The Department of Education
has launched the “Hurricane Help for Schools” webpage to serve
as a nationwide clearinghouse addressing the needs of the affected children
and schools and districts serving displaced students.
http://hurricanehelpforschools.gov/
|
|
|
Homeland
Insecurity -- Why Children Must Be a Priority in the
2008 Presidential Campaign
The pages which
follow focus on health, child abuse, imprisonment and
poverty. These are big issues affecting millions of children and
families. But
there are others that also must be addressed: substance abuse, homelessness,
the lack of quality child care for millions of children while parents
work, no
access to school readiness experiences for millions more, and yet
additional
millions unsupervised and alone every day after school.
To spotlight the need for smart new national investments in all
of our children,
the Every Child Matters Education Fund is waging a non-partisan
public
education campaign during the 2008 presidential race. Our goal is
to win
new investments in health, education, and social programs –
and to make
homeland security a reality for all American children and families.
Read
More |
NEW!
4/30/2008
Playing
Games in Classroom Helping Pupils Grasp Math
A growing body of research is revealing the potential benefits of
using board games in the classroom to strengthen the mathematics
skills of children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
|
NEW!
4/30/2008
"Kansas
Leads Push To Expand Pre-K Education"
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius wants more children from low-income
families to have a chance at preschool and, based on the statistics,
a better life. This year, she asked the legislature to spend a lot
more money -- $27 million extra -- on early childhood learning,
which would almost double the amount Kansas spends now. The state
conducts a school readiness study each year. The latest, found that
55% of the students studied were ready for school.
|
NEW!
4/27/2008
POVERTY
CAN STYMIE DEVELOPMENT
Poverty can have negative effects on child and adolescent brain
development which can lead to learning disabilities, behavior problems
and other psychological and emotional problems, reports Lex Alexander
for the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Record. "With our recent capacity
to look at brain development...we're realizing how much more impactful
growing up in poverty is," said Margaret Arbuckle, executive
director of the Guildford Education Alliance, who helped release
the findings. The negative impact of poverty can be seen in children’s
complex thinking and reasoning skills, impulse control and their
ability to create relationships and discern social cues. Unfortunately,
this is nothing now, writes George Will in the Washington Post (second
link). In 1966, the Coleman report, the result of the largest social
science project in history, reached a conclusion so massive that
the government almost refused to publish it. Instead they did the
next best thing, and released it over the Fourth of July weekend.
The report’s "seismic" conclusion was that the
qualities of families from which children come matter much more
than money as predictors of schools’ effectiveness. This
means that in order to improve education, the crucial problems of
race and class (including fractured families) will have to be faced.
Yet this problem has rarely been addressed and in the intervening
years has simply given way to larger teacher salaries, smaller class
sizes and other panaceas. Meanwhile colleges continue to offer more
and more freshmen more and more remediation.
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NRSTAFF/455893446/-1/NEWSRECRSSARKIVE
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042302983.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 |
NEW!
4/26/2008
College
Board Intends to Drop AP Programs in Four Subjects
Officials overseeing the Advanced Placement program have announced
that they intend to drop AP classes and exams in four subject areas |
NEW!
4/26/2008
Districts
Cultivate Common Ground on English-Learner Curriculum
The federal No Child Left Behind Act has helped prompt some school
districts
to develop, for the first time, a well-articulated curriculum for
English-language learners. |
NEW!
4/24/2008
Grant
Makes Reading Fun
When Kansan teacher Tamara Cassidy attended a reading conference
last October and learned of a content-area Reader's Theatre kit,
she recognized its potential to improve reading scores and turn
kids on to reading. The only obstacle was the $325 price tag. With
help from the Arkansas City Public Schools Enhancement Fund and
its Great Ideas Grants program, however, Ms. Cassidy was able to
purchase the program and is enjoying its success in her fifth-grade
classroom |
NEW!
4/21/2008
Wanted:
Teachers in Kansas
With 36 percent of the state's teachers retiring in the next five
years, recruiters travel far and wide to fill anticipated gap.
|
NEW!
