In the 1970’s, my father started the first Christmas tree farm in South Dakota. A slotted hole was dug using a long steel spade shovel...

Federal and State money flows into the Title 1 public schools. The river of money flows regardless of academic results each school year,...

My wife and I watched the Tom Hanks’ movie, Apollo 13 over the Holiday break. The movie has many memorable scenes of heroism and...

Educators test students throughout the school year. Students are frequently assessed via both formative and summative assessments ranging...

I am of the belief that Title 1 academic education reformation involving high percentages of students classified as economically...

In late April of 2014, I was at central office for a meeting when I ran into another Title 1 elementary principal. The STAAR (State of...

‘Stop-Gap Resources’ are a moniker that I believe accurately describes their function when used in Title 1 schools or with students...

Mark Twain once said, “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” This...

A paramount issue in any professional field is identifying key factors that highly influence performance outcomes. In public education,...

Many Title 1 elementary schools yield chronic academic performance year after year, and if the elementary schools struggle – the feeder...

Do kids attending Title 1 schools have the same educational opportunities as their more affluent peers? No. Of course not. But, what are...

Most elementary school's State accountability performance ranking continue to demonstrate stagnant academic performance - school year...

Beethoven was deaf. But, he was not born deaf – which is a remarkably relevant fact. It is historically estimated he went deaf in his...

After a night out at a local comedy venue with friends, we sat down a restaurant for a late night breakfast and conversation. Of course,...

The achievement gap… the achievement gap… the achievement gap… AND, the achievement gap… The achievement gap cliché is a seemingly never...

During my seven year career designing multi-million dollar state and federal highway bridges in Texas, I was the lead registered...

Nope. You are wrong. This is not a religious essay – at least not in the traditional sense of Heaven. Four decades ago, when my brother...

There are many, many moving parts on an elementary campus. A typical elementary campus houses as many as seven grade levels ranging from...