One would not expect Niles West High School to be a model of sustainability. Located in Skokie, Illinois, the facility is more than 50 years old and at 612,000 square feet, it stands among the nation's largest high schools. Last winter, Niles West became one of the first five schools in the United States to achieve certification from the U.S.…

Medical emergencies can happen in any school at any time. They can be the result of preexisting health problems, accidents, violence, unintentional actions, natural disasters, and toxins. Premature deaths in schools from sudden cardiac arrest, blunt trauma to the chest, firearm injuries, asthma, head injuries, drug overdose, allergic reactions,…

For many school districts in the United States, making the transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is proving to be a challenge at a time when they are already facing many obstacles, not the least of which is dwindling financial resources. A change of this magnitude cannot be made haphazardly; to be successful in its goal of helping…

Scheduling off-campus extracurricular activities is not the issue, but how to get students there can present a problem. The transportation of students by staff in their private cars for extracurricular activities is common and occurs chiefly as a matter of convenience or cost saving. But it is not without risks. In general, the best solution for…

Many factors distinguish public school district transactions from private business transactions. Like any other business transaction, public school contracts should unambiguously describe the transaction and sufficiently outline the obligations of the parties. However, public school districts may be subject to distinctive laws that effectively…

Technology is a critical component in the success of any high-functioning school district, thus it is important that education leaders should examine it closely. Simply put, the purpose of a technology audit is to assess the effectiveness of the technology for administrative or instructional use. Rogers Public Schools in Rogers, Arkansas, recently…

Preparing for every possible contingency seems daunting, but with teamwork and some help from the government, it's almost do-able. There is a great system out there that will help business professionals and educators develop a strong, effective emergency preparedness plan. If they haven't done a good job of implementing a solid emergency response…

School system leaders never know when disaster may strike. Having a plan in place to protect vital data and systems is crucial. School system leaders need to be actively involved in crisis preparedness, planned response, and recovery to ensure student and staff safety and to make certain that all important operations, services, processes, and…

School business administrators have long recognized the need for a workable data recovery plan regardless of cause. Yet many have not reassessed their current data backup and recovery capabilities, perhaps because they have not experienced a catastrophic failure. There are three reasons school business administrators may not realize or recognize…

The Brazilian government plays a significant role in both public and private education. It plans, establishes, and implements policies and legislates, regulates, finances, and subsidizes teaching and research. At the same time, the federal government in Brazil maintains public schools; authorizes, recognizes, accredits, and supervises courses and…

Competitive bids and the bid-opening process are the cornerstones of public school purchasing. The bid-opening process does not begin on the day of the bid opening. It begins with good planning by the purchasing agent to ensure that the advertised bid complies with the public school contracts law. In New Jersey, that raises the following…

After five years of research, custodial staffing guidelines were developed to determine the proper custodial staffing of office, classroom, and laboratory facilities, including ways to tailor the staffing for specific circumstances. Four figures illustrate the factors involved. (MLF)

Identifies the major activities involved in collective bargaining and defines the differences between collaborative, win/win bargaining and adversarial bargaining. Key elements of collaborative bargaining include trust-building, respect, clear and continuous communications, avoidance of "one upmanship" games, mutual problem-solving…

As the Internet proliferates, it drastically increases an institution's level of data insecurity. Hacker attacks can result in denial of service, data corruption or erasure, and passive theft (via spoofing, splicing, or session stealing). To ensure data security, a firewall (screening software program) and a security policy should be implemented.…

Lists a series of questions involved in the purchasing process to establish the three most important criteria for a purchase: quality, service, and price. (MLF)