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| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
EdTech Magazine
Across the country, state governments are looking to take the lead in closing the digital divide for school districts. With the Federal Communications Commission providing funding for schools to equip all students with high-speed internet through its E-Rate program, states have the backing and incentive to ensure students have access to broadband in the classroom and at home. Although 75 percent of all students now have internet connections that meet the FCC's minimum standard of 100 kilobits per second, per student, states are still working to make headway on projects that look to expand opportunity to kids in public schools.
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Edutopia
Hallways and stairwells are bullying hot spots, according to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics. In the 2014–2015 academic year, students between the ages of 12 and 18 reported nearly twice as many bullying incidents in transitional areas between classes — where they spend a fraction of their time — as in other school areas like cafeterias or playgrounds.
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THE Journal
All children are born scientists. Just watch very young children plan and plant a community garden, discussing how much watering it needs, what roots are for and how a plant's growth shifts with the seasons. Yet the public perception appears to be that only some children have scientific inclinations, based in many cases on their family cultures. According to a new research project, children who engage in scientific activities at an early age (between birth and age 8) develop positive attitudes toward science, build up their STEM "vocabularies" and do better at problem solving, meeting challenges and acquiring new skills.
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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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MindShift
Students throughout Boston are getting a radically different view of the world, one laminated 24-by-36-inch sheet of paper at a time. Recently, Boston Public Schools administrators have been sending social studies teachers in the second, seventh and 11th grades new maps for their classrooms — depictions that more accurately portray the sizes of Earth’s continents. When many people picture a map of the world, what they're probably thinking of is a Mercator projection, a representation that despite its apparent distortions has been around more than 400 years. It's that map that hangs in most classrooms throughout the U.S., including those in Boston.
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MindShift
Let's face it: Kids have diverse opinions and they're bound to disagree with one another. Today arguments occur not only in the hallway or classroom, but online as well. And whether or not these conflicts escalate can depend on how well students recognize and manage their emotions. There are many ways to help build self-control in the face of rising frustration, whether students turn to meditation or build constructed arguments on the fly. Since we live in a democracy that values passionate and polarizing views — especially in our educational systems — it's all the more important to know how to help kids manage their feelings responsibly.
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By: Susan Winebrenner (commentary)
 Can you remember when you tried to learn something you really wanted to know how to do? And it didn't work the first time. Or the fifth time. Or even now — years later. For me it has been sailing, which is my bliss and which I have been trying to master for decades. But I still don't get it intuitively, because you learn sailing by doing it. And I now know I don't easily learn that way. If someone had taught me logically, step by step, I would have achieved the label "skipper" by now.
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Education Week
It turns out, most U.S. public school students are taught by certified and experienced teachers, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics. Still, the numbers vary as you look across states, school districts, and by different school and student characteristics. The report uses data from the Schools and Staffing Survey and the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
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Benchmark Advance and Adelante build K-6 literary and content-area knowledge through close reading and collaborative conversations. Foundational skills, writing to sources, and use of text evidence are seamlessly integrated, as are resources for ELs that amplify meaning without simplifying language. Fully equitable Spanish edition also available. FREE sampler.
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The Conversation
In Australia approximately one student in five is bullied at school every few weeks or more often. Many of these students suffer serious emotional and psychological harm, such as persistent anxiety, depression and suicidal thinking, and are unable to concentrate on their school work. It is clear they need help. Teachers routinely inform students that if they are being bullied at school they should seek help from a trusted adult, such as a teacher or school counsellor. A new two-part ABC documentary, Bullied addresses the question of how victimised students can receive help from their school.
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The Associated Press
Eighth-grader Lakaysha Governor spends two hours on the bus getting back and forth to school each day. Thanks to a grant from Google, she can now use that time more productively and get her homework done. The aspiring forensic anthropologist is one of nearly 2,000 students in South Carolina's rural Berkeley County who will ride to school on one of 28, Google-funded, Wi-Fi-equipped school buses. The tech giant also has given the school district 1,700 Chromebooks, the stripped-down laptops on which many schoolchildren now do their class and homework.
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Edutopia
Vonda Viland is a mother figure, coach, cheerleader, and counselor. She has to be. As the principal of Black Rock Continuation High School on the edge of California's Mojave Desert, Ms. V — as she's known to her 121 at-risk students — has heard countless stories of personal or familial alcohol or drug addiction, chronic truancy, and physical and sexual abuse. Over 90 percent of the school's students live below the poverty line; most have a history of serious disciplinary issues and have fallen too far behind at traditional schools to catch up. As a new documentary about the school explains, Black Rock is the students' "last chance." The film, The Bad Kids, was awarded the Special Jury Award for Vérité Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016.
