NEW!
12/21/2007
TO
BE A GOOD TEACHER, LEARN TO BE A GOOD MOTIVATOR
The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) has released
a new research brief that focuses on the complex nature of learning. The
paper asserts that learning as a process must be redefined and that today’s
educational practices require a superior understanding of the role motivation
plays in learning. Broadly, the paper addresses the challenges educators
face when working with students that are disinterested, reluctant or particularly
resistant to certain tasks. ACEI concludes that learning relies on a range
of key motivational strategies, which include student- and task-specific
rewards. In addition to focusing on the importance of motivation in promoting
learning, the brief provides research-based recommendations to help teachers
improve their ability to reach students and help them learn.
http://www.acei.org/motivPosPaper.pdf
|
| NEW!
12/17/2007
Bedtime
Story Tradition Is Fading from American Homes
A new study suggests that the bedtime story — and the ritual of
parents reading to their children on a daily basis — may be losing
its hold on American family life. According to the study, entitled "Reading
Across the Nation," researchers found that just under half of the
parents surveyed said that they or other family members read every day
to their children. Child-development specialists have also voiced their
concern that reduced rates of shared reading time can hurt family cohesion,
stymie creative development in younger children, and drag down academic
achievement. |
NEW!
12/14/2007
FREE TEACHING
RESOURCE PROVIDES LINKS TO KEY TEACHING AIDS
Recently the U.S. Department of Education launched a new and improved
version of the much acclaimed web site, Federal Resources for Educational
Excellence (FREE). The new site makes it easier for users to find teaching
and learning resources by offering, for the first time, a list of 500
educational topics and a redesigned home page. FREE provides educators
with lesson plans, primary documents, science visualizations, math challenges,
literary works, paintings, music manuscripts and many other vital classroom
resources. The tool also combines important educational elements culled
from the Library of Congress, Smithsonian, National Science Foundation,
NASA, National Archives and other federal agencies. By integrating these
important agencies and resources, FREE is able to provide comprehensive
lesson plans. For example, one such plan helps teachers integrate 100
of the most important documents in U.S. history into class by providing
a timeline covering the milestone documents along with in-depth descriptions.
http://www.free.ed.gov/
|
NEW!
12/14/2007
ECS UNVEILS
WHOLE HOST OF PUBLICATIONS AND INFORMATION
The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has released three briefing
memos in the hopes of setting the 2008 education agenda. In addition,
ECS has created interconnected web sites that provide a comprehensive
picture of various education issues (first link), including news about
what states are doing, the best publications available on particular topics
and a list of other web sites with valuable information. The briefing
memo focused on aligning early learning, K-12 and postsecondary systems
(second link) includes information on the problems with implementing a
P-20 system, but also potential solutions and ways readers can have a
positive impact. Another briefing memo (third link) details how best to
benchmark education to international standards, while at the same time
protecting a local community’s traditional responsibility in creating
a comprehensive education. The prolific ECS hasn’t stopped there,
as a third brief (fourth link) discusses the “hot issue” of
the role education plays in economic and workforce development.
http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/issuesEL.asp
http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/docs/Briefingmemo1.pdf
http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/docs/Briefingmemo2.pdf
http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/docs/Briefingmemo3.pdf
|
| NEW!
12/14/2007
BUILD
A BETTER TEACHER BY CHANGING THE WAY THEY ARE TAUGHT
At the heart of teacher
education reform is a move toward innovative instruction that includes
extensive field experience. Some new programs go so far as to transport
the actual learning environment from the university to the K-12 school
through residency programs supported by school districts and foundations.
This tends to be a more extreme model, as another new initiative, the
professional development school, paves the way between this approach and
the old failing approach. This model fosters partnerships between teacher-preparation
programs and K-12 schools to provide settings for student teaching, faculty
development and field-based research.
Read
More
|
NEW!
12/14/2007
Head
Start Extended Five Years
The
Honolulu Advertiser
President Bush yesterday signed into law a five-year renewal of Head Start.
The bill raises the eligibility ceiling from 100 percent of the poverty
level for a family of four to 130 percent, while giving priority to the
neediest children. It also sets a deadline of 2013 for half of all Head
Start classroom teachers to have at least a bachelor's degree in early-childhood
education, and provides for the creation of 200 "models of excellence"
Head Start centers around the country. |
NEW!
12/13/2007
"Dropout-Prevention
Program Sees to the Basics of Life"
Communities in Schools, a nonprofit organization, has gained a national
reputation for reducing dropout rates. The organization has nearly 200
affiliates in 27 states, reaching more than a million students in 3,400
schools. The organization confronts the dropout issue at its main source:
impoverished families who need jobs, health care, housing, food, reading
tutors and often simply a friendly ear. It sounds simple and obvious,
but in many ways it is an innovation.
|
NEW!
12/10/2007
"'Growth'
Pilot Now Open to All States"
All states that meet federal criteria will now be allowed to take part
in the Department of Education's experiment with "growth models"
under No Child Left Behind. After originally capping participation at
10 states, and approving eight, department officials opened eligibility
for the growth-model pilot project to all qualified states. Officials
say that the first states to use those models have shown it can be done
without compromising NCLB goals. |
| NEW!
12/7/2007
FEED YOUR
BRAIN AND WHILE YOU DO IT THE WORLD’S STARVING POPULATION
John Breen originally designed an online vocabulary test for his son to
use in preparing for the SAT, reports Caitlin Carpenter in the Christian
Science Monitor. Now, about 500,000 people visit the site, http://www.freerice.com/,
daily to take the vocabulary quizzes, but also to help combat world hunger.
