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| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
District Administration Magazine
The new year may send familiar education challenges in new directions as administrators grapple with an uncertain testing landscape, staff shortages, the increased push for equity and constantly increasing charter competition. Experts expect education budgets in most states to remain flat in 2016. The pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act should uphold the current Title I formula (aiding two-thirds of U.S. states) but reduce competitive grants. The availability of standards-aligned test results and the national pushback on over-testing will drive teachers and administrators to work together to better tailor instruction to individual students this year, predicts S. Dallas Dance, superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools.
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Education Dive
The year 2015 saw many small changes in education, and a momentous one, long-awaited by many: the departure of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. With just weeks left in the year, the updated federal education bill, the Every Student Succeeds Act, flew through the Senate and the House after a revision process that some called a "love-fest." The ESSA was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 10. But that's just the beginning of what to keep an eye on in 2016. A number of issues are poised to shape K-12 over the coming year. From budget crunches that are expected to shut down schools to the development of unique learning plans for individual students, here's a glimpse of five hot topics administrators should keep on their radar.
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NPR
It has been a high-stakes year for high-stakes standardized tests. The debate over renewing the big federal education law turned, in part, on whether annual testing would remain a federal mandate. Republicans initially said no, Democrats said yes. Ultimately the overhaul passed with tests still in place. On the other hand, this fall President Barack Obama addressed parents on Facebook and released a "Testing Action Plan." He wanted states to cut down "unnecessary testing" that consumes "too much instructional time," creating "undue stress for educators and students."
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Edutopia
Over the past decade, Response to Intervention has seen widespread use in schools as an effective way to promote student learning. Originally developed to help students with learning disabilities, RTI's success has led to its use for all students at a school, not just for those with specialized needs.
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Education Week
The academic gaps related to dyslexia can show up in verbal deficiencies years before children traditionally are expected to read, and can continue well into the teenage years. Dyslexia, a persistent difficulty in reading, is the most common learning disability, affecting about 1 in 5 school-age students. By first grade, children with dyslexia already show gaps in both verbal ability and intelligence compared to typically developing children, and those gaps persist into 12th grade, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
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Science Weekly Magazine
Science Weekly Magazine
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Language Magazine
Not many people would think to compare STEM and English to cops and robbers. Most see the two roles as total opposites in personality, goals and demeanor, but without the "bad guys," where would the cops fit in? In a way, the same can be said for STEM and ELA. While most teachers know the subjects as poles apart, when they are combined, their differences create a balanced learning environment that is not only educational but fun — what we like to call "organized chaos."
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MindShift
Recess at Eagle Mountain Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas, looks much like recess anyplace else. Some kids run and squeal, others swing, while a half-dozen of their peers are bunched up on the slide. Journey Orebaugh, a 6-year-old in an off-white princess dress, is playing family. "You just get a bunch of people and just act like who you want to be," she says. Journey likes to play the mom. But in one sense, recess at Eagle Mountain is different. Journey gets more opportunities to role-play than many of her peers, because recess happens a lot here — four times a day, 15 minutes a pop for kindergartners and first-graders.
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The Hechinger Report
Teaching children how to harness technology to create, solve problems and collaborate is essential in early elementary education to introduce today's youth to the goal-oriented skills they need to become the leaders of tomorrow. Students in kindergarten are at an ideal age to begin learning coding concepts because they are not afraid to try new things. They have grown up with technology from the earliest age, so they are comfortable with it. Students at this age are willing to tinker and explore because they aren't typically afraid of failure.
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Connected Principals (commentary)
George Couros, a contributor for Connected Principals blog, writes: "Innovation in education should not be limited to what happens in the classrooms, but is needed for leadership. This means that we need to relook at what we do as organizations and ask questions on whether what we have done ultimately serves what we want to do. One of those areas that I really am interested in is the interview process. Are we expecting something different while hiring the same? The traditional process of the interview has been one that has not made much sense to me. In education we talk about things being more than just about the right answer while also having a huge focus on relationships."
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The Atlantic
It's been a tumultuous year for America's schools — one marked by an expanding minority-student population, an increasingly discontent teaching force, a backlash against standardized testing and shifting understanding of education reform. It's seen greater attention on areas traditionally dismissed as nonessential: things like early-childhood education, after-school programs and project-based learning. It's also seen evolving attitudes toward discipline, with tactics such as restorative justice starting to replace zero-tolerance approaches, including in high-poverty urban districts. Debates over how to address disparities in achievement have been highly politicized. The ed-tech market has continued to grow.
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K-12 TechDecisions
The development of numerous online learning platforms and digital technology has restructured K-12 classrooms across the nation. As a result, blended learning models such as the flipped classroom have become a rising trend in many K-12 schools. The flipped classroom allows students to receive instruction at home and experience more project-based, interactive and collaborative learning in the classroom. By moving away from a "one-size-fits-all" form of instruction, the flipped classroom grants students the ability to learn at their own pace at home, and receive individualized help and support from teachers while in the classroom.
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Contra Costa times (commentary)
Step into any U.S. public school and chances are Google is everywhere. Students have their own Google accounts. They work on math problems on Google-branded Chromebooks, file their homework in Google Drive and keep up with their classes through Google Groups. In just a few short years, the Internet giant has become the operating system of U.S. K-12 education. That doesn't sit well with everyone. Competitors such as Microsoft and Apple are far from ready to cede the educational market. Privacy rights advocates have raised concerns that Google hasn't kept its promises when it comes to tracking student information. True, Google isn't charging school districts, but they are paying with their children's privacy, they say.
