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| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
District Administration Magazine
When Tullahoma City Schools administrators started shopping for new social studies textbooks in 2013, they were disappointed to find only a few options aligned to the new Tennessee state standards. Rather than wait for newer textbooks to be released, the district embarked on the ambitious project of creating its own. Two years later, the result is a series of social studies and math textbooks that students can access from any digital device, and that teachers can easily personalize for their classroom.
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The Washington Post
Congress finally rewrote No Child Left Behind (eight years late) and delivered a new K-12 education law to the country called the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. The new law is intended to fix some of the most egregious problems with NCLB, and return significant education policy-making power to the states. But there are questions about exactly how much power the states have to change policy, including on accountability systems that have been pushed by the Obama administration for years.
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MiddleWeb (commentary)
If you had three wishes for STEM education, what would those be? These are three of my priorities: Classrooms would be places of exploration, creativity and discourse. Learning would be meaningfully connected to the world outside the school walls. Teachers would be prepared and empowered to design engaging STEM curricula and assessments. If those are your wishes as well, then here's some encouraging news.
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The ST Math game-based math program makes learning tantalizingly tricky, teaching core math content while developing the grit and perseverance needed for complex problem solving.
Learn more about the kinds of games that can transform students into tenacious problem solvers.
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Education Week
Very few K-12 science teachers have the experience needed to teach the science and engineering practices described in the Next Generation Science Standards, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. And that's especially true among elementary teachers and those working in schools serving low-income students. The nearly 250-page study looks at what K-12 science teachers know, what they need to know, and the ways to strengthen teacher learning, mainly through reviews of existing research. The National Academies also published the 2011 report A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas, which the new science standards are largely based on.
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NCSE
Have you ever wondered how to address climate change, or even just fossil fuels and energy, with young students? A complex and potentially heated topic, many people have argued that elementary school is too early to talk about these issues. Some teachers might even try to avoid the potential controversy by skipping over energy altogether, which is a lost opportunity for their students. A book by Molly Bang, Buried Sunlight, could provide just the path you need to talk about these tricky topics with your young students.
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The Huffington Post
One of the quickly learned lessons by U.S. military service members is that you move. And move often. On average, a service member moves every two to three years. For those with a family, this can mean six to nine different schools at as many bases during a child's elementary and high school years. For veterans with families, the situation doesn't change once they leave the military. One of the first actions a veteran and his or her family takes after receiving discharge papers is to move. And, as the Census Bureau reports, the average family will move at least two more times before the parents retire.
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MindShift
Many teachers are excited about the compelling research on the power of a growth mindset to change student perceptions of themselves as learners. Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck discovered that when kids receive a message that their brains are malleable and their abilities can be developed, they approach learning as a challenge that they are ready to embrace. That message resonates with many teachers who have long wanted that type of classroom environment. But while the research is compelling, many teachers still struggle to weave growth mindset into their daily teaching practice.
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Discover the revolutionary system of daily teacher actions that are transforming 1000's
of classrooms across
the nation. Order now on Amazon.com
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THE Journal
Schools that experiment with bring-your-own-device policies have reduced their costs but must cope with a variety of student devices, some of which don't meet minimum standards for computer instruction. And if a student misuses a device, it could be taken away from him or her, creating the exact opposite situation that benefits education. Naturally, the student who is prone to misuse a device is often a student who needs the device most. Textbooks don't generate such tricky issues.
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EdTech Magazine
Mobility is transforming the way students learn. Early concerns about K-12 students bringing mobile devices to school have given way to a national movement that views mobile devices as a cornerstone of educational achievement. A Grunwald Associates Report found that more than half of parents surveyed believe that schools should make greater use of mobile devices in education.
