While foreign language instruction has been around for decades as part of public school curriculums, it has predominantly been taught at the secondary school levels. According toEducation Week, 91 percent of public schools offer foreign language instruction at the high school level, with only about 58 percent of middle schools and 25 percent of elementary schools offering foreign language instruction. But recently, more public schools have been striving to offer foreign language instructio…

New test score findings have indicated that the United States does not lag as far behind in math, science, and reading as earlier reports had suggested. According to Education Week, the United States scored “above average” in comparison to the 63 countries tested in fourth- and eighth-grade science, mathematics and reading. These scores contrasted significantly with the PISA, or Program for …

This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on December 15, 2012 9:15 A.M.

On Friday, every educator and administrator who is fortunate enough to work with students, regardless of whether they are in a primary or secondary school, had a piece of themselves taken away.

Every day in an elementary school is a good day. However, the month of December in an elementary school is filled with magic and excitement.

In their spare time students d…

The National Center on Time and Learning and the Ford Foundation recently announced their plans to help high-needs schools catch up on standardized test scores, as well as reap the advantages of electives and enrichment activities rarely offered to their students. The idea? With the aid of grant money, schools will lengthen the school day and year by approximately 300 hours. The anticipated start for the plan is the 2013-14 school year.

Our friends at Operation: Social Santa have made tremendous strides in ensuring that every child has a joyful holiday season. Since their inception in 2010, they have raised over 7,000 toys, operating in 38 cities and organizing far-reaching social media campaigns to rouse communities to action.

Operation: Social Santa is one of many nationwide holiday drives, and each plays an important role in meeting the needs of underprivileged families across America. People choose to give to different places for different reasons: some chose based on location, others chose because an organization works for a cause that is …

This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on December 10, 2012 3:09 P.M.

As an elementary school teacher I was required to provide homework to students every night except for Fridays. During school vacations we were required, yes...required, to provide packets of math and ELA to students. Every vacation I gave my first graders packets of dittos that they had to complete before they returned. I was young, inexperienced and untenured. I cringe at the fact that I provided that experience to students at such a young age.

There were times when homework took longer than 20 minutes.

Yes, I asked all the right questions.