Every time a player gets a correct answer, 20 grains of rice are donated
to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). People from across the
globe have written to Breen to express their appreciation for the game,
with one child writing, "I really enjoyed playing this game in my
English class. My teacher organized a spelling bee using it." Since
October, four billion grains of rice have been "won," which
is just enough to feed 20,000 people for one day. Breen, who finances
everything through advertising revenue, has already sent $113,000 to the
WFP and will send increments of $10,000 to $15,000, as the advertising
dollars roll in. In addition, he donates his time and pays the costs of
leasing the site’s servers himself. So, the site obviously helps
fight hunger across the globe. But what did it do for his son’s
SAT score?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1203/p13s02-lign.html
|
| NEW!
12/6/2007
Teacher
Talk: What To Do About Reading?
Members of the Teacher Leaders Network discuss concerns about students'
reading habits and debate new literacy instructional ideas. |
| NEW!
12/3/2007
"Program
Takes Aim at Teacher Shortage"
Next year, Kansas schools will have openings for more than 400 math and
science teachers. Many of these jobs could go to graduates of universities
overseas or inadequately qualified teachers. But a new program hopes to
chip away at the state's educator shortage and improve teaching quality.
The program gives students the opportunity to earn a secondary school
teacher certification without going through the school of education.
|
NEW!
11/29/2007
X,
Y AND Z: THE STEPS THAT HELP STRUGGLING MATH STUDENTS ACHIEVE
Marilyn Burns was asked by Paul’s math teacher to work with him
because he struggled with multiplication and typically worked slower than
his peers. Burns, the founder of Math Solutions Professional Development,
began by speaking with Paul and found that he could multiply correctly
6 x 8 but couldn't do the same for 6 x 9. He knew the right answer was
48 because "goin’ fishing, got no bait, 6 x 8 is 48" but
couldn't figure out 6 x 9 because "[he] didn't learn it yet."
This exchange reminded Burns of key issues intrinsically tied to teaching
math, which include the need to help students make connections among mathematical
ideas, to build student’s new understanding on the foundation of
previous learning and to remember that correct answers, without accompanying
explanations of how they were arrived at, are not sufficient for judging
understanding. Through her work, Burns discovered several essential strategies
necessary to help struggling math learners succeed, beginning by identifying
the concepts and skills that students should learn and discarding the
extraneous. At the same time, teachers need to build in a routine of support
to reinforce concepts and skills before students are expected to perform
independent work. In addition, when working with struggling kids, teachers
need to help them build upon what they already know, which makes explicit
connections between knowledge.
Read
More |
NEW!
11/21/2007
"Tutors
for Toddlers"
One of the fastest-growing markets for after-school tutors is preschoolers
and kindergartners, whose parents are hoping that if their kids learn
to read before first grade, it will ultimately help them get into college
and get good jobs. Experts caution that findings from certain studies
should not be taken as an endorsement of academic drills for preschoolers.
They warn that parents are expecting too much too soon and that intensive
programs could lead young children to become more anxious and less creative.
|
NEW!
11/19/2007
"Council
Could Streamline Kids' Education"
State education leaders endorsed creation of a group to align all Kansas
education levels -- from preschool through post-secondary and even career
training beyond that. Governor Kathleen Sebelius had asked officials last
year to look into the possibility of setting up such a council. The council
would work to ensure that all facets of education are part of a coordinated
system.
|
NEW!
11/19/2007
The
Future of Reading
This week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is releasing the Kindle, an electronic
device that he hopes will leapfrog over previous attempts at e-readers
and become the turning point in a transformation toward Book 2.0. That's
shorthand for a revolution (already in progress) that will change the
way readers read, writers write and publishers publish. |
| NEW!
11/8/2007
ZOOM
ALONG ‘ROUTE 21’ FOR TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Everyone has grown accustomed to business leaders and other stakeholders
clamoring for increased attention paid to 21st century skills (global
literacy, problem solving, innovation and creativity), as they have become
stock skills in an increasingly interconnected global workforce. The Partnership
for 21st Century Skills has tried to satiate these calls by launching
"Route 21," the first ever online conglomeration of 21st century
skills-related tools and resources. The website provides information on
standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction and opportunities for
professional development. Route 21 also allows users to mark, organize,
collect and share content based on their personal/professional needs.
The site is intended to be a living entity by being continuously updated
and providing an online forum where users can share their experiences
on implementing 21st century skills. It’s not quite the Jetsons
or hover cars, but it does serve as a great tool for educators. |
| NEW!
11/8/2007
How
NAEP Works
A new
guide attempts to unravel the complexities of the National Assessment
of Educational Progress. |
NEW!
11/7/2007
español
For the Parents
of Your Students
Is your child doing well in school? Is he or she having trouble learning,
behaving, or studying? Is there a problem with another student, teacher,
or administrator? How
to Let the School Know about Your Concerns outlines steps
parents can take if they have a concern about their child's progress in
school. This article is also available in Spanish.
|
NEW!
11/7/2007
Using
Informal Assessments for English Language Learners describes
how teachers can use informal assessments (also called authentic or alternative
assessments) to track the ongoing progress of their students regularly
and often. Ongoing assessments provide continual snapshots of where students
are throughout the school year and allow teachers to target students'
specific problem areas, adapt instruction, and intervene earlier rather
than later. |
NEW!
11/7/2007
A New Source
for Reading Lessons
Educators across the country are experimenting with Free-Reading.net,
a reading instruction program that allows teachers to download, copy and
share lessons with colleagues. As they explore the website, they are wondering
if it offers a glimpse of the future — and the end of heavy, costly
textbooks as we know them. |
NEW!