4/21/2008
"Spellings:
U.S. Schools Must 'Pick Up Pace'"
As the 25th anniversary of the publication of A Nation at Risk approaches,
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings plans to issue a white
paper describing "how far we've come and how far we need to
go." She also plans to deliver speeches and organize events
highlighting the findings of that paper. Several groups have issued
reports suggesting that student achievement in the United States
still lags behind that of other countries.
|
NEW!
4/18/2008
BULLYING'S
ROOTS TRACED TO PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, HOME
A new study conducted by scientists at York University and Queens
University finds that students who bully tend to have difficulties
with other relationships, such as those with friends and parents.
Consequently, targeting these relationships may offer ideas for
intervention and prevention. The study, which was published in the
March/April edition of Child Development, notes that children who
bullied tended to be aggressive and lacked a moral compass. Bullies
also typically experience a lot of conflict in their relationships
with parents and friends. The findings indicate that bullying is
a relationship problem that requires relationship solutions, i.e.,
the key is in a focus on a particular bully's strained interactions
with parents and risky associations with peers. |
NEW!
4/18/2008
IF YOU
PLAY RIGHT, YOU'LL DEVELOP RIGHT TOO
A new article from the Alliance for Childhood discusses the benefits
of play, as children really do need to run, jump and allow their
active imaginations to run wild. Decades of research demonstrates
that play is more than just fun and games because it boosts healthy
development across a broad spectrum of critical areas (intellectual,
social, emotional and physical). Yet in spite of this, more and
more children are not engaging in the right sort of play. This doesn't
seem to be the case in Germany, as each weekday, rain or shine,
a group of children, ages three to six, walk into a forest outside
Frankfurt to sing songs, build fires and roll around in the mud.
To relax, they kick back on a giant "sofa" made of tree
stumps and twigs, reports Mike Esterl for the Wall Street Journal
(second link). Germany has about 700 "Waldkindergarten,"
or 'forest kindergartens,' in which children spend their days outdoors
no matter the weather or what the calendar says. The schools are
a throwback to the ideas of Friedrich Frobel, who opened the fist
kindergarten more than 150 years ago. Frobel counseled that young
children should play in nature, and be cordoned off from too many
numbers and letters. Academic studies of the impact of these schools
are still in their infancy, but some researchers believe Waldkindergarten
kids exercise their imaginations more and are better at concentrating
and communicating. However other studies indicate their writing
skills are less developed and they are less adept at distinguishing
colors, forms and sizes. Still, even though they mess around in
the muck and the mud, the children appear to be sick less often.
http://www.childcare.org/ffn-care/play-fact-sheet.pdf
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120813155330311577.html?mod=hpp_us_personal_journal
|
NEW!
4/18/2008
THE
ACHIEVEMENT GAP WIDENS FASTEST FOR HIGH ACHIEVERS
New research into the black-white achievement gap suggests that
students who lose the most ground academically in United States
public schools may be the brightest African American children, reports
Debbie Viadero for Education Week. As African American students
move through school, two new studies show that test-score gaps between
them and their better-performing white counterparts grow fastest
among the most able students. The analysis, conducted by Sean Reardon,
a Stanford University professor of sociology and education, showed
that from kindergarten to fifth grade, achievement gaps grew twice
as fast among students who started out performing above the mean
than they did among low-performers. This implies that, if the gaps
continue to grow, "even kids who enter school with high levels
of readiness are going to end up falling below where they started,"
said Reardon. The other study, conducted by economists Steven Rivkin
and Eric Hanushek, found that the higher the initial achievement
score, the more scores diverged over time between African American
and white students.
|
NEW!
4/10/2008
Not
Just By the Books
Studies show that reading to your toddler regularly and having him
see you reading for pleasure make a big difference. Here are some
simple, fun ways to turn baby into a bookworm. |
NEW!
4/8/2008
The
RTI Action Network has launched its Web site, RTINetwork.org.
This site features informational resources as well as opportunities
to interact with top researchers, experienced implementers, and
colleagues. Content addresses implementation of RTI from preschool
to secondary, with information for administrators, teachers, specialists,
and families. |
NEW!
4/4/2008
"Report
Finds Big Disparities in Well-Being of U.S. Kids"
For American children, where they are born and raised plays a major
role in their chances of getting and staying healthy and living
to adulthood, a new report
finds. The report ranks each state according to how well they take
care of their children based on 10 commonly recognized measurements
of child well-being. Several factors play a role in the disparity
between states, including political culture regarding government's
role in social issues. |
NEW!
