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| LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
The Associated Press
Charter schools and school choice are expected to be a major focus of education policy under the new Trump administration. Betsy DeVos, Trump's choice for education secretary, has spent over two decades advocating for school choice programs, which give students and parents an alternative to traditional public school education. Here is a look at the main players, concepts and controversies surrounding school choice.
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By: Savanna Flakes (commentary)
In a supportive, inclusive learning environment, all students are valued members of a welcoming and responsive learning community. The foundations of this community include establishing consistent routines and praise, and teaching students to cultivate a growth mindset. Appropriate behavioral supports in the classroom promote the learning and academic achievement of all students, including students with disabilities and those with the most intensive needs.
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District Administration Magazine
The issue of fake news drew national attention during the 2016 presidential campaign, when fabricated stories were widely accepted as genuine. According to recent research, the problem extends to K-12 classrooms, where students have trouble judging the credibility of online information. A national assessment of 203 middle school students by Stanford History Education Group at Stanford University found that more than 80 percent believed ads labeled "sponsored content" are a credible source for unbiased news. Now provided across 12 states, Stanford's "Civic Online Reasoning," which includes assessments to judge the credibility of information, consists of 56 news-literacy tasks to identify misinformation and fake articles on the internet.
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EdTech Magazine
The word classroom may conjure up a certain image: chalkboards, a large desk in the front of the room for the teacher and rows of individual desks. Increasingly, though, schools are ditching the seating chart in those often claustrophobia-inducing rooms and embracing all parts of the building. Hallways, stairwells and other parts of the school now are becoming places to learn too. Yorkville Community School District 115 in Illinois has spent nearly three years planning and executing a major renovation and expansion of its high school building.
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eSchool News
When it comes to strategic planning, school district leaders know they must involve all stakeholder groups from the beginning. Though they are arguably the most important stakeholder group, students are sometimes overlooked in the planning process. But now, especially because the Every Student Succeeds Act requires school systems to factor nonacademic indicators such as student engagement into their accountability plans, many school districts are going directly to students and encouraging them to share their honest opinions about their educational experiences.
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[Istation]
Learn the four must-haves schools need for a successful response to intervention (RTI) model. How to Build an RTI Framework is a free eBook that covers universal screening, continuous progress monitoring, data-based decision making, and multi-level prevention systems. See how building an effective RTI framework with computer-adaptive educational technology helps maximize student achievement.
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Brookings Institute
Perhaps even more than usual, this Martin Luther King Jr. Day calls for reflection on race relations and racial equity in America. We have just emerged from a year characterized by police brutality toward people of color, resentment and unrest rooted in that brutality, and the most divisive, bruising presidential election in recent memory. Education provides a window into the state of racial inequality in the United States and, potentially, the nation's perceptions of it. Earlier in 2016, we released a study of Americans' perspectives on race- and wealth-based test score differences.
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EdTech Magazine
Until this school year, Pawtucket Schools offered only a smattering of computer programming courses. Now, 70 kids across the city's two main high schools, which are located in Rhode Island, are learning programming from trained computer science teachers. And Hersh Cristino, Pawtucket Schools' information and innovation officer, expects the district's computer science offerings to expand further.
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UltraKey® Online is the latest generation of the teacher’s favorite typing tutor with all-new interfacing, the delightful new Game Zone™ with challenging language activities, voice-supported instruction, and a powerful management system perfect for small, medium and large districts. For your live preview, call 1-800-465-6428 or visit: www.bytesoflearning.com
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eSchool News
School choice, support of teachers unions and her record in Michigan have been the leading controversial talking points in education when it comes to Donald Trump's pick for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. But with a background in technology investment, could DeVos be a leader in the support of successfully-implemented edtech?
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Education Week
More than 10 million students gained access to high-speed internet at school over the past year, and the cost of bandwidth for schools continues to fall, according to a new analysis from the broadband-advocacy group EducationSuperHighway. All told, 88 percent of public school districts now meet minimum internet-connectivity targets established by the Federal Communications Commission. That's up from just 30 percent of districts as recently as 2013, according to EducationSuperHighway's 2016 State of the States report.
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eSchool News
As instructional techniques incorporate more digital technologies and blended models, school principals must create and implement carefully-constructed visions for teaching and learning–and a new professional development program aims to help them on their way. Thirty-five school leaders from the Rhode Island Association of School Principals recently completed a year of PD focused around building blended learning in their schools. The Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning PD program was developed by the Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University.
