to prov...

Most teachers and students now have figured out how to utilize the technology that suddenly become required in March. Student evaluation remains a challenge, especially with some state standards lagging behind technology growth. Resources utilized during the pandemic still can be important tools going forward. In March, most school districts were sent scrambling when the start coronavirus pandemic...

Even a pandemic won’t stop bad student behavior and in many cases inflames it. In this conversation with eSchool News, Laura Lockhart, director of student services of Keller Independent School District in Texas talks about how the district digitally updated their bullying reporting process to keep students safe and meet federal reporting regulations.

Like every educator, Frank Pileiro has had to pivot. As Supervisor of Technology at Linwood Board of Education in South Jersey, he has the added pressure of overseeing their robust maker space programs while managing the current hybrid teaching setup. In this conversation with eSchool News, Frank explains how to keep engaging students, even if it’s from a distance.

Everyone has a crazy COVID story. For Brigantine, NJ Superintendent Glenn Robbins, it goes something like this—lead a school district through a global pandemic having hardly met the students, parents, or faculty. In this conversation with eSchool News, Glenn details the never-ending variables of getting back to school in 2020 and how the priority should be well-being first. In some cases, technolo...

James O’Hagan is not playing around. As Director of Digital and Virtual Learning for the Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin, his job entails not just managing the virtual learning program in response to the pandemic, but also supporting library services, as well as developing his passion project of Esports. In this conversation with eSchool News, James talks about the essential role Espor...

For Todd Dugan, Superintendent of Bunker Hill CUSD #8, a small, remote district in Southern Illinois, issues surrounding back-to-school COVID-19 style are not abstract but all too real. In this conversation with eSchool News, Todd tries to keep the glass half full as he looks to take advantage of these incredible disruptions to education.

How one rural district is dealing with COVID-related connectivity and equality for fall. For Todd Dugan, superintendent of Bunker Hill CUSD #8, a small, remote district in southern Illinois, issues surrounding back-to-school COVID-19 style are not abstract but all too real. Some of the district’s biggest priorities include: Rural struggles–and successes–as COVID hit Address learning loss that come...

For Sandra Paul, Director of Director Of Information Technology at the Township of Union Public Schools in Northern New Jersey, the goal is simple—every one of the 7,200 kids in her district must have a device this fall. How to accomplish this? Not so simple. In this conversation with eSchoolnews, Sandra details her asset management tactics for whatever scenario her district winds up with—in perso...

As the newly installed Director of Student Information at Barrington School District in suburban Chicago (IL), a district with 9,000 students and 13 schools, Phil Hintz has an added challenge to an already impossible situation—discover unprecedented solutions in an entirely new environment. In this conversation with eSchool News, Phil details how the district is reinventing itself through data col...

Jon Castelhano, Executive Director of Technology at Gilbert Public Schools in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, is making lemonade. Instead of stopgap measures to make it through the COVID-19 crisis, his district is crafting strategic changes with an eye toward the long term. These are ideas long talked about but never implemented in the 40 schools that serve 34,000 students. For it to work, faculty need...