4/4/2008
CREATE
YOUR OWN DR. SEUSS STORY, HELP ENGLISH LEARNERS LEARN
A new website, The
Dr. Seuss Story Maker, leads students through several steps
to create a dialogue between two Dr. Seuss characters. This particular
aspect of the site could be decidedly helpful for English language
learners in practicing English. In addition the site includes a
whole host of other fun activities. Or in its words: "Here
are lots of games for you to play/To keep you entertained all day!/The
greatest games you've ever seen/To play on your computer screen./Plus
some games you print out and then/You play them with paper and pen."
|
NEW!
3/25/2008
"Size
Alone Makes Small Classes Better for Kids"
New research suggests that small classes work for children, but
that's less because of how teachers teach than because of what students
feel they can do: Get more face time with their teacher, for instance,
or work in small groups with classmates. Some researchers have contended
that while some teachers take advantage of small classes, many do
not modify their instruction in response to changes in class size.
|
NEW!
3/24/2008
Question
for the Ages: What Books When?
At a time when fewer children are reading for pleasure, it has become
increasingly difficult for librarians, teachers, and parents to
match children with the right book at the right age in an effort
to turn young people into lovers of reading. And experts believe
that the process is becoming increasingly complicated as today's
children are exposed to more difficult themes earlier than ever
and are often assumed to be emotionally maturing faster. |
NEW!
3/20/2008
"Studies
Link Teacher Absences to Lower Student Scores"
New research is suggesting that teacher absences affect not only
a district's finances, but also student achievement. Until recently,
a causal connection between teacher absences and student achievement
has been lacking in the research literature. Some districts serving
large numbers of poor or minority children, where teacher-absence
rates are generally higher, have started tracking and scrutinizing
school-by-school numbers. |
NEW!
3/14/2008
IMPROVE
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: FOCUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL
Current school improvement practices present an inadequate response
to the complex factors that interfere with positive development,
learning and teaching, argues a new paper from the University of
California at Los Angeles Center for Mental Health in Schools. A
major problem is that recent policies perpetuate narrow-focused,
categorical approaches. These methods must be revised to promote
an orientation that overemphasizes individually prescribed services.
It follows that school improvement policies should be expanded to
support development of the type of comprehensive, multifaceted and
cohesive approaches that effectively address all barriers to teaching
and learning. This includes a fundamental, systemic transformation
in the ways schools, families and communities address individual
barriers. In addition, the paper provides frameworks to guide school
improvement efforts in transforming student/learning supports at
both the school and district level. |
NEW!
3/12/2008
"11
States Poised to Pilot National Test for Seniors"
For the first time, a select group of states is expected to take
part in a 12th grade version of the National Assessment of Educational
Progress in reading and mathematics. Eleven states have received
tentative approval to voluntarily participate in the exam. States
would have a representative sample of its high school seniors take
part in NAEP beginning in 2009, a process that would eventually
allow for state-by-state comparisons of high school seniors' scores.
|
NEW!
3/7/2008
FANTASY
SPORTS MAKE MATH FUN. GO FIGURE
Teachers are always looking for new and engaging ways to teach the
hardest of subjects. Across the country, math teachers are turning
to fantasy sports to increase the achievement of their students.
For instance, an Oregon high school special education teacher uses
fantasy basketball to teach algebra to severely learning-disabled
and autistic students. As well, administrators are discussing in
increasing amounts how fantasy sports enable teachers, eliminate
behavior problems and motivate students who previously were bored
with math. According to data collected by the University of Mississippi,
75 percent of 144 teachers who were surveyed agreed that students
understood mathematical concepts more than they did before they
worked with fantasy sports. In addition, 79 percent of teachers
agreed that students liked learning math more, with 81 percent of
teachers agreeing that students came to math class with more enthusiasm.
While interest in sports remains somewhat a male domain, playing
fantasy sports has empowered girls. Teachers report that girls who
play fantasy sports are engaging in more conversations with their
fathers and brothers. |
NEW!