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The Atlantic
Barring unexpected closures, students enrolled in San Francisco Public Schools will have seven three-day weekends this school year; there are five three-day weekends on the Hartford Public Schools calendar for 2016-2017; and Atlanta Public Schools students are scheduled to have three three-day weekends this year. In Bonners Ferry, Idaho, however, students can plan for 29 three-day weekends.
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Scrap the sticky notes and shred the spreadsheets. Create fair, first-class classes with Class Composer. Where does it hurt? When it comes to assigning elementary school students to their classes, it’s the knees, the back and the head. Why?
Read more: http://www.classcomposer.com/news
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eSchool News
When it comes to learning, giving students access to a magical mix of high-quality teachers, technology, and the opportunity to develop skills such as collaboration sets them on the right path. But educational gaps remain — gaps in technology access, in achievement, and in opportunity. The right blend of pedagogy and technology, however, can help close those gaps. During a session at CUE's 2017 National Conference, Toni Robinson, director of professional development for Discovery Education, explored some of the ways technology can give students equal learning opportunities. Closing educational gaps comes down to access, achievement and advancement.
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| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
Education Week
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision expanding the scope of students' special education rights, ruling unanimously that schools must do more than provide a "merely more than de minimis" education program to a student with a disability. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the high court rejected the "merely more than de minimis" standard set by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver.
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[Istation]
Educators share eight ways to save time and reduce testing fatigue. Learn how to get a clear picture of student progress with a FREE e-book that explores the benefits of data-driven instruction.
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U.S. News & World Report (commentary)
Policy debates about teacher evaluation, school accountability and the like are accompanied by a common refrain: frustrated educators lamenting that policymakers "don't understand schools," "don't listen to what educators think" and "don't even really care about those of us actually working in schools." While the complaints are understandable, especially given some of the half-baked policies adopted in recent years, such venting hasn't done much to make educators feel valued or to improve policy. Mostly, this is because many preconceptions educators have about policymakers are wrong.
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Fast Company (commentary)
President Donald Trump's proposed budget increases one of the nation's largest expenditures, the military, while cutting funding to many smaller programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts, have little impact on overall government spending. The 2016 budget for the NEA was $148 million. By comparison, the proposed budget increase (not total spending) for the military in the president's budget is $54 billion.
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The New York Times
When she was shopping for a school for her daughter Alma, Mary Kakayo found a lot to like in St. Theresa Catholic, including its Catholic social justice theme, student prayer and hour of religious instruction every day. "Morally, my child knows how to respect others," said Kakayo, whose daughter is now in the fourth grade. "She knows when to listen, and when to talk and bring in her ideas." For Kakayo and her husband, the best part may be that the school costs them only $85 per month. As it does for one-third of St. Theresa students, the state covers more than half of Alma's $3,025 tuition in a program that resembles the Trump administration's proposal for a federal private school choice plan.
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The Kansas City Star
Kansas and nine other states have dropped a lawsuit against the federal government after President Donald Trump's administration rescinded a Department of Education guidance on school bathrooms. Former President Barack Obama's administration handed down a guidance to public schools across the country in May saying that restricting transgender students from using the bathroom that matches the gender for which they self-identify would be a violation of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in schools.
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The Boston Globe
Teachers of another generation may have had little patience for fidgety students. Students were expected to sit with both feet on the floor and hands on top of their desks, while their backs rested often uncomfortably against the wooden backs of their chairs. But don't expect second grade-teacher Kelly Fitzpatrick to tell her Northeast Elementary School students to "sit still." Instead, she is providing an outlet for their energy — replacing many classroom chairs with exercise balls, standing desks, yoga mats, and plastic stools that wobble in all directions.
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NAESP
The 2017 NAESP Vice President Election is open from March 29 – April 11. On March 29, eligible voters will receive an email with a customized link to cast their vote. The process is simple: Check your email on March 29 for the link to your online ballot. Click on the link and vote for the next NAESP Vice President. No username or login is required. You will receive a confirmation email after you have voted. Click here for more information on voting and candidates.
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NAESP
Principals and teachers use student data every day to inform decisions that support learning, and they have always had a responsibility to protect that data and use it ethically. Yet new, tech-based instructional tools allow educators to use data to create personalized learning opportunities and improve student outcomes in unprecedented ways. As a result, principals and teachers must now take on the critical role as stewards of students’ personal information. They must also clearly communicate to families how data is used and protected in the classroom.
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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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