Brian M. Stack's School Leadership Blog

It is a familiar story that is plaguing American’s communities, with a familiar headline that appears to repeat itself over and over again in the headlines: Young person dies of apparent drug overdose . The American Society of Addiction Medicine reports that opioids, the class of drugs that include the illicit drug heroin as well as prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and fentanyl, are the root cause for a spike in drug overdose deaths in recent years. Of the more than 47,000 lethal drug overdoses in 2014, more than 29,000 were caused by opioids. The drug Naloxone HCI, more commonly known as NARCAN , is marketed by its manufacturer Adapt Pharma as “the first and only FDA-approved nasal naloxone for emergency treatment of an overdose caused by an opioid.” The drug works to stop the effects of opioid medicines on the body while having no effect on people who are not taking opioids. Since it comes in the form of a nasal spray, it make...

This past May, in a joint letter from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, the Federal government clarified for educators what schools must do to ensure the civil rights of transgendered students. The letter served not to make changes to the law but rather to clarify that the civil rights of transgender students are covered under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 . The letter was accompanied by a report that provided several example policies and emerging practices for supporting transgender students . These example policies addressed student transitions; privacy, confidentiality, and student records; sex-segregated activities and facilities; and additional practices to support transgender students. Of the policy recommendations, none came with more debate from the American public this summer than restroom rules. When it comes to restrooms and locker rooms, according to the letter, “A s...

After many years of experience as a high school principal in a competency-based high school, it is the transcript that generates the highest degree of inquiry from outsiders seeking to understand our system, and for good reason. In both traditional and competency-based models, the high school transcript represents a student’s ultimate cumulative record of learning, a record that must be communicated in a clear and concise manner to both admissions officers at post-secondary institutions as well as potential employers.   Over the years I have encountered several misconceptions and myths about what a transcript for a competency based program should look like. It’s time to dispel these myths and set the record straight. Myth: Reporting measures such as grade point average (GPA) and class rank cannot be computed in a competency based school.  False! These two measures can be included on a competency based transcript. There is often a fear from outsiders and newcomers...