3/6/2008
Study:
Phys Ed May Boost Girls' Academic Achievement
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at reading
and math scores of more than 5,000 K-5 students. They discovered
that girls who received the highest levels of physical education
— 70 to 300 minutes a week — scored consistently higher
on the tests than those who spent less than 35 minutes a week. They
believe this correlation has both physiological and behavioral reasons. |
NEW!
3/3/2008
"Senate
OKs Bill Requiring Kindergarten"
The Kansas Senate passed a bill requiring children to attend kindergarten
and lower the compulsory age for public school attendance to 6.
That means kindergarten-age children would attend at least a half-day
class. The bill would permit parents to exempt their children from
the requirement if the child was privately educated or if the family
had religious objections to participation. See ECS' summary of compulsory
attendance age policies. |
NEW!
3/3/2008
"Groups
Kick Off 'Ready by 21' Campaign"
A nonprofit organization has launched a national campaign called
"Ready by 21" that is aimed at better preparing youth
for college, work and life. Run by Forum for Youth Investment, the
initiative is intended to help state and local leaders improve education
and social services in the first two decades of children's lives.
The initiative urges officials to work together on interrelated
problems such as drug use, teenage pregnancy and dropping out of
school. |
NEW!
2/29/2008
NEA
Offers Free Animated Download of Horton Hears a Who!
School Library Journal
An animated digital version of Horton Hears a Who! is available
for free to teachers throughout March, thanks to the National Education
Association's (NEA) Read Across America celebration of Theodor Seuss
Geisel's (Dr. Seuss) 104th birthday. The download brings the classic
book to life with animation, narration, and sound effects. |
NEW!
2/29/2008
TAKING
TANGIBLE STEPS TOWARD TOMORROW:
GET COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has released a new report focused
on the school readiness challenge. The report, Tangible Steps Toward
Tomorrow, offers new solutions centered on the three major influences
on a child's education: parents, teachers and schools. To develop
these solutions, researches conducted observations in both classrooms
and homes. The report notes that researchers repeatedly heard that
an engaged parent is a major determinant of a child’s success.
However, becoming involved in a child’s education is not a
one-step process. To make this
happen, parents need to be aware of their child’s learning
needs and be prepared to participate in and feel in control during
interactions with the school system. In writing the report, researchers
also found that many teachers feel their creative freedom has been
reduced in favor of structured learning tasks. This makes empowering
teachers critically important to education. To do so, teachers require:
a clear understanding of the tasks they are allowed to perform;
support, inspiration and understanding from their peers; a collaborative
environment; and, regular feedback and reinforcement. In turning
to schools, the report explains that most often, by accident, schools
are sending isolating signals. For example, the need for security
has resulted in grim, jail-like buildings that actively exclude
the community. While these protective measures serve a real purpose,
they should also provide a launching point for better design solutions
that build connections between the community and the school. It
has become critical that parents, teachers and schools become a
collective organism to ensure children receive a quality education.
|
| NEW!
2/29/2008
Teachers
Embrace Online Tools
Tech-savvy teachers are finding new ways to integrate innovative
course-management systems into their lesson plans. |
NEW!
2/27/2008
Survey
Finds Teenagers Ignorant on Basic History and Literature Questions
A recent study indicates that American teenagers are lacking in
their basic knowledge of history and literature. In light of the
findings, the group that commissioned the study, Common Core, asserts
that No Child Left Behind has impoverished public school curriculums
by holding schools accountable for student scores on annual tests
in reading and mathematics, but in no other subjects. |
NEW!
2/27/2008
A
Flaw in NCLB Is Acknowledged by Spellings
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is traveling the country
to promote what she and others, certainly, view as the success of
the No Child Left Behind Act. But in a visit to Topeka, Kan., last
week, she acknowledged that one of the federal education law’s
provisions was flawed.
Read
More
|
NEW!
2/14/2008
Teaching
Mom--Learning More?
Kids may roll
their eyes when their mother asks them about their school day, but
answering her may actually help them learn. New research from Vanderbilt
University reveals that children learn the solution to a problem
best when they explain it to their mom.
Read
More |
NEW!
2/14/2008
"Larger
Share of Students Succeed on A.P. Tests"
A higher percentage of students in public high schools are taking
and passing Advanced Placement exams, according to a Col lege Board
report. The gap between the performance of black and white students,
however, remains large. Last year, more than 15% of the 2.8 million
students who graduated from public high schools scored a 3 or above
on at least one A.P. exam. In 2002, 11.7% of the graduates got a
3 or better.
|
NEW!
