This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here February 4, 2021 .ALAS UPDATES .SCHOOL LEADERS NEWS How can school superintendents lead during the COVID-19 crisis? The Brookings Institution Always a brutally hard job, the superintendency is tougher and riskier than ever thanks to COVID-19. Superintendents have resigned in Seattle and the three largest Colorado school districts. Another in Paradise, Arizona, has quit after being harassed and threatened by parents that were angry over his decision to close schools. Boston Superintendent Brenda Casella is the latest big-city superintendent to suffer a union vote of no confidence. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Benchmark Education Core Reading in English and Spanish Benchmark Advance and Adelante build K-6 literacy and language skills with fully equitable resources. Systematic phonics and reading instruction are linked to book sets that reflect today’s diverse students. Collaborative conversations and engaging activities improve oral language and content-area knowledge. FREE Sampler and more information 4 K-12 professional development trends to watch in 2021 K-12 DIVE Integrating technology into the classroom has been the overwhelming focus of teacher professional development in recent years. EAB K-12 Strategic Research Director Ben Court estimates nearly 70% of professional learning programs have centered around that topic, compared to 30% on instruction methods. READ MORE 9 best practices for adapting educational leadership in the age of virtual learning District Administration Magazine With educators' jobs being so vastly different these days, it's important for educations leaders to be able to support staff through these challenging times. In the FETC session "How to Adapt Educational Leadership in the Age of Virtual Learning," Doug Konopelko, education strategist for CDW-G, outlined nine best practices for doing that, under the broader categories of supporting the work, upgrading the culture and practicing self-care. Konopelko — who has been a teacher, assistant principal, district-level administrator and state-level education department staffer — built the list of best practices in conversations with the leadership team at Clayton County School District in Georgia. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Create Equity with CS Education Computer science goes beyond coding. It provides the opportunity to close equity gaps faced by students of color and girls. BootUp strives to close these gaps by establishing elementary computer science programs that build teachers' confidence through unique district-wide professional development and coaching. LEARN MORE How districts are curbing learning loss during the pandemic Tech & Learning Learning loss has occurred during the pandemic, but there have also been educational gains and educators have implemented innovations that are here to stay. During this recent Tech & Learning virtual roundtable hosted by Dr. Kecia Ray, a panel of experts shared strategies for decreasing learning loss and what changes brought on by the pandemic are likely permanent. READ MORE 5 ways schools are addressing pandemic-induced mental health issues K-12 DIVE With dire statistics about how COVID-19 is already impacting the mental well-being of students and school staff, as well as the lingering duration of the public health crisis, administrators and school psychologists are assessing their approaches and planning for more supports where needed. They're also finding confidence in their growing capacity to respond to the trauma their communities are experiencing. READ MORE .TECHNOLOGY 5 tips for better cybersecurity EdTech Magazine With remote learning now the norm in many school districts, K–12 cyberattacks are at an all-time high, and IT staff are working around the clock to strengthen their defenses. Eastern Carver County Schools in Minnesota has a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity than most school districts. Craig Larsen, information systems administrator at ECCS, shared the following security best practices. READ MORE Pandemic spurs changes in the ed tech schools use, from the classroom to the admin office EdSurge How a pandemic can change things. Market data and services firm MDR has updated a wide-ranging survey it last fielded in 2018 about teachers and tech, and the resulting report, "How 2020 Shifted Perceptions of Technology in the Classroom," illustrates how COVID-19's disruptions have upended some edtech trends and accelerated others. The new report did a bit of compare and contrast, asking nearly 1,000 K-12 public school teachers in October 2020 the same questions that were asked for the 2018 report while adding a few new ones. READ MORE 9 policy priorities for closing the digital divide THE Journal A nonprofit that promotes "open, affordable, high-quality broadband connections" has issued a roadmap for 2021, laying out what it will be pursuing in its mission of supplying internet access to an estimated 42 million unconnected people in the United States. At the heart of the solution is reliance on "anchor institutions" that need high-speed connectivity for their own operations and are well positioned to be able to share that with the surrounding community. Such organizations include K-12 districts, colleges and universities, libraries, hospitals, health clinics, public housing communities and houses of worship. READ MORE Classroom tech helps schools manage the transition to virtual and hybrid learning EdTech Magazine Trying to adapt to learning environments that are both remote and hybrid in nature can create a lot of disruption for classrooms in the short term. In the long term, however, it creates opportunities to build stronger technologies that can reinvigorate the educational experience. READ MORE .POLICY CORNER Secretary of education nominee Miguel Cardona expected to support dual language schools Tech & Learning After becoming Connecticut education commissioner in 2019, one of the first schools Dr. Miguel Cardona visited with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont was the Silvermine Dual Language Magnet School in Norwalk. During the tour, Cardona told the school's principal, Elizabeth Chahine, that if he could do anything else but what he was doing, he would teach at a dual language