11/7/2007
WETA Learning
Media Launches New Service for Adolescent Readers
AdLit.org, a new website that targets
educators and parents of adolescent readers, launches this month. Building
on the success of sister sites ReadingRockets.org, ColorinColorado.org
and LDOnLine.org, the new service focuses on helping students from fourth
through 12th grades to read and write better. The new site offers research-based
articles, instructional material for classroom teachers, tips for parents,
book recommendations, exclusive interviews with top authors, and a free
monthly e-newsletter.
|
NEW!
11/6/2007
"Grading
the AP Curriculum"
The College Board announced the results of its audit of Advanced Placement
courses, saying that most AP courses meet college-level standards, and
that the review process had helped thousands of others reach appropriate
standards. At the same time, the process identified thousands of courses
that didn’t earn the right to keep identifying themselves as part
of the AP program. |
NEW!
11/6/2007
INSIDE
HIGHER ED
"Involved
Parents, Satisfied Students"
Students who frequently contact their parents -- and whose parents frequently
contact college officials on their behalf -- are more satisfied with their
college experience and report higher levels of engagement than do their
counterparts, according to the National Survey of Student Engagement.
But students with the hyper-involved parents had significantly lower grades
than others, the survey noted. |
NEW!
11/5/2007
"Autism
Epidemic May Be All in the Label"
As many as one in 150 children have some form of autism. The American
Academy of Pediatrics has stressed the importance of screening every kid
-- twice -- for autism by age 2. But many experts believe these unsociable
behaviors were just about as common 30 or 40 years ago. The recent explosion
of cases appears to be mostly caused by a surge in special education services
for autistic children, and by a corresponding shift in what doctors call
autism.
|
NEW!
11/2/2007
AS
MORE SCHOOLS FAIL, MORE STUDENTS SPURN SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICES
Supplemental educational services (SES), as part of the No Child Left
Behind Act, were supposed to boost student achievement by expanding the
opportunities available to underserved populations and provide incentives
for failing schools to improve instruction. The crux of supplemental services
is the notion that the private sector can provide superior programs than
those offered in public schools, making SES similar to vouchers or charter
schools in that school reform is tied to free market competition and consequently
more stringent accountability. However, the services have largely been
ignored and underutilized. Recent research from the Civil Rights Project
at the University of California at Los Angeles suggests that the demand
for supplemental services has either declined or leveled off during the
last five years. One potential reason for the lack of interest is that
there has been little demonstrable evidence that SES positively affects
student achievement. In fact, there is much belief that the program, as
it is currently constructed, does not result in performance gains. |
NEW!
11/2/2007
EXIT
EXAMS, INCREASINGLY QUESTIONED, REVEAL EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES
As states grapple with the "simple" requirement of asking graduating
seniors to pass exit exams in core subjects, the tests are proving increasingly
controversial, reports Greg Toppo in USA Today. A basic question has resulted
as to whether a student should receive a diploma if, in 13 years, that
student has not learned basic math, English, history and science. Some
students and families have sued to obtain diplomas. They may have been
better off suing the education system for leaving children without basic
core subject knowledge. At the very least, exit exams have created a culture
of higher expectations.
Read
More... |
NEW!
11/2/2007
THE
WAR ON POVERTY IS NOT OVER: IN ONE IN FIVE STATES, MORE THAN HALF OF STUDENTS
LIVE IN POVERTY
For the first time in more than 40 years, the majority of children in
public schools in the South are poor, according to results from a Southern
Education Foundation report. Typically, low-income students begin school
at a disadvantage for being the least prepared. The increase in population
has amplified the need to find the best ways to educate underprivileged
kids, reports Halimah Abdullah in the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer.
School districts like the one in Memphis, Tenn., where 80 percent of students
come from low-income homes, have adopted models that specifically address
children living in poverty, and the Miami-Dade district has strengthened
efforts to improve all students’ math and reading scores and curb
dropout rates. Still, it cannot all be laid at education systems’
feet. It is up to a nation, which champions equality for all, to ensure
that no child is forced to be at the back of the pack because of their
parents’ economic status. Unfortunately, this issue might not be
isolated to Southern states, as public schools in the West may face similar
problems in the coming years. |
NEW!
11/1/2007
Top
10 Questions to Ask Elected Officials
(about supporting quality public education)
Elected officials
are responsible for many important decisions that impact public education,
including decisions about funding and accountability.
Use these top 10 questions
to help you learn where your elected officials stand on critical issues
that impact all public schools.
|
NEW!
10/31/2007
"Guides
on Sharing Information Released"
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings released what she called user-friendly"
guidelines to help educators and parents interpret federal privacy laws
in an initiative prompted by the mass shooting at Virginia Tech. The Education
Department released three brochures on the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act, or FERPA: one for K-12 educators, one for colleges and one
for parents.
|
NEW!
10/30/2007
"1
in 10 Schools Are 'Dropout Factories'"
"Dropout Factory," a high school where no more than 60% of the
students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year, applies to
more than one in 10 high schools across America -- about 1,700 regular
or vocational high schools. That's 12% of all such schools, according
to an Associated Press analysis. While some of the missing students transferred,
most dropped out. The highest concentration of dropout factories is in
large cities or high-poverty rural areas in the South and Southwest.
|
NEW!
10/30/2007
New
Resource on English Language Learning Launched
In 2006, the International Reading Association, the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development, the Center for Applied Linguistics,
the National Association of Bilingual Education, the National Institute
for Literacy, the Office of English Language Acquisition, and Teachers
of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. embarked on a collaborative
effort to address complex questions on helping language-minority students
improve their literacy in English. One result of the collaboration is
the new Tapestry for Teachers of English Language Learners. The goal is
to present the research on second-language literacy acquisition and effective
instructional methods. |
NEW!