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TeachThought (commentary)
Terry Heick, a contributor for TeachThought, writes: “Hopefully we can agree that education — as it exists — isn't good enough. I know this is a tired argument, but it's an underlying assumption of this concept: education needs reform. Iteration. Evolution. Transformation. Whatever word reflects the level of urgency you'd assign it all. It's curious that in seeking this evolution, we turn to the product of the system rather than the systems themselves. We criticize the egg instead of understanding the chicken. Of course, the bits and pieces — the gears — of that chicken are complex to the point of obscurity. This makes self-correction through iteration — the current model for ed reform — a challenge."
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EdTech Magazine
Science-fiction author William Gibson once said, "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed." The technologies of tomorrow are already being tested in select classrooms today, laying the seeds for the future of how students could learn. With 2016 fast approaching, technology analysts have been busy prognosticating the top technology trends. A few of these technologies have already made headway into education, and others are poised for mass distribution, with the promise of ground-shaking change in their wake.
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NPR (commentary)
Alex Hale, a contributor for NPR, writes: "It's getting harder and harder to find quality special education teachers, which is why 49 out of 50 states report shortages. Why? It's a tough sell. Even if you're up for the low pay and noisy classrooms, special education adds another challenge: crushing paperwork. This is something I understand first hand. You see, I was a special education teacher and I just couldn't hack it. Though I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, I only lasted a year in the classroom."
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eSchool News
Today's students, being technology natives, expect the same kinds of engagement in the classroom as they seek out online. STEM classes in particular have a natural potential to be both tech-rich and inquiry-based, especially hands-on lab activities. The recent addition of probeware — sensory-based handheld devices for measuring things like water quality, light and temperature — has allowed us to bring students out into nature and introduce them to the world of data collection and analysis.
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| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
NBC News
Early in his tenure as U.S. education secretary, Arne Duncan was one of the most popular members of the president's cabinet, praised by Republicans like Jeb Bush, invited to play in the celebrity basketball game during the NBA's All-Star weekend and embraced by education experts on the left and right. But Duncan, who officially stepped down, leaves Washington as a deeply divisive figure. Over the last seven years, the Chicago native has aggressively implemented his vision for American education, in a more comprehensive way than perhaps any cabinet officer in the Obama administration has changed policy in his issue area.
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Education Week
If you thought the recent lull in K-12 talk on the presidential campaign trail meant candidates had forgotten how to throw shade when it comes to the Common Core State Standards, think again. In a speech in Waterloo, Iowa, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., excoriated the federal government under President Barack Obama for, among other things, "trying to take over our schools with common core." "I will repeal every single one of his illegal, unconstitutional executive orders that he has put in place, and I'll do it on my first day in office ... that means we are stopping any and all work on imposing common core on this country," Rubio told the crowd.
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The Washington Post
A look at the home page of the U.S. Education Department confirms that Arne Duncan, education secretary for the past seven years, is officially gone and his successor, John B. King, Jr. is now in charge. But King, who joined the department in early 2015 as "senior advisor delegated duties of deputy secretary of education" does not have the same exact title as Duncan. King is "acting education secretary" — and there are important reasons for that. One is that he became a lightning rod in his last job, from which he was given a push by the governor of New York. As a result, it is likely it would be harder than usual for President Barack Obama to secure Senate approval for his appointment, and so the "acting" designation allows King to do the job without it.
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The Boston Globe
The number of students disciplined in schools across Massachusetts declined 20 percent last year, a dramatic drop that follows a change in the way all school districts are required to approach punishment. In all, 10,000 fewer students were disciplined during the 2014-2015 school year, according to state data. Disciplinary measures are defined as expulsion, out-of-school suspension, and in-school suspension. They are imposed on students who break any of a long list of infractions, such as unruly behavior, skipping school, fighting, bringing drugs or a weapon to school, or assaulting a teacher.
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The Buffalo News
MaryEllen Elia, the state education commissioner, isn't backing down on her insistence on education reforms including high standards and accountability. And neither is Karen Magee, president of New York State United Teachers. She won her office on a promise to fight the education reforms coming out of Albany, like Elia's. Their commitment to these opposing views was evident during a panel discussion that has been airing on the state's public television network as part of the Connect:NY series, which is focusing on the state's top education issues. The show is also available online.
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NAESP (commentary)
Former school and district leader Joe Drolette writes: "Years ago when my son was in second grade, I asked his teacher why she had eliminated snack time in the morning. He was a typical second-grade boy who needed a morning snack and a chance to run around. With a tone that betrayed her anxiety, she asked, 'Do you want him to have a snack or learn to read?' I didn't ask many questions that year and I was pretty sure the fun had gone out of her classroom. I have recounted that story numerous times in my work with teachers and administrators. It's a good laugh line discussing humor in the classroom, but that particular teacher took her job seriously and was overwhelmed with district and state accountability expectations."
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NAESP
Historically, the arts have not been a priority in the American education landscape. Despite several research studies that have shown the powerful effect of how arts education positively impacts students and their achievements, arts education struggles to receive widespread support. Through the years, however, an increase in research on the concepts of "arts-infused" or "arts-integrated" education have helped educators understand how the arts can be integrated into the curriculum as a tool for teaching and the vehicle for learning.
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| Students will enjoy reading all 5 books in the Cornbread Series (appropriate for 3rd - 5th).
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