2/12/2008
'Stinky'
Jon Scieszka Has a Read on Kids
The "ambassador for young people's literature," Jon Scieszka
("rhymes with Fresca") will travel the USA over the next
two years, speaking to parents and school groups. His basic message:
Relax. If your child wants to read Captain Underpants, fine. As
a kid, Scieszka read Sgt. Rock comics. Now he delights in Kafka,
Gunter Grass, and Thomas Pynchon. The "ambassador" also
lists some children's books he recommends. |
NEW!
2/8/2008
PRESIDENT’S
PROPOSED BUDGET: MORE SCHOOL VOUCHERS, FEWER PROGRAMS
President Bush, in announcing his proposed budget this week, would
freeze the U.S. Department of Education’s discretionary spending
at $59.2 billion, while cutting or consolidating dozens of programs,
reports Maria Glod for the Washington Post. At the same time, the
budget would expand school vouchers by adding $300 million for Pell
Grants for Kids, a new program aimed at giving low-income students
in struggling schools aid to help them switch to private schools.
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the budget cuts
"ineffective" and duplicative programs to allow for a
nearly three percent increase in funding for poor schools. Some
Democrats and education groups contend that the budget shortchanges
schools. |
NEW!
2/8/2008
THE
NEW GENERATION GAP: AN INTERNET AWAY
Before the Internet, Jessica Hunter was a shy awkward girl who struggled
to make friends. Somewhat typical, right? On the Internet, at age
14, she took on the persona of Autumn Edows, a Goth artist and model
because she wanted to be a completely different person. As Autumn,
she posted provocative photos of herself and fast developed a cult
following. Her parents found out by accident, and the knowledge,
not surprisingly, came as quite a shock. In "Growing Up Online,"
a new series from PBS, viewers get an inside look into the worlds
kids enter and create online, focusing on the important ways the
Internet is transforming childhood and development. There has been
much ballyhoo of the threat of online predators, but many children
think these fears are misplaced. Most children have been online
since second grade and "know how to avoid." Internet experts
tend to agree with the kids, signifying the real concern should
be the trouble kids can get into on their own.
Read
More |
NEW!
2/8/2008
IMPROVE
EDUCATION: NURTURE CURIOSITY, IGNITE INNOVATION
The additions to the latest version of "The World is Flat"
by Thomas Friedman largely surround education and specifically answer
the question Friedman was asked the most: "I accept the premise,
but what do I tell my kids?" In an interview with author Daniel
Pink for The School Administrator, Friedman answers that question
by expounding on the importance of a liberal arts education. Math
and science remain key subjects, but, more than ever, the ability
to integrate art, science, music and literature with the hard sciences
is what produces movements like the iPod revolution or Google. This
means educators need to go beyond the "frog-march" of
kids from math to science to English. Friedman thinks Rainforest
Math is an example of a smarter approach. There is so much one can
learn from the laws of nature -- as you drive environmentalism,
you also can drive math. It is those kinds of intersections that
produce the most innovative students. To Friedman, education should
focus on "mashing" subjects together, something kids do
naturally.
Read
More |
NEW!
2/7/2008
"Federal
Official Says Reading Commission Will Move Forward"
The Commission on Reading Research will be appointed later this
year, easing concerns that the long-awaited review panel could be
abandoned after years of planning by the U.S. Education Department.
The idea for the research commission came about shortly after a
2000 National Reading Panel report, which raised concerns over how
programs were evaluated. |
NEW!
2/1/2008
PARENTS
MUST WEAR MANY HATS, INCLUDING THAT OF STATISTICIAN
While most parents of special needs children know that they must
understand the law and their rights if their children are to receive
an optimum education, few parents realize that they also must be
able to comprehend the facts. According to a new article from Wrightslaw,
the facts of a child’s case are contained in the various tests
and evaluations that the child takes. Sometimes critical education
decisions are based on the subjective beliefs of parents and educators.
