In anticipation of the Health Care Reform going into effect, Education News reports that public school districts are already cutting hours to less than 30 hours a week for teachers’ aides, cafeteria workers, substitute teachers, bus drivers, and other personnel. These changes raise a concern for student performance. The decision to limit full-time employees not only affects the people who are losing hours, but also the students who must adjust to varying teaching and authoritarian styles because of the limited hours allotted for positions.

In 2011, the World Wide Web celebrated its 20th anniversary. Seems hard to believe that it’s been around for that long, impacting research and the way we communicate with others, but it has. And, along with all the positives it has gifted us, there are some negatives, including identity theft, misleading information, psychological damages with cyberbullying cases on the rise, and security concerns that range from financial fraud to personal data breaches.

Q: Do you have an outline for Bullying & Misconduct training?

Marketing experts like to say that all good ideas have already been done—being creative is knowing how to add a fresh spin on an old idea. Charles Mingus says, “Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”

Too often, faculty evaluation means a School Head or a Division Head dropping in to observe a teacher at work in the classroom. It’s nothing more than a snapshot in time, kind of like a child taking a high-pressure standardized test. Does it really tell you what that child has learned? Does making a stop in a classroom for 20 minutes really enough? Basing a teacher’s “grade” solely on a classroom visit is truly unproductive and does nothing to enhance that teacher’s performance.

The 17-day government shutdown hit all corners of the nation hard—but another group of our “citizens” were also having a hard time.

Twitter is the place to be—if you know how it works. As in every Web community, there are rules to follow when engaging with members and sharing your interests. Twitter, unlike other online platforms, limits your character count and minimizes your profile exposure. But it’s a great community for educators linking to thousands of great bloggers and resources. In fact, Twitter has more educators than almost any other social media site.

The quality of your faculty is a major component in your school’s appeal to potential enrollees—and is critical for re-recruitment of your current families. How are you highlighting your teachers’ achievements, both inside and outside the walls of your school?

On January 1, 2014, the brunt of changes included in the Affordable Care Act will become effective. These changes will affect both the health insurance offered by your school and the health insurance offered in the individual marketplace for your school’s part-time employees. We’ve been working with client schools over the last several months to prepare for these adjustments, but, if you’re not part of the ISM insurance community, you might find yourself wondering, “What do I need to do to prepare?”

They say life isn’t always a bed of roses. In fact, sometimes it can be downright brutal. But, just because life doesn’t always flow smoothly doesn’t mean our careers can be put on hold—especially when what we do involves the lives of children. Sometimes we need to reach down into our depths, find what strength is left in our reservoir, and push on.