school. READ MORE Education pick Miguel Cardona on Biden's promise to reopen schools NPR With many U.S. schools still shuttered or operating on a limited basis, and millions of children learning remotely (or trying to), the stakes are high for Miguel Cardona. He is President Biden's pick to run the U.S. Department of Education, and if confirmed, he'll be charged with making good on Biden's promise to re-open most K-12 schools during the new administration's first 100 days. READ MORE What Biden's early executive orders mean for K-12 K-12 DIVE President Joe Biden signed more than a dozen executive orders shortly after his inauguration and additional orders the next day, including a handful with implications for K-12. Education organizations including the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers have welcomed Biden's directives. While executive orders can sometimes have the effect of federal law, they can also be overturned by laws passed in Congress, which are then subject to presidential veto. READ MORE New CDC research backs Biden push for in-person schooling Education Week Research released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is adding fuel to the Biden administration’s push for school districts to return to in-person instruction, even amid the latest wave of the pandemic. READ MORE House lawmakers support including English learners in dual-language immersion Arizona Education News Lawmakers in the Arizona House of Representatives show support for including English language learners in dual-language immersion programs at public schools. The Arizona Legislature's House Minority and Majority Caucuses House gave due pass recommendations yesterday to House Concurrent Resolution 2005, which would allow public district and charter schools to establish dual-language immersion programs for both native and nonnative English speakers. READ MORE .EDUCATION HEADLINES Almost a third of young Texas students are English learners; COVID-19 is putting them behind Texas Standard Students who do not speak English at home as their first language can be at an initial disadvantage when it comes to completing schoolwork in English. But one of the first changes some advocates are pushing for is a perspective shift. "We love to refer to these children as 'emergent bilingual' because, you know, with the right supports from educators, from schools, from child care programs, they have the opportunity to cultivate bilingualism, biliteracy, and be stronger students and readers later on," said Texan Care for Children Early Childhood Policy Associate David Feigen. READ MORE Cleveland learning pods offer relief to ESL students struggling in pandemic ideastream On the fourth floor of a big building overlooking West 25th Street in Cleveland, a small group of young children sit beneath a ribbon of international flags — masks on, headphones in, spaced about six feet apart — in front of computers. Save for the occasional murmuring of English and Spanish as staffers check on the students, it's blissfully quiet and calm. READ MORE Translanguaging lets ELs use all their tools MiddleWeb Describing someone as having a single-language repertoire means they have a single language toolbox with various languages inside. Each language we speak is an individual tool in the box that we can use for different contexts, purposes, and audiences. Some tools are used to break things down while others are used to put things together. Just as the context determines the kind of tool we should use, context also determines the language people use. READ MORE .CAREERS New Postings Every Week on ALAS Website! ALAS 01/25/21 — Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO 01/25/21 — Elementary School Principal, Bellingham Public Schools, Bellingham, WA 01/25/21 — High School Principal, Bellingham Public Schools, Bellingham, WA 01/25/21 — Regional Executive Director, Eagle College Preparatory Schools, St. Louis, MO 01/25/21 — Regional Executive Director, HOPE Christian Schools, Milwaukee, WI 01/25/21 — Superintendent, Chatham County Public Schools, Chatham County, NC 01/25/21 — Superintendent, Shoreline Public Schools, Shoreline, WA 01/25/21 — Superintendent, Suffern Central School District, Hillburn, NY 01/22/21 — Superintendent, Poudre School District, Fort Collins, CO 01/22/21 — Superintendent, Agua Fria Union High School District, Avondale, Arizona 01/22/21 — Superintendent, Crosby ISD, Crosby, TX 01/11/21 — Chief Operations Officer, Nevada State High School, Las Vegas, NV 01/11/21 — Director of ESL and Diversity, Dodge City Public Schools, Dodge City, KS 01/11/21 — High School College Coordinator, Portland Public Schools, Portland, OR 01/11/21 — Math Curriculum Consultant(s), Amplify, Remote 01/11/21 — Principal, Fairview High School, Boulder, CO 01/11/21 — Principal/Superintendent/Director, William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School, Lincoln, RI 01/11/21 — Superintendent, Hamilton Southeastern Schools, Fishers, IN 01/11/21 — Superintendent, East Ramapo Central School District, Spring Valley, NY 12/30/20 — Assistant Superintendent for Business, Harrison Central School District, Westchester, NY 12/30/20 — Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, Harrison Central School District, Westchester, NY 12/30/20 — Director of Dual Language Programs and Equity, Geneva City School District, Geneva, NY 12/30/20 — Director of Technology, Washington Central Unified Union School District, Montpelier, VT 12/30/20 — Principal, District of Columbia Public Schools, Washington, DC 12/30/20 — Superintendent, Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, UT 12/30/20 — Superintendent, Lansing School District, Lansing, MI 12/30/20 — Superintendent, Edwardsville CUSD 7, Edwardsville, IL 12/30/20 — Superintendent, Columbia Public Schools, Columbia, MO 12/23/20 — Executive Director of Communications, Alexandria City Public Schools, Alexandra, VA VISIT ALAS WEBSITE FOR MORE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES & INFORMATION!!   ALAS: Leaders in Equity Update Connect with ALAS Jason Zimmerman, Director of Publishing, MultiView, 469-420-2686 | Download media kit Hailey Golden, Senior Education Editor, 469-420-2630| Contribute news Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents P.O. 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