On the grid―Get started using step-by-step instructions and tips on the materials needed for plenty of puzzle fun.Whether you're between school, sports, or relaxing at home, puzzle your way through hours of colorful brain-bending sudoku for kids―all you need are a few markers Rainbowku includes 75 puzzles that increase in difficulty, so you can problem solve at your own pace. These views are his alone.Rainbowku―colorful, fun, and challenging sudoku for kids ages 8 to 12Īre you ready for some screen-free fun that also sharpens your mind? Sudoku is an easy-to-learn but hard-to-master logic puzzle game― Rainbowku puts a whole new twist on the classic brain teaser, turning the average grid into vibrant, visually-stimulating sudoku for kids. Robert Maranto is the 21st Century Chair in Leadership in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, and a former school board member. Leaders like Marcus Foster and Rod Paige proved that successful urban school leadership is possible. Often a single large school building now holds five small schools. As evaluations by Howard Bloom and others show, New York City raised achievement and graduation rates dramatically by dividing big high schools into small schools whose principals know all their kids.

They usually fail for disadvantaged kids, who need a more personal touch. Big high schools offer choices that usually work for advantaged kids who get their mentoring at home. Too often in older grades, each kid has seven teachers, each teacher has 130 kids, and no one feels responsible for anyone.įinally, small down big schools. Slash achievement gaps in elementary school when a kid has one teacher. Do regular Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing to guide individual academic plans for kids to achieve on grade level by fifth grade. Encourage 'looping,' where a teacher has the same kids for two or three years. Educators could do home visits to meet parents at the start of the school year to set expectations, and show they care. Most teachers loved school so much they never left, but many blue-collar folks (including me) hated school, and so do their kids. At the same time, you get what you pay for, so do all in your power to raise teacher pay.Įighth, build relationships in early grades. When I checked some years back, fewer than five of Little Rock's 1,600 teachers were on an improvement plan to get better or get out. Terminating teachers should be unusual, but not impossible, which is how it is when principals lack training and legal help.

Seventh, help principals hold teachers accountable. In the 1990s, my old friend Rod Paige made the Houston Independent School District one of the best big city systems in the country by recruiting great teachers locally and nationally. Talent matters, yet in many systems people get jobs based on who they know, not what they know. Find Little Rock's top teachers, listen to them, and highlight their work. Generally, if people don't think the job can be done, they won't try to do it. As Charles Payne shows in 'So Much Reform, So Little Change,' many educators do not believe 'those kids,' meaning low-income children of color, can learn. She's here to help.įifth, highlight success. Sarah has the best education data around. I will put in a plug for my colleague Sarah McKenzie, who runs the University of Arkansas Office of Education Policy. Data can't make decisions, but must inform decisions. Instead, stay long enough to build credibility.įourth, use data. Knowing this, teachers and principals pretend to support the new boss, while quietly waiting them out. As Rick Hess showed in 'Spinning Wheels: The Politics of Urban School Reform,' in many cities every three years a new superintendent arrives, announces flashy initiatives to pad their resume, and then moves on to the next job before anything changes. Different leaders will usually agree on who to work with, and who to work around. Ask who they could trust, and who was effective. If the only time people see you is when you want something, you are not going to get anything.Īs legendary Oakland school superintendent Marcus Foster wrote a half-century ago in his classic 'Making Schools Work,' in school controversies, no side is all right or all wrong, so make friends with all sides. Spend Sunday mornings in churches and Friday nights in temples and mosques. Build relationships with your principals and as many teachers as possible, but also invest time getting to know the governor, Mayor Scott, and Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key. From decades studying urban public schools, here are my ideas about how Wright can improve those in Little Rock.įirst, get to know folks. New Superintendent Jermall Wright came to Little Rock after successful stints in Mississippi and Birmingham, getting a great reception from Mayor Frank Scott Jr., school board members, and business leaders.

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