District Dossier
The District Dossier blog explored issues behind leading and managing the nation’s schools and school districts and provided analysis of trends, controversies, and good ideas in school and district leadership. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: school & district management, district leadership, and school leadership.
Equity & Diversity
Chicago Schools Creates Special Team to Investigate Sexual Misconduct Against Students
In the wake of a newspaper investigation that revealed that dozens of Chicago students may have been abused, harassed, or assaulted, the Chicago school district will create the Office of Student Protections and Title IX to better handle cases of sexual abuse, assault and harassment of students and support victims.
School & District Management
Boston Superintendent's Resignation: What's Behind Tommy Chang's Departure?
Tommy Chang's resignation from the helm of Boston's school system has sparked numerous questions about his departure, including whether he was under pressure to leave because of his management or as a result of a lawsuit alleging that the district shared information with law enforcement that may have played a role in a student's deportation.
Equity & Diversity
A School in the Former Capital of the Confederacy Is Renamed for Barack Obama, the Nation's First Black President
Like many of the schools named for the Obamas, most of the students at Stuart Elementary are black. At Obama-named schools across the nation, more than 90 percent of students who attend the namesake schools are black and Latino. Fewer than 4 percent are white.
School Climate & Safety
Santa Fe Shooting: How the Texas Governor Proposes to Keep Students Safe at School
Gov. Greg Abbott rolled out a lengthy school safety plan that includes an app to anonymously report threats, expanding the state's school marshal program, investing money in an existing mental health program for troubled students, and some gun safety measures.
School Climate & Safety
A Group of Santa Fe Students Calls For Gun Storage Laws, Security Measures
The Texas students spoke as an Indiana community was dealing with a school shooting that left a teacher and student injured.
School Climate & Safety
A Principal Lost Her Daughter in the Parkland Shooting. As She Grieved, the District Tried to Dock Her Pay
April Schentrup told Broward County, Fla., school board members the district tried to dock her pay for missed time from work after her daughter was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
School Climate & Safety
Santa Fe High: The Latest School Thrust Onto the List of Mass Shootings
Before Friday's shooting, Texas' Santa Fe High School was perhaps best known as having been at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case on whether students can lead prayers over the public-address system at football games. Now, it has joined an ever-growing list of schools that have lost students or staff to gun violence.
School & District Management
How Long Do Big-City Superintendents Typically Stick Around?
Tenures, on average, are shorter in larger districts and in districts with high percentages of students of color and low-income students. Women also had tenures that were 15 months shorter, on average, than their male counterparts, according to the Broad Center.
States
Same Names, Different District: Why Superintendent Searches Can Be a Game of Musical Chairs
Central office staffers—like chief academic officers, deputy superintendents, and curriculum directors—face hurdles making the jump to the top job.
School & District Management
Clark County, Nev., Taps Florida Educator to Lead District
The country's fifth-largest school system is undergoing a massive reorganization that will give schools more autonomy.
Education
New Jersey Is Winding Down Takeover of Paterson City Schools
The New Jersey state board of education voted Wednesday to start the transition to local control in Paterson.
School & District Management
Los Angeles Selects Former Investment Banker As Superintendent
Austin Beutner, a former Los Angeles Times' publisher who also started a non-profit that provides free eye exams and glasses to low-income students, will lead the country's second-largest school district.
Teaching Profession
Teacher Protests Will Close Some of Colorado's Largest Districts on Thursday and Friday
Colorado teachers are expected to head to the state capitol on Thursday and Friday to call for more K-12 funding.
School & District Management
Ex Baltimore County Superintendent Gets Six Months Prison Sentence in Perjury Case
Dallas Dance led Baltimore County School from 2012 until he abruptly resigned in April 2017.