Jim McLaughlin's Blog

Timeless Stories for My Brain and Yours

Blog

  • Under Review: Teacher Evaluation Strategies

    Just saw this article on EdWeek: New Teacher-Evaluation Systems Face Obstacles While I am employed in the large-scale manufacturing business where production is relatively easy to measure and employee performance can be tied to some fairly clear metrics, I can fully appreciate that children are not widgets, even big ones, and the skills to create Read more

  • The Original PA School Board Blogger

    It’s been a busy week, and there is much to share, but I cannot go further without correcting an omission — that of highlighting a key individual in my progress of becoming an effective board blogger. It is difficult to overstate the impact of a pioneer. Turning on a light in a dark room brings Read more

  • Fellow Director Blog Found

    It is darn difficult to find school board members publishing online, so when I find one, I want to share the news. Pride and Promise, a blog by Northwestern Lehigh School District Director, Paul C. Fisher, Jr., gets high marks from me on looks and already he’s publishing some great information for the public.  So Read more

  • Are You Using a safe Doman Name Service?

    Our District has recommended OpenDNS as a tool for parents (or anyone) to use in protecting users of the Internet in their homes from unsafe and inappropriate materials.  OpenDNS recently posted Some thoughts on Google DNS in response to the mighty company’s announcement on Wednesday that they were establishing their own DNS.  If you support Read more

  • Some Topics I’m Researching

    Here are some topics that have my eye on right now: The Common Core State Standards Initiative, discussed in this recent article (just one example I’ve seen). Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) — The Board received an excellent presentation by Jeff Clay, Executive Director of PSERS, on December 1st. Cyber Charter Schools — Read more

  • School taxes in Pennsylvania may soar to pay for pension promises – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

    As I’ve known, but am now much more sensitive to, budget planning is not always within the control of local school boards. This article describes just one of the many pressures on districts that communities need to be aware of. School taxes in Pennsylvania may soar to pay for pension promises – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review As Read more