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Category Archives: Schools and Assessment
Boys and Girls
I read an interesting article last week on the growing achievement gap in schools between girls and boys. This prompted me to check our test scores and sure enough, in reading and writing KPBSD girls outperform the boys by a significant margin. Last year in math there was no difference in the average scores of […]
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Mobile Devices in Classrooms
A few days ago I arrived at work and discovered that I had left my smart phone at home. I immediately panicked as though I had forgotten my ticket to the World Series. For a few seconds I debated whether to jump back in the car to go get the phone or to wait until lunch […]
Posted in Schools and Assessment 3 Comments
Summer School
Earlier this week while at one of our high schools, I watched about 40 students trudge into the building for summer school. Their morning would consist of working through an online credit recovery program. While I am supportive of the students’ fortitude or perhaps their parents’ insistence to attend summer school, it was somewhat depressing […]
Posted in Schools and Assessment 5 Comments
School Climate
For the past week I had the good fortune to attend graduations across our district. From the small ceremony in a garage at Razdolna, to Soldotna High School’s large affair at the Soldotna Sports Center, it was a good week for the district; some 600 students now have a diploma. While much of what took […]
Posted in Schools and Assessment 2 Comments
Supporting our principals
For the past several years a lot of attention has been placed on the school principal and its role in driving student outcomes. Without diminishing the role of the teacher, research shows that a school will not regularly improve without a strong building leader. At this time last year we were replacing more than a […]
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Should we make it or buy it?
One of the constants of my job is regular contact by salespeople letting me know that their product or program is a must buy for our district. I usually say no thanks. The education support industry is a huge multi-billion dollar organism that is constantly reacting to research and changes in education policy. Each change, […]
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Appreciating our staff
At the end of each month, those principals who are new to their job share their work journal with me. The entries that recount the highs and lows of the previous 30 days are a great way for me to stay abreast of the daily routine facing our principals and for me to offer some […]
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Kenai Legislators Support Education
The annual dance that decides the level of state funding for education predictably started with a slow waltz but ended with a frantic jitterbug. When the music stopped and the emails started to flow describing what had happened, it became clear that the state legislators had put enough money into education to keep the school boat afloat […]
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Developing Responsible Citizens
Earlier this month as part of our strategic planning process, we created a new mission statement: the mission of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is to develop productive, responsible, citizens who are prepared to be successful in a dynamic world. I am pleased with the new statement and feel that it nicely describes our […]
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Being introverted and collaboration