This blog is the second in a series of blogs by Mel Riddile, Associate Director for High School Services at the National Association of Secondary School Principals, on the principal’s role in implementing the Common Core State Standards.

Both the Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) standards in the Common Core State Standards demonstrate a logical progression through the grades so that a fourth grade teacher will understand how the…

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“In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job, could earn an average lifestyle. But, today, average is officially over.”—Tom Friedman

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are about more than the old average. The adoption of these standards means that all students are now on a pathway to college and career-readiness. CCSS represent a real and fundamental shift in instructional intent from high school completion to…

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In a Webinar organized this month by the School Turnaround Learning Community, Lynn Dougherty, Director of Literacy of K-12 in Hillsborough County, FL, described how her district supports all students in literacy, including those significantly below grade level.

Hillsborough’s model of tiered interventions features a high quality district-led core curriculum for all students and interventions for students at risk. To identify students who may struggle in reading and writing,…

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In these difficult financial times, finding low- or no-cost ways of providing quality professional learning experiences for educators remains a challenge for departments of education and the school districts they help support. One solution increasingly embraced is technology-based professional learning. In addition to the cost-saving benefits, online platforms allow for anytime, anywhere professional development, opportunities for educators to network and share ideas beyond their school walls, and perhaps most importantly,…

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Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released its blueprint for reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. The Perkins Act is the principle source of federal funding for secondary and postsecondary career and technical education programs.

In the blueprint, effective, high-quality career and technical education programs (CTE) are defined as being aligned with college- and career-readiness standards as well as the needs of…

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Looking for new high school-related resources?  Here are some pieces that the National High School Center and other organizations have recently released:*

College and Career Development Organizer (National High School Center, April 2012). The College and Career Development Organizer was created to synthesize and organize the field of college and career readiness initiatives. The organizer can be used to map the efforts of state educational agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs)…

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In 2011, the College Board National Office for School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA) conducted a national survey with a representative sample of 1,327 middle school counselors and 3,981 high school counselors to learn how they view their missions and roles and how they spend their days. The survey findings were recently discussed at the NOSCA fifth annual conference, held April 13-14 in Washington, DC.

Survey results showed that eight…

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