Category Archives: School district

Parents and standards-based grading

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Abner Oakes

Our district is rolling out standards-based grading this school year, moving away from the traditional report card. As this piece in the Washington Post stated: “In the old system, students received a single letter grade in a subject area, such … Continue reading →

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States and Districts Use Online Video for the Common Core

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Abner Oakes

My latest article for ASCD on the Common Core State Standards. Go here to sign up for ASCD’s Common Core-focused newsletter. Each day, it seems, new products and services come to market that aim to help teachers with the Common … Continue reading →

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Me and My MOOC

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Abner Oakes

I’m about to finish a MOOC. Yup, a MOOC – a Massive Open Online Course, this one run by Stanford’s Venture Lab. The course is called Designing a New Learning Environment, and while I was interested in the topic, I … Continue reading →

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Connecting at school: The importance of a caring adult

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Abner Oakes

As readers of this blog know, our son has moved from an intimate elementary school setting to a large middle school, and his move – and what I’ve heard from a few friends about their own kids’ experiences at other … Continue reading →

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Rural school profile: Magazine School District in Magazine, Arkansas

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Abner Oakes

During the course of my career, I’ve worked a great deal in very rural school districts, and one that I visited quite a bit over several years of work is Magazine School District in Magazine, Arkansas. A town of about … Continue reading →

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Starting Early in West Virginia: The Common Core and Early Childhood Education

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Abner Oakes

My latest article for ASCD on the Common Core, which you can also see here. And sign up for this particular ASCD newsletter here. In West Virginia, there has been a commitment to early childhood education for many years, with … Continue reading →

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