10/26/2007
"CDC
Issues Guidance on Staph Infections"
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided schools and
parents with a concise summary of guidelines on how to prevent the spread
of drug-resistant staph infections -- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus, or MRSA -- that have caused concern nationwide. Several states
have reported infections and deaths among minors. |
NEW!
10/25/2007
WHAT
WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T FOR EARLY CHILD INTERVENTIONS
The U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse recently reviewed
17 early childhood interventions (curricula and practices) aimed at children
three to five years old in center-based settings. Each review covered
six domains, including oral language, print knowledge, phonological processing,
early reading/writing, cognition and math. The Clearinghouse found that,
when looking at oral language, only one program demonstrated strong evidence
of a positive effect with no overriding contrary evidence, while one other
program had potentially positive effects. For phonological processing,
three programs were found to have strong evidence of positive effects,
while an additional four programs showed potentially positive effects.
The Clearinghouse does caution that intervention reports provide just
one component in the decision-making process, and thusly should not be
used as the sole source of information when making educational plans. |
| NEW!
10/25/2007
RESILIENCY
STRATEGIES CAN CHANGE THE CULTURE OF DROPOUT FACTORIES
Every nine seconds, another student drops out of school in America. The
most recent national statistics peg the national high school graduation
rate at only 69.9 percent. These sobering statistics have astonishing
implications for our economy and our ability to compete globally, not
to mention the daily lives of those dropouts and their communities. According
to a new report, authored by Kelly Hupfeld, a research associate at the
Center for Education Policy Analysis at the School of Public Affairs at
the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, research
shows that decreasing the dropout rate can only happen on a student-by-student
basis. |
NEW!
10/25/2007
"More
Funds Sought for Teachers, All-day K"
A school finance panel plans to recommend increases for full-day kindergarten
and teacher salaries in Kansas. The package proposed by the 2010 Commission
would cost nearly $49 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The state
board of education also has endorsed more funds for full-day kindergarten
and teacher salaries. |
NEW!
10/24/2007
Spotlight
on Effective Reading Instruction
For many students,
young and old, reading is a mysterious process. What do effective readers
do? What do struggling readers need to learn?
Drawing on the best
available research, TLN puts the basics of effective reading instruction
for adults and children at your fingertips. |
NEW!
10/24/2007
"Ed.
Dept. Requires Changes in Race, Ethnicity Reporting"
The U.S. Department of Education has pushed back implementation of controversial
new requirements for classifying students by race and ethnicity, but is
holding firm to changes requiring that institutions report some students
as being members of more than one race. Schools must update their method
of student-data reporting to the education department no later than 2010-11.
|
NEW!
10/23/2007
Reading
Aid Seen to Lag in ELL Focus
Educators and experts across the country who work with English language
learners are moving toward a consensus that the federal Reading First
program needs to be refined to become more effective for children acquiring
English. Administrators in several big-city districts with large numbers
of such students are stepping up their training of teachers on how best
to teach second-language learners to read under the No Child Left Behind
Act's flagship reading program, which serves grades K-3. |
NEW!
10/23/2007
"College
Costs Outpace Inflation Rate"
Tuition and fees at public and private universities have risen this year
at more than double the rate of inflation, with prices increasing faster
at public institutions, the College Board reported. The increases continue
to drive up the amount that students and families borrow, with the fastest
growth in private loans. Tuition and fees rose 6.6% from last year at
public colleges, 6.3% at private colleges and 4.2% at public two-year
institutions.
|
NEW!
10/23/2007
Do
Title I School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services Affect Student
Achievement?
This RAND research brief summarizes the results of a research study on
how school choice and supplemental education services (SES)--core ingredients
of NCLB’s parent involvement provisions--impact student achievement.
The brief concludes that SES positively affects student achievement, that
school choice has no effect on student achievement, and that differences
exist among those who use various services. |
| NEW!
10/18/2007
'Reading
First' Panel Awaits Studies
Is Reading First working? With the 6th anniversary of the federal program
approaching, advocates claim it is and critics say it isn't, while others
contend there isn't enough information to know. A more definitive answer
may be available when a handful of studies that will attempt to gauge
the impact are released in the coming months and years. |
NEW!
10/18/2007
NINE
WAYS TO HELP CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES ACHIEVE
For kids with learning disabilities, homework can be exceptionally trying.
Homework also has a dramatic effect on parents who watch their children
struggle, without knowing how to remedy the situation. The guide "9
Ways to Have Success at School" provides tips for parents to help
them steer their children through a successful school year. Among the
recommendations are starting a homework group -- having one or two classmates
over so kids can work side by side offers dual benefits: a parent can
see other children's homework habits, and the child has the built-in incentive
of getting to play after homework is completed. Another suggestion is
to identify a dedicated homework location somewhere in the house -- but
not necessarily in the child's room. In addition it might be advantageous
to reward even small homework accomplishments, with things like a cookie,
a grape or a gold star. Parents may be rewarding children with small trifles
in the short-term, but by bolstering their education, they are providing
a life-long reward.
http://www.additudemag.com/RCLP/sub/2728.html |
NEW!
10/16/2007
Identify
Dyslexic Schoolkids Early
Reading is perhaps the most crucial skill taught in our public schools,
because kids who lack grade-level literacy can't help but fall behind
in class and in life. And the costs of that failure plague society for
years to come. That's why Kansas schools must do much more to identify
kids with dyslexia and get them the help they need to read with confidence.
Currently, Kansas is among a handful of states that don't target dyslexia
as an educational problem. |
NEW!