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Choose from 87 digital, conceptual K-8 science units, with STEM, in grade-level bands, to meet evolving standards. Email for free sample and details: rseela@seelascience.com MORE
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Education World
According to a study from Healthy Relationships California, the new education legislation the Every Student Succeeds Act offers a good opportunity for schools to see reduced bullying and violence in relationships thanks to the new guidelines. Early Intervention: The Impact of Relationship Education on Youth — the most recent [Relationship Education] RE study published by Healthy Relationships California — helps quantify the benefits of RE for adolescents across all of their relationships, including with friends, romantic partners, parents and siblings.
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eSchool News
Educators know that students' home lives play an integral role in their academic success. Communication between teachers and parents makes it easier for educators to understand the outside challenges students may deal with, and it helps parents understand how they can better support their children in school.
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Playworks schools gain 21 hours of learning time each year by transforming recess. Smooth transitions, active games, and conflict resolution get kids ready to learn. MORE
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| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
The Associated Press
School meals could become a bit tastier under legislation approved by a Senate committee. The bipartisan measure approved by a voice vote is designed to help schools that say the Obama administration's healthier meal rules are too restrictive. Leaders of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee introduced the legislation after negotiating an agreement to ease requirements for whole grains and delaying a deadline to cut sodium levels. School lunch directors who have lobbied against the standards endorsed the deal, saying it would help them plan meals that are more appealing to students. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has backed it as well, saying the compromise maintains most of the healthier school meal rules that have been phased in since 2012.
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Education Week
The Every Student Succeeds Act presents states, districts, and educators with a chance for a "fresh start" and "much needed do-over" on the very testy issue of teacher evaluation through student outcomes, acting U.S. Secretary of Education John King said at a town hall meeting for teachers in Philadelphia Thursday. "I'll start by being frank, if maybe also obvious, and say this conversation hasn't always gone well," King said in prepared remarks. "A discussion that began with shared interests and shared values — the importance of learning and growth for all our children — ended up with a lot of teachers feeling attacked and blamed. Teachers were not always adequately engaged by policymakers in the development of new systems. And when they disagreed with evaluation systems, it appeared to pit them against those who they cherished most—their students. That was no one's desire."
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EdSource
To cope with a widening shortage of teachers, California school districts are hiring an increasing number of teachers with "substandard" permits and credentials, as well as relying on short-term substitute teachers, according to a new report. Teachers with these permits and credentials make up a small percentage of California's nearly 300,000-strong teaching force, but the number of them has nearly doubled over the past two years, to more than 7,700. They made up a third of all new teaching credentials issued in the state last year.
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The Atlantic
"Ch-ch-tsss. Ch-ch-tsss." On a chilly Wednesday morning, Baja Poindexter sounded out the steps of the rumba to a classroom of fifth-graders at West Athens Elementary School, located in one of Los Angeles's most violent neighborhoods. She encouraged her class of mostly Latino students to do the same. They tenuously clasped each other's hands in ballroom dance "frame," or body position, and swayed to the music at "Miss Baja's" command. "Side, together, to the lady! Side, together, to the gentleman!" she bellowed.
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NAESP
Rick DuFour frequently laments that our schools are data rich and information poor. How does a principal manage people and use data to inform practice to ensure accountability to student achievement? In this webinar, our goal is to have principals describe how they manage these three key components; people, data and processes with the end goal in mind of school improvement. This webinar takes place Tuesday, Feb.23, 4–5 p.m. ET.
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NAESP
The National Association of Elementary School Principals in partnership with VINCI Education is pleased to announce the Digital Leader of Early Learning Award. This award is in honor of Leonardo da Vinci, a scholar, inventor and innovator who embodied the type of renaissance thinking we all wish to inspire in our children. We are looking for NAESP members who have embraced such thinking in their schools with innovative educational technology practices that support the early learner. Our aim is to showcase your leadership in technology and Pre-K-3 early learning programs so that it can be recognized and shared with colleagues.
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| Students will enjoy reading all 5 books in the Cornbread Series (appropriate for 3rd - 5th).
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| Students will enjoy reading all 5 books in the Cornbread Series (appropriate for 3rd - 5th).
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7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
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