The Lice Problem: I'm scratching my head on this one

How have some of you educated your parents and staff about the realities of lice. We currently have approx 6-8 kids who have or have been treated for lice. I'm receiving phone calls from parents, the newspaper, and Dr.'s offices concerning the "outbreak" in my building. It's becoming very frustrating. We have done everything that we can do to control the problem, trash bags, sitting alone on the bus, checking kids before they get to class upon returning, checking the whole class, sending letters home to the class. What have you done in the past to educate your parents without causing a concern. Let me know.

The Great Testing Debate

As testing coordinator for the district this is the time of the year when I start to have a lot of extra work thrown at me. Alternate Assessments, Achievement test orders, Bilingual tests, Otela tests, and now Value Added Training. It really does seem overwhelming at times. What are your thoughts about testing and how it now drives so much of what we do? Have you seen it affect your students? How do you as a principal cope and help your students prepare. I know that much of what we do is based on motivation and a positive learning experience. I'd love to hear some opinions.