This message was sent to ##Email## May 28, 2020       Home  |  Membership  |  Events  |  Advocacy  |  Careers  |  Academy Archive  |   Subscribe      ALAS EVENTS Apply to join the premiere Superintendents Leadership Academy! ALAS The ALAS Superintendents Leadership Academy program continues to be the premier leadership academy in the nation, due to its competitive and balanced cohort selection of candidates. ALAS seeks dedicated and aspiring Latin/o/a/x superintendents in their development of the knowledge and networking skills necessary to lead a school district. The selection process is highly competitive due to the limited number of participants as designed by the cohort model. Apply to join ALAS SLA Cohort X! Application deadline closes May 31st, 2020 Scholarships Available: For the 2020/2021 Cohort: $500 scholarships will be provided upon acceptance to the program View the 2020 - 2021 Session Calendar Apply Now    SCHOOL LEADERS NEWS CDC releases more extensive safety guidelines for schools District Administration Magazine The CDC has released a more extensive set of safety precautions schools should take as they reopen and gradually welcome students, teachers and staff to classrooms this summer or fall. The new guidance, which urges schools to make all decisions in consultation with local public health officials, expands on a graphic the agency released. For instance, the CDC recommends teachers and school staff wear face coverings. But the agency recognizes, however, that face coverings may be challenging for students, particularly younger students, to wear all day.  READ MORE Teaching remotely hasn't been easy. Try managing a classroom that speaks 10 different languages. NJ.com They speak Spanish and Turkish, Mandarin and Gujarati and even Khmer. They are wide-eyed kindergarteners to high school-bound eighth graders. And they are all Maria Montroni-Currais' students at Somerdale Park School in Camden County, speaking as many as 10 different native languages as they try to learn English during the coronavirus pandemic. But remotely, all-important immersive conversations have shortened and stalled.  READ MORE With school buildings closed, children's mental health is suffering NPR Nightmares. Tantrums. Regressions. Grief. Violent outbursts. Exaggerated fear of strangers. Even suicidal thoughts. In response to a call on social media, parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on. Most U.S. states have canceled in-person classes for the rest of the academic year. This week in Senate testimony, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sounded a cautionary note on the prospect of reopening school buildings nationwide, even in the fall.  READ MORE Teachers share what it will take to make them feel safe again We Are Teachers Rumors are swirling about what a potential return to school might look like. Since teachers are on the frontlines in terms of the impact of these decisions, we turned to them to answer the question: "What will it take to make you feel safe again?" Teachers represent a huge and diverse group, so it's no surprise their answers ranged from ready to go back without any additional precautions to wanting to wait for a vaccine.  READ MORE Health experts say schools can reopen in the fall — But with some big changes EdSurge Across the country — and indeed the world — schools are preparing for a back-to-school season unlike any other in living memory. Governors are signaling tentative support for schools to resume in-person classes in the fall, with careful planning and a few caveats. Colorado's governor, Jared Polis, went so far as to describe his vision as a "hybrid environment," allotting for altered schedules and intermittent returns to remote learning based on the predicted trajectory of COVID-19 over the coming months.  READ MORE Survey: Children's loss of social ties, learning are parents' top closure concerns Education DIVE Parents are more concerned about their children missing social interactions at school and with peers than they are someone in their family getting sick with the coronavirus, according to a new survey. 59% of the more than 3,600 parents and guardians responding to the nonprofit Learning Heroes' survey said their children's lack of in-person connections was currently their top pandemic-related concern, with 57% saying they are worried about COVID-19 affecting a family member.  READ MORE    TECHNOLOGY Using CARES Act funds to support distance learning District Administration Magazine When we consider the situation that our education system is in today and how drastically different it is from the start of the 2019-2020 school year, the contrasts are remarkable. Many districts across the nation have transitioned from an in-classroom instruction model to one that revolves around a remote learning environment. Not all districts or all schools have been able to make this move, but a vast majority of them have done well, all things considered.  READ MORE Immigrant students face barriers with online education Government Technology The 12-year-old boy sat in the darkened apartment, a Chromebook resting in front of him as he watched his classmates on the Google Classroom video chat. Huliser Martin-Morales was participating in only his second weekly video chat with his classmates and teacher this past week. He has missed about six weeks of online instruction because he wasn't able to get the device or the internet connection he needed.  READ MORE Remote learning and mental health: What educators need to be aware of Tech & Learning In this unprecedented period of extended remote learning, the mental health and well-being of students has been a concern, from students feeling isolated and dealing with depression to handling social-emotional challenges and experiencing long-term trauma.  READ MORE Best practices for a secure work-from-home environment EdTech Magazine Over the past few months, there's been a surge in people working from home across all industries — including education. The pandemic led schools to shut their doors and pushed many students, teachers and other school staff online. While finding the right remote learning tools to continue teaching and learning online was a priority during that shift, there were a lot of other factors — such as security — that became secondary, said Michael Lane, senior field solution architect for CDW•G, during a session at CoSN2020, the Consortium for School Networking's virtual annual conference.  READ MORE    POLICY CORNER Schools must keep serving English learners during pandemic, federal ed officials say Chalkbeat Schools that have switched to remote learning can't give up on language services for their students learning English, the federal education department reminded school districts this week. New guidance, by the U.S. Department of Education, answers questions facing schools serving the nation's some 5 million English learners during the coronavirus pandemic, which has closed schools across the country.  