10/10/2007
"Bush
Pushes Congress on 'No Child' Law"
President Bush said that he's open to new ideas for changing No Child
Left Behind but will not accept watered-down standards or rollbacks in
accountability. The law faces a tough renewal fight in Congress. Bush
listed several ways for enhancing the law: give local leaders more flexibility
and resources, offer other educational options to children in low-performing
schools and reward good teachers who improve student achievement in low-income
schools.
|
| NEW!
10/9/2007
Kansas Reads
to Preschooler's Initiative, November 11-17!
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/kcfb/preschool.htm |
NEW!
10/5/2007
STATE
READING TESTS DEEMED EASIER
State designed math tests that students must take to satisfy No Child
Left Behind requirements appear harder than their reading counterparts,
reports Nancy Zuckerbrod of the Associated Press. The study, released
by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, comes about a week after the National
Assessment of Educational Progress, the gold standard in measuring student
performance, found that students were improving their math skills at a
better rate than reading skills. The NAEP results are congruous with Fordham’s
findings, because if math is tested with greater rigor, it would follow
that students’ math skills would improve at a greater rate as well.
The results also seem to indicate a general problem with the No Child
Left Behind Act, in that there is an inherent difficulty in imposing a
"national standard" when every state retains its own autonomy
by creating and managing the test and setting cut scores without oversight.
As re-authorization "nears," this information might be used
to justify modifications to the law that could include adding incentives
to encourage states to raise their standards.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory-id=3686914 |
NEW!
9/27/2007
LANGUAGE-LEARNING
SURPRISE -- IMMERSION MAY PAY OFF FOR KIDS ACQUIRING ENGLISH
According to recent analyses conducted by the Piton Foundation and the
University of Colorado, students learning English make dramatically greater
gains in wealthier schools than in poorer ones, reports Nancy Mitchell
in the Rocky Mountain News (Denver). The study found that low-income English
learners made virtually no progress in schools where more than 60 percent
of the students come from low-income families, while in the wealthiest
schools, English learners almost caught up with English speakers in the
poorest schools. These findings were expected, although the research showed
that the major difference between poor and wealthy schools is that the
former instructs students in their native language, generally Spanish,
while the latter requires students to be immersed in English. This finding
seems to raise questions about the use of Spanish in classrooms.
Read
More |
NEW!
9/26/2007
"National
Report Card Shows Big Gains in Math"
American students are making strides in math, and slower but still significant
gains in reading, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) results. Only 32% of 8th graders and 39% of 4th graders were rated
proficient in math, but those figures also were record highs. In reading,
4th graders scored higher than ever in reading, but 8th-grade reading
scores showed only a slight increase over the last test in 2005.
View
the Nation's Report Card
The latest findings
from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),
also known as The Nation's Report Card, were released on September 25th.
Attached, please find
three fact sheets outlining key findings from the 2007 mathematics and
reading assessments. The first fact sheet highlights progress nationwide.
The second and third highlight specific progress by African-American and
Hispanic students, respectively.
State-by-state data
are now available at http://nationsreportcard.gov
|
NEW!
9/19/2007
"Kansas
Board of Regents to seek state funding for math, science academy"
The Kansas Board of Regents agreed to seek state funding for a math and
science academy to encourage high school students to pursue careers in
those fields. The academy would bring high school juniors and seniors
to live and study for two years on a college campus and then award them
a high school diploma and a college associate's degree. Governor Kathleen
Sebelius already signed a law to create a Kansas Academy of Math and Science. |
NEW!
9/19/2007
"Sebelius
Says Early Education a Top Priority"
Governor Kathleen Sebelius said getting more funding for pre-kindergarten
learning is one of her top priorities for the next Kansas legislative
session. The governor plans to construct a multiyear strategy to increase
programs for 3- and 4-year-olds that would use state dollars to leverage
commitments from businesses and philanthropic leaders. During the last
session, Sebelius and lawmakers approved $3 million for a pilot pre-kindergarten
program in under-served and rural areas, and a $1.6 million increase to
Head Start. |
NEW!
9/11/2007
Experts
Eye Solutions to ‘4th Grade Slump’
For the first few
years of school, struggling readers can usually get by. The material is
simple, the lessons are repeated often, and intensive remedial help is
common.
But for some of those
pupils, reading ability starts a dramatic downhill slide right around
4th grade. While good readers are sponges for new words and grammar rules,
slower readers are left further and further behind. Some never catch up.
Read
More
|
NEW!
9/11/2007
Eighty-nine
Percent of Schools Make AYP in 2007
In the 2006 –
07 testing cycle, 89% of the state’s public schools made adequate
yearly progress (AYP), even though the targets for mathematics and reading
have been steadily increasing since 2002. This compares with 84% of public
schools making AYP last year. Student achievement continues to rise in
Kansas.
Download
Article
Download AYP List
|
NEW!
9/6/2007
HOW
SHOULD TEACHERS BE GRADED
As the curtain opens on a new school year, the spotlight is on teachers.
Off in the wings, a noisy debate ensues about how to ensure that public
school teachers are well qualified -- and receive enough support -- to
do their jobs. There is some consensus on the situation: Students with
experienced, highly skilled teachers tend to do better academically. And
schools with high concentrations of minority or low-income students have
a more difficult time attracting and keeping those teachers. Agreeing
on solutions isn't so easy, reports Stacy Teicher Khadaroo in The Christian
Science Monitor. Some advocates urge tying pay to performance. Others
say more good teachers will stay when the profession gets more respect
and pay, and when school leaders improve. Some clamor for tighter state
rules on how teachers are educated and certified. Others want more flexibility.