Instead, the article’s authors say that these vital decisions
should be based on the results of psychological and educational
achievement testing. Consequently, for parents to successfully advocate
for their child, they must learn about tests and measurements, i.e.,
have a basic understanding of statistics. Statistics provide the
method for measuring progress or the lack thereof for students.
Once test results are analyzed and parents understand what the numbers
indicate, they will be able to develop an appropriate educational
program that is tailored to their child’s unique needs and
from which the child will ultimately benefit. The article teaches
parents what tests and evaluations measure, how this information
is reported and how to use information to measure and monitor progress. |
NEW!
1/23/2008
"Employers
Want New Way To Judge Graduates Beyond Tests, Grades"
Forget transcripts, multiple-choice tests or institutional scores.
An Association of American Colleges and Universities survey
of business leaders found they want faculty assessment of internships,
senior projects or community-based work. The survey also found that
57% of business leaders said half or fewer of college graduates
have the full set of skills and knowledge necessary to advance in
today's workplace.
|
NEW!
1/18/2008
Too
Cold to Go Outside?
January temperatures often keep us inside. Use this opportunity
to explore some online field trips created by kids for kids. Meet
Me At The Corner is a terrific interactive site where children share
their corner of the world. Explore the home of a beekeeper, learn
fun facts about the Empire State Building, or meet a famous puppeteer,
all through the eyes of kid-created video.
|
NEW!
1/18/2008
Raising
Critical Thinkers
Identifying fact versus fiction on the Internet is an important
measure of critical thinking for today's learners. Discover what
educators across the U.S. and in other countries are doing to develop
this skill and effectively integrate web research into the classroom.
|
NEW!
1/18/2008
LEAVE
IT TO BEAVER TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES
What do the fictitious Huxtables, Cleavers and Cunninghams all have
in common? Their creators instilled characteristics in the families
that researchers have found to be fundamental for successful children
and youth. These include: loving nurturing relationships; financial
stability; and positive connections to people, organizations and
opportunities. In the United States, too few policies and practices
reflect the value of a family. A research brief from the Family
Strengthening Policy Center identifies strategies to effect change
in the hopes of producing long-lasting gains in child and youth
wellbeing. To truly shape society as a whole, the shift in dynamics
must invariably include all sectors of a community. By working individually
and collectively and in partnership with low-income families, communities
can help make these important family fundamentals a reality. After
all, not every parent can be a doctor, lawyer or business owner.
http://www.nassembly.org/fspc/index.html |
NEW!
1/15/2008
Massive
Funding Cuts to 'Reading First' Generate Worries for Struggling
Schools
The reading coaches, professional-development programs, and instructional
materials that are the cornerstones of the Reading First program
and are credited with improving instruction in struggling schools
may be threatened by a deep cut included in the 2008 federal budget,
officials and observers say. |
NEW!
1/15/2008
Top
Children's Book Awards Go to 'Invention,' 'Good Masters!'
A passion for the past was very present in Philadelphia on Monday
when the American Library Association handed out its top awards
in children's literature. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian
Selznick, set in 1932 Paris, won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for the
most distinguished American picture book for children. The John
Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children's literature
was awarded to Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval
Village written by Laura Amy Schlitz. |
NEW!
1/14/2008
"'Dashboards'
Provide Data On Schools"
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has unveiled a new tool
to show the public a snapshot of how schools in each state fare
in reading and math achievement, graduation rates and participation
in challenging Advanced Placement exams. The so-called state dashboards
aim to distill the overwhelming amount of data on student achievement
into a simple format that illustrates troubles and bright spots
for schools.
|
NEW!
1/10/2008
"PISA
Results Scoured for Secrets to Better Science Scores"
Beyond international comparisons, the 2006 Program for International
Student Assessment, or PISA, offers clues to what educators and
policymakers might do to improve U.S. students' test scores. The
report examines differences in how nations go about the business
of schooling and pinpoint which practices are linked to better performance
on the science portion of the exam. |
NEW!
1/10/2008
YOUR
STATE’S 2007 CHANGES TO EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION POLICIES
The National Association for the Education of Young Children has
released a summary of state policy changes that occurred in 2007.
The summary information should help those focused on early care
and education at the state level keep up with changes, as governors
and state legislatures approved varying investments in a variety
of areas. The shifts have and will affect initiatives like early
learning councils, public schools, prekindergarten, kindergarten,
afterschool programs and others. The recap includes information
for every state.
http://www.preknowinfocenter.org/ct/edxgnS41DEzx/
|
NEW!
