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One of the largest school districts in the country is revolutionizing the way students learn in the classroom by incorporating technology into the lesson plan. A new program in Mobile County, Alabama, called Bring Your Own Device or BYOD, is creating a fun, interactive way of learning in select classrooms across the district. Teachers, as well as students, are embracing the ability to use technology to enhance the learning experience. As the program takes off, the expectation is that it will spread throughout the entire county by the beginning of the next school year.

How it Works

BYOD is a learning program that allows students to bring smartphones, laptops, reading devices or tablets into the classroom every day. The students then use those devices during lesson plans, for everything from researching a specific topic to taking pop quizzes designed by their classroom teacher. Students use the devices they are already familiar with, allowing them to adapt to the new method of teaching much more quickly.

According to , the new program has been implemented in a number of pilot schools throughout Mobile County. The program differs significantly from the technology integration taking place in neighboring Baldwin County, which has purchased a laptop for every student in the district. By allowing students to bring their own devices from home, the school district is able to save a significant amount of money without sacrificing the learning experience of the students.

A recent survey cited

One of the largest school districts in Virginia and across the country is in the construction phase of a new high school that may serve as a prototype for public schools in the future. The all-new Kellam High School design for Virginia Beach City has collaborated with school staff, students and community members. The new building will reflect a whole new approach to the education process through architecture and style elements not seen in many other public schools today. The building will replace the old Kellam High School building, which has become too small for the current student population.

Student Competition Results in Courtyard Design

When the superintendent of Virginia Beach City, James G. Merrill, began the planning phase of the new high school, he recruited help from unexpected places. According to , the superintendent sought input from students and teachers at the current school to determine what they thought would make for a more effective learning environment. Six of the classes at Kellam, including five environmental design classes, created designs for the outer courtyard of the school, which incorporated gardens for the school's science and culinary arts programs.

The competition consisted of 140 students on six different teams, each creating their own drawings of what they thought the courtyard should look like. Inform, an architectural design publication, reports that student plans went well beyond the overall look of the gardens. They also designed irrigation systems, rain-water infiltration systems, and an outdoor café.

One of the largest school districts in the country, Boston Public Schools, is joining the rest of the state of Massachusetts to explore the issue of gender identity. A new law passed by the Massachusetts legislature in 2011 has led schools across the state to reassess their gender identity policies to ensure all students in those schools are treated fairly and equally. However, the new law is not without its share of controversy, as not everyone in the state agrees with some of the recommendations made by state lawmakers.

An Act Relative to Gender IdentityMassachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

The new law, titled, “An Act Relative to Gender Identity,” was passed by Massachusetts lawmakers in November, 2011, and went into effect in July, 2012, according to . The law adds gender identity to the state’s non-discrimination code. The law also defines gender identity as “a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.”

reports on the results of a 2011 survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which found that more than three-fourths of transgender students had been verbally harassed during the previous school year. More than 32 percent had been physically harassed and nearly 17 percent had been physically assaulted. Numbers on the website for the are even higher.

Schools in one of the largest school districts in the country recently celebrated the fruit of their labor - with cash that can be used to further improvements at high achieving schools. The Hawaii State Department of Education distributed $1 million in one-time grant funding to deserving schools that have showed marked improvement and academic progress. The grants were offered under the new Strive HI awards, with money from a “Race to the Top” federal grant received in 2010.

According to a at the Hawaii State Department of Education website, 32 schools received one-time grants of varying amounts. Schools were chosen for the awards based on academic progress over two consecutive years, allowing the hardest working schools to receive additional funding to continue their improvement efforts. Award amounts ranged $12,500 to $100,000 for the highest performing schools throughout the islands.

“We are proud to be able to financially recognize the hard work of the teachers, students and staff of these schools,” Kathryn Matayoshi, superintendent of Hawaii schools, stated in the news release. “The Strive Hi awards reflect that the department is not only focused on intervention in current priority schools, but also encourages other schools across the islands to keep striving high.”

And the Winners Are…

lists the recipients of the $100,000 grants, which include:

• Hilo Intermediate School
• King Intermediate School
• Moanalua Middle School
• Halau Ku Mana Public Charter School (Oahu)

All of these

Denver Public Schools Buck Trend, Plug School-to-Prison Pipeline

At a time when many public schools across the country are working to add a police presence to the school environment, Denver Public Schools is seeking to do the opposite. As one of the largest school districts in the country, in a state that has seen more than its share of violence, this system is bucking the trend in an effort to plug the school-to-prison pipeline. With the help of a local activist group, the school district is changing its policies on school discipline and the involvement of the criminal justice system within the school system.

New Policy, New Discipline Procedures

reports that Denver Public Schools recently signed an agreement with the local police department to change the way discipline is handled within the schools in the 84,000-student district. At a time when many school districts across the country are adding police in response to the recent Newtown tragedy, DPS is stepping back its police influence in its schools. The agreement states that school resource officers (Denver police officers working in the schools) must make a distinction between crimes committed in schools and incidents that can be handled by traditional means of school discipline.

In addition to this new policy, school resource officers must undergo annual training to help them stay up to date on these issues. School administrators will also be required to participate in the training, to ensure everyone involved in