READ MORE Report: COVID-19's impact on school funding THE Journal While it's much too soon to understand what impact COVID-19 will have on K–12 education, two researchers have looked at the potential outcomes based on the impact made by the Great Recession of 2008. According to "The Coronavirus Pandemic and K–12 Education Funding," published by the Albert Shanker Institute, while some states had recovered from precipitous drops in state and local K–12 funding by 2017, "most had not." The greatest impacts were felt in higher-poverty districts.  READ MORE    EDUCATION HEADLINES Staying connected in a time of crisis Language Magazine If the current crisis has taught us anything, it is that people and organizations are more adaptable and innovative than it was previously imagined. In fact, processes that it was thought would take years, such as normalizing home-based working and learning, are being completed in a matter of days. Our need for connection has not been overridden by this crisis, and neither has our instinct for progress. We sat down with Jane O'Hagan, who is the academic manager at a successful language school in Dublin, to hear how students, teachers and businesses involved in English language learning are coping with the changes.  READ MORE Coronavirus' online school is hard enough. What if you're still learning to speak English? USA Today In normal times, teacher Ariana Tabaku helps her students learn English with structured curriculum, face-to-face encouragement and high fives. None of that is possible during the coronavirus outbreak. So she became a professional fundraiser. An IT specialist. A video producer. And that's what it took just to get her students — all of whom speak a different language at home — logged in. During the school closures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, educators are worried about students falling behind. This period of remote learning, technology divides and lowered expectations has stalled progress for almost everyone.  READ MORE Tips for teaching practical grammar By Douglas Magrath (commentary) Grammar learning is different from other academic subjects since grammar builds on prior knowledge. One should be aware of grammatical differences across languages. Languages with many speakers have large vocabularies, but languages with fewer speakers have smaller vocabularies and more complex grammar. As the world populations become more interconnected, the grammar becomes more simplified. But while words are relatively easy to learn, grammar takes time.  READ MORE How feasible are school reopening plans for fall? Education DIVE The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released much-anticipated guidance to help school leaders nationwide as they weigh options to reopen schools in the fall —​ or even as early as the summer in some places. When compared to frameworks and recovery plans released by other organizations and states, the decision tree is relatively general and leaves much in the hands of state and local leaders.  READ MORE Maintaining work-life balance during the pandemic Edutopia One of the hardest parts of teaching from home is the increasing blur between work mode and home mode. Many of us are struggling to find anything resembling a balance when teaching from home, but the uncertainty around when schools will reopen makes finding the balance even more important.  READ MORE Infographic: Enhancing home learning By Brian Wallace (commentary) Right now, 90% of parents are concerned about their kids falling behind academically, and more than 80% say they are struggling to keep their kids engaged in learning. This infographic outlines how to keep your kids engaged by making learning feel like play and exploration instead of an academic exercise.  READ MORE 5 ways to improve communication while students are learning from home eSchool News Over the past weeks, we've been talking with school and district leaders as they continue to navigate these new challenges we're all facing. As students adapt to a new way of learning from home, it's important to recognize that the pressure to succeed remains, now amplified without their usual means of support. In addition, parents are struggling to understand the best way to support their children and are desperately seeking guidance and structure from the educators leading this change.  READ MORE     CAREERS New Postings Every Week on ALAS Website! 05/27/20 — Assistant Superintendent, Information Technology, Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA 05/27/20 — Assistant Superintendent, Special Services, Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA 05/26/20 — Associate Chief, Student Equity and Opportunity, Denver Public Schools, Denver, CO 05/26/20 — Elementary – ESL Teacher, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/26/20 — High School Math Teacher, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/26/20 — Instructional Coach – Arrowhead Middle School, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/26/20 — Instructional Coach – Harmon High School, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/26/20 — Middle School Math Teacher, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/26/20 — Special Education Coordinator, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/26/20 — Special Education Teacher, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City, KS 05/22/20 — Director of Budget and Finance, Pendergast School District, Phoenix, AZ 05/22/20 — Director of Personnel and Human Resources, Mount Vernon School District, Mount Vernon, NY 05/22/20 — Purchasing Coordinator, Pendergast School District, Phoenix, AZ 05/20/20 — Chief of Staff, Syphax Education Center, Arlington, VA 05/20/20 — Panel Manager, Office of Family Assistance, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families 05/19/20 — Executive Director, American School Counselor Association, Alexandria, VA 05/19/20 — Superintendent, Austin Independent School District, Austin, TX 05/16/20 — Superintendent, St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools, Reserve, LA 05/15/20 — Executive Director — PK-12 School Leadership, Fort Worth Independent School District, Fort Worth, TX 05/15/20 — Superintendent, Martin County School District, Martin County, FL 05/15/20 — Superintendent, Piner-Olivet Union School District, Santa Rosa, CA VISIT ALAS WEBSITE FOR MORE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES & INFORMATION! 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