Many people think that the first months of a new school year are bright with hope and the possibility of a fresh start. Yet any seasoned teacher knows the hurdles they must overcome before pupils are ready to tackle new material. Summer learning loss, also known as "the summer slide", is the decrease of academic skills and knowledge over the course of summer break. Starting as early as first grade, many students lose as ...

An essential tenet following a school crisis is to debrief, or hotwash in emergency management parlance. As I wrap up the #SchoolSafetySeries blogs, my own hotwash of the topics we covered this year revealed these crisis communications and school safety principles....