Stirring the current debate is the fact that Congress is expected to take
up re¬authorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
this fall. One part of the law requires states, districts, and schools
to have 100 percent "highly qualified" teachers for key subjects.
That generally means they need to have a bachelor's degree, demonstrate
knowledge of their subjects, and be state-certified. As of last winter
(the latest data available), 17 percent of U.S. school districts did not
expect to meet the June 2007 deadline for highly qualified teachers, according
to a new report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP). In addition,
33 states were not on track for all teachers in their state to be "highly
qualified." Whatever the level of compliance, the utility of the
NCLB teacher requirement is being challenged.
|
NEW!
9/1/2007
Get
Ready for Middle and High School Reading
Is your middle school
student ready for the demands of high school reading? Here are the tools
she'll need to succeed.
Read
More
|
NEW!
8/29/2007
KNEA
is challenging Kansas’ public school students: create a poster about
reading!
Poster deadline: Oct. 31, 2007
Every year Kansas
NEA encourages adults to “pick up a book and read with a child!”
on Dr. Seuss’ birthday, March 2, as part of NEA’s Read Across
America literacy program.
The 2008 theme involves
parents, partnerships and the power of reading. To bring attention to
the importance of reading year-round and to help involve parents, the
Kansas NEA and its partners are sponsoring a student poster contest, with
a twist. “This poster contest also includes a writing component,”
said KNEA Vice President Sherri Yourdon. “We’re asking students
to submit their poster plus a written explanation about why reading is
important.”
All Kansas public
school students are invited to participate. The deadline is October 31,
2007.Mail or deliver entries to Read Across America Poster Contest, c/o
KNEA, 715 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS, 66612-1686. Contest rules and details
are at www.knea.org.
Winners will be featured
in KNEA and reading partner publications. The grand prize winner’s
artwork will be KNEA’s 2008 Read Across America poster.
KNEA’s Read
Across America partners include United Way of Greater Topeka, Cox Communications,
Target, the Kansas Press Association’s Newspapers in Education (NIE),
the State Library of Kansas, Mainline Printing, the Kansas PTA and the
Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC).
The Kansas NEA Poster
Contest
In addition to his
book illustrations, Ted Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, painted regularly. He often
told young artists to “paint at least one picture a month that is
just for fun.”
“Combine Dr.
Seuss’s artist and community activist hats, and think about how
to depict the importance of reading to be successful as an individual
and a community,” Yourdon suggested. “This might be a joint
project with other teachers – art, social studies, reading and writing…”
Basic rules include
the following. See details at www.knea.org.
Include in the poster
a reference to at least one Dr. Seuss book (KNEA is highlighting Oh, the
Places You’ll Go!). Show in the poster that reading is exciting,
fun, educational and can involve other material besides books, such as
newspapers, signs and maps. Students may want to show that there is a
wide variety of reading material that can appeal to just about every interest.
The entry size of the poster is 11 x 17. It can be delivered to KNEA by
mail, in person or sent electronically. Attach to the poster answers to
these questions:
Why do you think people will want to read more after seeing your poster?
(In other words, why did you choose the symbols, graphics and words that
you chose?) What in your poster really helps people understand the importance
of being able to read well and to read often?
There is a limit of five entries per classroom. Include with or on the
back of the entry: Name of student (s) and teacher (s), school, district,
grade and contact information. |
NEW!
8/28/2007
Homework
Kansas.org
It's the end of August,
that means reading, writing, arithmetic, papers, tests and, yes, homework.
What to do? Children and teens can get a head start. Students from 4th
to 12th grade, and college introduction level, can visit HomeworkKansas
at www.homeworkkansas.org
for free homework help from qualified tutors.
The State Library of Kansas, and Kansas public libraries, offer
HomeworkKansas, an online tutoring service that connects students to
expert tutors in math, science, social studies and English via the
Internet. Spanish-speaking tutors are available for assistance in math
and science. HomeworkKansas is available from 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.,
seven days a week, in English and from 4:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Sunday-Thursday
in Spanish. |
NEW!
8/25/2007
"Poll
Finds Rise in Unfavorable Views of NCLB"
More Americans say they are more knowledgeable about No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) than just last year, but familiarity appears to breed dislike,
according to a recent Phi Delta Kappa International and Gallup Organization
poll. Americans remain concerned that the law's focus on testing in reading
and math is narrowing the curriculum. And 82% favored judging schools'
performance based on their students' improvement on state tests, rather
than on the percentage of students who pass the tests.
|
NEW!
8/21/2007
Raising
a Reader on National Family Literacy Day
Newswise (Charlottesville, VA)
On November 1 — National Family Literacy Day — the National
Center for Family Literacy will unveil Raising a Reader, which provides
activities for parents to support their child's literacy, language, and
reading skills. The magazine will help parents incorporate effective,
research-based literacy and reading activities into their daily routines,
and includes activities and strategies for infants and toddlers, preschoolers,
and students from kindergarten through grade three.
Read
More |
| NEW!
8/20/2007
Spanish
Early Literacy Parent-Child Activity Materials
The Spanish version of Supporting Early Literacy in Natural Environments:
Activities for Caregivers and Young Children has recently been updated.