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By: Brian Stack (commentary)
As a high school principal, one of the things I dislike to hear from parents is when they tell me they don't know what their child is doing in the classroom. While we have a sophisticated communication plan for schoolwide news and announcements, we fall short as a school in a systematic common approach to how we handle classroom-level communication between teachers and parents. In the new year, it is a personal goal of mine to work with my staff to improve in this area.
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EdTech Magazine
The ideal educational environment is one in which students are learning 21st century skills along with academic content, teachers are innovating and incorporating new best practices, and instruction is informed by data. Achieving this ideal in school systems is not easy. Fortunately, the Consortium for School Networking has developed a roadmap to help school leaders realize and sustain the ideal.
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| FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
NPR
There hasn't been a more controversial pick for Secretary of Education, arguably, in recent memory than Donald Trump's choice of Betsy DeVos. The Senate confirmation hearings for the billionaire Republican fundraiser and activist from Michigan start today. DeVos is a champion of vouchers and expanding charter schools in a broader push for greater school choice — closely aligned with the views of the President-elect. Her hearing was pushed back nearly a week because of Democrats' concerns over her "extensive financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest," as Senator Patty Murray of Washington put it. She's the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, which will conduct the hearing.
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Letters alive Plus
Watch kids react to this highly-engaging solution! This evidence-based program uses augmented reality to introduce letters, letters sounds, building words, and building sentences!
Learn more at: Alive Studios
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CNN
The Obama administration is considering a major last-minute policy shift that could force hundreds of school districts to cut spending at well-financed elementary and secondary schools and move nearly $1 billion dollars to schools with large numbers of low-income students. The policy, written by the Department of Education, is under review by the White House budget office and has drawn fierce opposition from Republican lawmakers and school administrators.
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Education Week
Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education, sought to use her confirmation hearing to beat back the notion that she would undermine public education as head of the department, as Democrats pressed her on everything from her views on the civil rights of gay and lesbian students, to states' responsibilities for students in special education, and guns in schools.
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Education DIVE
Some of New York City's highest-performing students spend much of their time studying music. These students attend the Special Music School at Kaufman Music Center, a public school founded in 1996 as a public-private partnership. The New York City Department of Education apportions standard funding for the school based on its own budget and the Kaufman Music Center adds about $8,000 per student to the total, covering an intensive music education that begins in kindergarten, when students are identified as having strong musical potential.
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The Washington Post
School administrators often say they like parents and benefit from their advice. But when mothers and fathers try to force them to make difficult decisions, such as reassigning a teacher, the educators too often act like teenagers told to clean their rooms.
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By: Bambi Majumdar (commentary)
Arkansas' public schools are all set to receive 500 virtual reality classroom kits from Facebook. The donation value is worth $1 million and is aimed at enhancing the overall STEM program of the state. For Facebook, this is the first step in bridging the gap between VR and education, and they are hoping for similar collaborations with other states soon. Experts predicting future trends agree that VR will become an important facet of K-12 education within the next 2-3 years.
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District Administration Magazine
In the wake of a divisive presidential election, hundreds of students from about a dozen high schools in Oakland, California, cut class last November to voice their discontent with President-elect Donald Trump. Rather than demand students return to school, faculty at Oakland USD supported the peaceful demonstration, where students could express their feelings, says David Yusem, Oakland's restorative justice program coordinator. It is part of a transformation in the district, which in recent years has sought to replace zero-tolerance discipline policies with alternatives designed to eliminate the racial divide in school discipline.
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NAESP
Are you interested in strengthening your career while preparing a new generation of leaders? NAESP, in partnership with the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association will be facilitating an upcoming National Principal Mentor Training program in Mason, Michigan. Your knowledge and expertise will help colleagues grow in the profession. Click here to register and find more information.
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NAESP
Nothing ruins a principal's day like spending an hour answering emails, hitting "refresh," and finding another 20 waiting. What about digging through your inbox to find something you're not quite sure you've dealt with? I'll bet if you asked any school administrator what would make the job a little easier, he or she would say "more time" and "less email." I can't help with less email, but here are some tips that may help you gain some time.
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Designed for kids ages 5 to 12, Smart Play: Venti packs 20 exciting activities into its compact size.
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