The California school that parents want to turn into a charter now has two organizations seeking to make the change. At the end of a process that drew just four applicants, two relatively small California organizations are each making a case that they be allowed to help lead one of the most publicized school turnaround efforts in the nation's…

A growing number of institutions are being more deliberate about bringing in fundraisers who fit the culture of the development department and about assessing skills and providing training that fill specific needs. Development shops are paying more attention to cultivating their staffs, staying attuned to employees' needs and creating career paths…

Colleges and universities have got a big problem: how to bake a wireless network as good as Mom's. The problem is that enterprise wireless networks "tend to be a little more finicky" than the home ones. While the home devices are plug-and-play, enterprise networks force IT departments to manage client issues such as drivers and settings. It's a…

In this article, the author shares her experience attending a panel discussion during a Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario (COEO) conference. It was her research of an integrated curriculum program (ICP) that initially brought the author to COEO and her ongoing research of that program and other programs that, at least in part, brought her…

As a child the author had the ability to roam and adventure in green space. Every day as a child she had the ability to lead herself in the 700 hectares of forest that was her backyard. The ability to explore in nature alone is not a common activity for children today. A telling study from Sheffield, England (Derbyshire, 2007) highlights the way…

Most educators have spent many days and thousands of dollars attending academic conferences around the world, only to find themselves sitting in ballrooms, listening to speakers and watching PowerPoint presentations. In most cases, this conference format represents a profound pedagogical contradiction for outdoor and experiential educators. This…

This account of practice discusses the author's experience in facilitating a small group of managers in health care over lunchtime utilizing an action learning approach. This was part of a larger leadership development initiative which took place in the organization and the intention was to create a more intimate, informal and safe setting whereby…

College instructors are more than teachers; they are also observers, and the observations they make can teach them much about their students--both who they are and what motivates them. As a college instructor and a certified ropes course facilitator, the author has had the opportunity to observe her classes and those of her colleagues at the ropes…

Though many programs for undecided students focus on the "developing purpose" vector, the author argues that putting purpose before competency is putting the cart before the horse. In this article, she shares practical strategies she has used to help her students at the University of Arizona reach competence in understanding the academic world.…

In this article, the author discusses how campaigns soar, in ambitions and scope, as donor requirements grow more exacting. For a glimpse at the direction in which college and university fundraising campaigns are headed, take a look at the University of Colorado. The university system's foundation is conducting its most ambitious campaign, joining…

This article features the Preuss School UCSD which is considered as unique in a number of ways, among them are its unusual name and requirements for admission. The school was named in recognition of a substantial bequest from the Preuss Family Foundation that was earmarked to establish a charter school on the campus of the University of…

When David Coleman, one of the authors of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), spoke to New York educators, he stated that over the last forty years 8th grade reading scores have been flat. Despite doubling expenditures on classroom instruction, there has been little growth. Most educators are aware that what worked for the students of the…

Given the culture of compliance produced at the intersection of standardization, high-stakes testing, and punitive measures for all who deviate from the hyperrationalized frenzy of accountability that currently prevails, how is it that I have the audacity to offer teacher-learners space to exercise their imaginative capacities, to envision and…

In his commentary, from the perspective of a professor who has spent a lifetime in a highly vocational scientific field like accounting and business economics, Giuseppe Galassi puts forth an alternate proposal to the one suggested in Bloom and Webinger's (2011) article. Bloom and Webinger suggest that disciplines, including management, economics,…

Mary Gay Shipley built a charming business in Blytheville, Arkansas. She and her bookstore have a national reputation in the book world. Can that Bookstore in Blytheville leverage its reputation and charm into real profit? (Contains 2 notes.)