It includes forty-six home and community activities designed to address
the three key skills of 1) language development, 2) phonological awareness,
and 3) general print awareness. The activities are appropriate for children
with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/19/2007
Back
to School: Avoid Morning Meltdown
Get organized for
back to school: Here's how the whole family can get set for the busy year
ahead.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/19/2007
Start
Your School Routine Now
Back to School: Get
the whole family ready by setting a new routine, checking after-school
plans — and cutting TV time.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/17/2007
AN
OUTRAGEOUS CAT TEACHES A NEW GENERATION TO READ
Greece had Zeus. America has Seuss. In the 50 years since "The Cat
in the Hat" exploded onto the children's book scene, Theodor Seuss
Geisel -- pen name "Dr. Seuss" -- has become a central character
in the American literary mythology, sharing the pantheon with the likes
of Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of his many imaginative stories,
"The Cat in the Hat" remains the most iconic.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/17/2007
THE
PROMISE OF EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES & SUPPORTS FOR YOUTH
There is a growing realization that reaching our goal of ensuring that
all young people can graduate from any public high school with competitive,
marketable skills will require high quality educational opportunities
both during and beyond the school day. The inequities in educational opportunities
in schools have been well documented. But the significant gaps within
school-day learning opportunities tell only part of the story. There are
larger gaps outside the proverbial schoolhouse in the kinds of supplemental
services that are essential for young people to develop the "capital"
needed to succeed.
Read
More |
| NEW!
8/17/2007
THERE
IS NO CULTURE OF POVERTY
For too long, educators' approach to understanding the relationships between
poverty, class and education has been framed by studying the behaviors
and cultures of poor students and their families. So says Paul Gorski
in "The Question of Class," a provocative article published
in Teaching Tolerance magazine.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/16/2007
"Is
an Early-Help Program Shortchanging Kids?"
Spurred by changes in federal law, many districts are pursuing a new strategy
known as "response to intervention," or RTI, to bring early
help to children struggling in regular education classrooms to avoid special
education services later, when they typically cost 50% more per student.
While few educators and disability advocates disagree with the theory
behind RTI, some fear that it could become an excuse for shortchanging
children with some of the most common disabilities.
Read
More |
| NEW!
8/15/2007
ACT
Scores Inch Up, But High School Rigor Lags, Testmaker Says
The class of 2007's
ACT scores edged up slightly over last year's, but the test's producer
warned that high schools' core curriculum still isn't rigorous enough
to adequately prepare students for college. The average national ACT score
this year was 21.2 on a scale of 1 to 36 -- an improvement of one-tenth
of a percentage point. Just over 1.3 million students took the ACT this
year -- a record high, and an 8% increase over last year's total.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/3/2007
GAUGING
GROWTH: HOW TO JUDGE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Many policymakers feel pressure to claim that No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
is boosting student performance as Congress reconsiders the federal government’s
role in school reform. But how should politicians and activists gauge
NCLB’s effects? In the recent issue of Educational Researcher, Bruce
Fuller, Joseph Wright, Kathryn Gesicki, and Erin Kang offer evidence on
three barometers of student performance, drawing from the National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP) and state data spanning 1992-2006.
Read
More |
NEW!
8/3/2007
K-12
SPENDING MORE RELIANT ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SINCE NCLB
New data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that the
federal government has been commandeering a continually larger role in
K-12 education in recent years, especially since 1999 and the January
2002 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The new statistics include
detailed financial data about school districts across the nation for the
2004-05 school year. Five years earlier, during the 1999-2000 school year,
public school districts received an average of $578 per pupil from the
federal government. By 2004-05, that number had risen to $919. That's
a 60 percent increase, and even after adjusting for inflation, it's a
39 percent boost in federal aid. In a new study, the Tax Foundation ranks
the states on how much more reliant they have become on Uncle Sam for
this traditionally local government function. There are costs and benefits
of the federal government's role in K-12 education. On one hand, low-income
states can use federal money for capital costs like new school buildings,
or for recurring costs such as higher salaries and even more generous
pensions for administrators and teachers. The money may be spent well
or poorly. On the other hand, accepting federal money means giving up
some local control and quite possibly a less efficient education program. |
NEW!
8/3/2007
BUILDING
SMART EDUCATION SYSTEMS
There is a growing recognition that improving schools and school systems,
while essential, is not enough. Ensuring that every child becomes proficient
and beyond will require the support and active engagement of organizations
and agencies outside of schools as well. The role of out-of-school factors
in educational success has sparked heated debate. But the debate over
whether in-school or out-of-school factors are more salient in children’s
learning -- a debate that has raged at least since the 1966 publication
of James S. Coleman’s Equality of Educational Opportunity -- is
in many respects a false one. Both factors are important, and both must
be addressed if the nation is to fulfill its 60-year-old promise of equal
educational opportunity, and its more recent pledge to ensure that all
children learn to high levels. The experiences of middle-class and affluent
children make this proposition clear. |
| NEW!
8/3/2007
THREE
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT MISTAKES (AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)
Despite having well-intentioned, thoughtful improvement plans, many schools
still struggle to raise student performance -- often because their improvement
efforts are doomed to failure from the very start by three common, yet
avoidable, mistakes. Read
More |
| NEW!
8/2/2007
"Kansas
Teachers Turn to Podcasting"
Students in one Kansas district will be able to view classroom lectures
on iPods as part of a project in which teachers make their lectures available
as podcasts. School officials said they initially are gearing the project
around students who struggle with their class work and are at risk of
dropping out. The podcasts will cover reading and math material to correspond
with No Child Left Behind standards.
Read
More |
|
NEW!
7/27/2007
"Understanding
Gaps Among Asian Groups"
A Government Accountability Office report notes that by most measures
Asian Americans have a higher educational attainment than other groups,
with almost half of Asian Americans aged 25 or older having a four-year
college degree. But this overall success, the GAO found, "masks"
the realities of many Asian subgroups in educational preparation and attainment.
