Add as a preferred source on Google

Not a Lot of Coverage

  • By Jerry Enderle
  • 04/01/19

You wouldn’t know it by watching the news, but on April 12, the President signed H.R. 276, the “Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act”, which directs the Secretary of Education to establish the Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award Program to acknowledge excellence exhibited by classified school employees. Job titles included in this category are paraprofessionals, clerical staff, custodial and maintenance services, transportation services, food services, skilled trades, health and student services, security services, and technical services.

Often overlooked and lumped into the category of “support staff”, these people are essential to keep schools safe and successful. Some districts and states have recognition programs for classified employees, but it seems only fitting that there be a national award.

Report Time?

It’s not only students who need to complete reports this time of year. Just as we were going to press, a number of national reports were published—more than I have room to mention. Here are a few.

The U.S. Department of Education released “Parent and Educator Guide to School Climate Resources”, which provides best practices and includes resources school leaders and teachers can utilize as they work to achieve a positive school climate, lower disciplinary issues, and enhance school safety. Download it at www2.ed.gov.

The Chiefs for Change issued “Breaking Through: Shattering the Glass Ceiling for Women Leaders”. The report addresses the fact that despite the increasing diversity of our nation’s schools, and the enormous representation of women at other levels of our public school systems, the vast majority of district superintendents and state chiefs are white men. You can read it at chiefsforchange.org.

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) published “State K-12 Broadband Leadership: Driving Connectivity and Access.” It highlights the powerful impact of state leadership in driving critical policy decisions at the national and state level to support broadband networks, bandwidth capacity and home access for low-income families. Find it at www.setda.org.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management April/May 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • Malibu High School Campus Completes $102M Phase 1 of Construction

    Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., recently announced that it has completed phase 1 of construction for its new campus, a news release reports. The first phase consisted of developing and modernizing the site of a former elementary school into a new, 70,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

  • Empowering People Through Smart, Sustainable Campuses

    Sustainability is facing increasing scrutiny, with some questioning its costs and priorities. Yet for universities, it remains an essential driver of resilience, operational efficiency and long-term competitiveness. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that sustainable transformation is not just about reducing energy consumption and emissions to comply with tightening regulations ‒ it’s about creating vibrant, comfortable environments where people can thrive, innovate and connect. For university leadership, this is a complex balancing act, with rising energy costs and limited budgets only adding to the challenge.

  • New eBook Shares Guidelines on Building CTE Centers

    Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum and resources provider iCEV recently announced the publication of a new eBook sharing guidance and insights on building new CTE facilities, according to a news release.

Digital Edition