1/9/2008
"Quality
Counts 2008: Grading the States' Outcomes, Policies"
The annual report by Education Week grades states in six categories:
teacher policies; standards, assessments and accountability; school
funding; K-12 achievement; school transition and alignment policies;
and a child's chances for success in life. The main focus of this
year's report is teaching policies: accountability for quality;
incentives to attract and retain talented people, and to allocate
talent equitably; and initiatives to build and support effective
teaching.
View
State Reports |
| NEW!
1/8/2008
America's
Smallest School Is Family
In a new report from the Educational Testing Service called "The
Family: America's Smallest School," researchers found that
educational achievement is related to how the home is equipped for
study, how the parents set and enforce rules, and how parents interact
with their child's school and teachers. |
NEW!
1/7/2008
Live Chat:
Recruiting and Retaining
a New Generation of Teachers
WHEN: Tuesday, January
8, 3 to 4 p.m., Eastern time
WHERE: edweek-chat.org
Submit
questions in advance here.
With record numbers of
teachers expected to retire in the next decade, and teacher-quality
demands growing, districts across the nation are facing urgent questions
about how to attract and support a new generation of educators.
The 22,000-student Vancouver
School District in Vancouver, Washington, believes it has made significant
progress in answering some of these questions. The district recently
completed a systemic reorganization of its human resources program
that emphasizes core values and career growth, and integrates new
strategies in workforce planning, recruitment, compensation, mentoring
and induction, professional development, and evaluation.
As a result of these
changes, the district has replaced 70 percent of its full-time teachers
and has a cumulative retention rate of 91 percent. It reports that
it now attracts nearly 4,000 candidate contacts for every 200 job
openings, and is able to select the top five percent of its candidate
pool.
The Vancouver district
has received awards in recognition of its recruitment and support
practices from the National School Public Relations Association,
the American Association of Employment in Education, and the American
Association of School Personnel Administrators.
In this chat, two adminstrators
from the Vancouver district will be online to take your questions
on their recruitment and retention practices and on current trends
in education staffing.
Please join us for the
discussion.
About the Guests:
Lee Goeke is an Associate
Superintendent of Human Resources Management in the Vancouver School
District and currently serves as Legislative Chair for the Washington
School Personnel Association. Prior to joining the Vancouver district,
he was a human resources executive with the U.S. Defense Department,
responsible for 100,000 employees in Europe.
Ed Wilgus is the Professional
Development Manager for the Vancouver School District, responsible
for training and mentoring. A former nationally certified counselor,
he has worked as a public school counselor at the primary and secondary
levels.
*************************************************
No special equipment
other than Internet access is needed to participate in this text-based
chat. A transcript will be posted shortly after the completion of
the chat.
|
| NEW!
1/3/2008
Parents
Are From Mars, Teachers Are From Venus
Testing his wares as a self-help author, Bill Ferriter offers advice
on improving parent-teacher relationships. |
NEW!
1/3/2008
Library
of Congress Names Children's Literature Ambassador
Jon Scieszka, author of "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly
Stupid Tales" and the "Time Warp Trio" series, will
get the imprimatur of the Library of Congress Thursday as the first
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Scieszka is widely
known not only for his best-selling kids' books but for his concern
with enticing boys to read more. The appointment comes at a time
when declines in Americans' reading proficiency and time spent reading
have been widely noted. |
NEW!
1/2/2008
KC
Public Library Program Helps Children Discover the Joy of Reading
The day "the book man" comes is an exciting one at New
Day Child Development Center. Each month, Ray Fields picks up four
boxes of books and replaces them with new ones for the preschool
as part of a Kansas City Public Library outreach program called
Books To Go. The program aims to put books in as many little hands
as possible, currently serving 436 Kansas City area preschools.
By picking up and delivering nearly 17,000 books each month, the
children are ensured a rotating supply of good reading material,
for free. |
| NEW!
1/2/2008
In
Search of Free Books?
Where can your school, library, or community group find free or
low-cost books for kids? There are a number of national organizations
and programs that can help!
|
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.
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