For example, the report found that half of Southeast Asian high school
students are not enrolled in college preparatory programs, and many Asian
groups set aside less money for their children's college education than
other racial and ethnic groups.
|
| NEW!
7/26/2007
STATUS
OF EDUCATION IN RURAL AMERICA
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has just released
the report "Status of Education in Rural America." This report
presents a series of indicators on the status of education in rural America
based on their actual geographic coordinates into one of 12 locale categories
and distinguishes between rural areas that are on the fringe of an urban
area, rural areas that are at some distance, and rural areas that are
remote.
Read
More |
NEW!
7/26/2007
THE
QUICK & EASY GUIDE TO SCHOOL WELLNESS
Healthy Schools Campaign and School Health Corp. are pleased to announce
the release of "The Quick & Easy Guide to School Wellness",
a multimedia how-to guide filled with comprehensive information, practical
advice, tools and resources. The guide made its debut at the National
Association of School Nurses conference in Nashville, Tenn. with positive
and enthusiastic reviews from school nurse leaders in attendance. Nearly
500 school nurses requested the guide in the first two days of its release,
and hundreds of additional school stakeholders have ordered the guide
since its release. The guide, available free of charge to schools and
nonprofits, was developed in response to a need for school stakeholders
-- nurses, teachers, parents, administrators and students -- to effectively
implement the school wellness policies that became mandatory in fall 2006.
The guide includes multiple case studies, bonus tip sheets, and a comprehensive
set of documents and resources from leading organizations throughout the
country. "We want people to understand that they have the power to
make their school wellness policy work, to really change things for the
better," said Jean Saunders, director of school wellness for the
Healthy Schools Campaign. "It doesn't have to be overwhelming. This
guide brings together the most important resources in one place and makes
it easy to create healthy change one step at a time."
|
NEW!
7/26/2007
CORE
PRINCIPLES FOR ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY CHANGE
Young people are disproportionately involved in and affected by the problems
that beset communities and states. Recent research studies suggest that
young people are not doing well because communities are not doing well
by young people. Young people are not only at the center of many problems,
they are the source of many solutions. And studies show that young people
want to be engaged as change makers. However, the true engagement of young
people in change processes requires a fundamental shift in how decisions
are made. Engaging young people as partners in community change is a compelling
idea, but translating that idea into effective practice requires focused
attention to a range issues. The principles described in this paper by
Karen Pittman, Shanetta Martin and Anderson Williams emerged from the
commingling of research and practice that occurred when the Forum for
Youth Investment merged with Community IMPACT! USA. They are important
but simple principles for putting the idea of youth engagement into practice.
They can be implemented in a wide range of organizations, including schools,
youth organizations or community centers that want to strengthen their
commitment to youth leadership, or community-change focused organizations
or coalitions that want to strengthen their commitment to youth involvement. |
| NEW!
7/26/2007
"Outgoing
NGA Chair To Keep 'Innovation' Push Alive"
Even though her chair of the National Governors Association ended, Arizona
Governor Janet Napolitano is forging ahead with her national "Innovation
America" initiative by forming a new foundation and convening a task
force to recommend ways of reshaping public schools to help students better
compete globally. The governor will work with NGA, the Council of Chief
State School Officers and Achieve Inc. to convene a task force of business,
state, education and think tank leaders.
Read
More |
| NEW!
7/19/2007
The
ABC's of Finding the Right Tutor
Effective tutoring programs have several things in common, according to
Reading Rockets, a national non profit educational initiative. These include:
well-trained tutors who closely coordinate with classroom teachers, structured
sessions that reinforce correct responses, and careful monitoring of progress.
And the more frequent the tutoring sessions, the better. |
NEW!
7/19/2007
WHY
READING IS LIKE BASEBALL
Do your students often struggle with difficult novels and other challenging
texts? Do they think one reading of a work is more than enough? Do they
primarily comprehend at a surface-level, and are they frequently unwilling
or unable to discover the deeper meaning found in multi-layered works?
Do you feel that you are doing more work teaching the novel than they
are reading it? Building on 20 years of teaching language arts, Kelly
Gallagher shows how students can be taught to successfully read a broad
range of challenging and difficult texts with deeper levels of comprehension.
In this free chapter of her new book, Gallagher begins sharing funny,
poignant, and practical ideas that work in real classrooms. |
NEW!
7/19/2007
REACHING
OUT TO DIVERSE FAMILIES
Family involvement in schools is often limited to a small group of parents
who seem to do everything. Culturally diverse families may not feel they
fit in at the school or have a different perspective on what it means
to be involved, so they are often left out of school activities. How can
schools move beyond a limited level of family involvement and encourage
all families to become more active in their children's schools and education?
A strategy brief from the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
(SEDL) helps answer this question. It discusses strategies helpful to
schools that want to broaden and deepen involvement beyond the traditional
fundraising or party-planning activities. In "Reaching Out to Diverse
Populations: What Can Schools Do to Foster Family-School Connections",
author Chris Ferguson says that research has indicated that parents, regardless
of their ethnicity, culture, or economic status are interested in their
children's education. "They just may not know how to help their children
with school matters," she says, "or they may feel like they
don't have the knowledge or expertise to help their children with school
work." According to Ferguson, schools can help parents become more
comfortable playing a strong role in their children's education. Schools
that are successful involving families are able to build on the cultural
values of families and foster communication with families. Successful
schools also have created an inviting environment for families and often
facilitate involvement by providing transportation, translators, and other
similar services. They can also help parents learn strategies to support
their children's academic needs. "All schools can increase their
parent and family involvement," says Ferguson. "It just takes
time and innovative strategies to develop a strong, two-way relationship."
|
NEW!
7/19/2007
IT' |
