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Author Archives: Steve Atwater
Public Schools and Open Enrollment
A couple of weeks ago I was asked why the cost per student at a local private school is less than it is at a public school. There are a myriad of reasons for this difference, most notable is that a public school has an open enrollment policy. As you know, our neighborhood public schools are […]
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NCLB waiver is not a cure
When No Child Left Behind first went into effect, many in the education community immediately complained that the Act’s provisions were misguided. Today, with NCLB more than ten years old, it has become almost fashionable to eschew the pejorative components of the Act. The accountability portion of NCLB that currently sets a bar for achievement […]
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Long Term Financial Commitment
Greetings from Juneau, I am here to meet with legislators. The purpose of my meetings is to share that what we are doing as a district is good, and that if we are to maintain our positive results, then we will need the state to commit to forward funding as a way to meet the rising […]
Posted in Schools and Assessment Tagged assessment, education, funding, Juneau, Legislation Leave a comment
Knowing the variables and planning
A long time ago, on the second day of my teacher preparation program, I was asked to teach a ten minute lesson. The lesson could be about anything and was to be video taped. As you might expect, the ordeal was a bit nerve wracking. With no prior teaching experience I chose to teach how […]
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The how and the what of teaching
My application and interview process for the Anchorage School District Superintendent position offered me a good chance to describe the steps that our district is taking to increase student achievement. During the ASD process I shared the changes we have made in the past three years to improve our students’ learning experience; I was proud […]
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A school vision will help motivate
One of my expectations for our principals is that they are forward thinking and will work to create a vision that includes a school identity that makes their building unique. There is ample evidence to support the benefit of a school vision; unfortunately, realizing a vision is easier said than done. With so much time […]
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Collaboration and Innovation
For the past few years we have been promoting collaboration among teachers as a way to improve student learning. There is ample research to support the benefit of teachers sharing ideas and also a general agreement that a collective effort is better than an individual one. It was with interest then, that I read an […]
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Student Input on Teacher Effectiveness
One of the exercises that educators are periodically asked to perform is to look back at their schooling and identify their most effective teacher. I inevitably land on my high school pre-calculus teacher. She was a demure, petite woman who was, without question, my strictest and most effective teacher. I know that later, when I […]
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Student Test Scores and Teacher Effectiveness