This message was sent to ##Email##
|
|
|
|
|
| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
ABC News
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is easing school lunch regulations spearheaded by the Obama administration. Newly minted Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue unveiled a new interim rule on Monday to suspend sodium reduction requirements and whole-grain requirements as well as allow 1 percent fat flavored milk back into school cafeterias nationwide. The new rules will take effect during the 2017-2018 school year.
READ MORE
Disability Scoop
Special education is set to see a rise in federal funding under a bipartisan agreement to avert a government shutdown. Grants to states under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will go up $90 million to reach $12 billion as part of the deal reached over the weekend, which still must be voted on by Congress. The increase comes as part of a $1 trillion agreement to fund the federal government through September.
READ MORE
Education Next
Since the 2001 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, test-based accountability has been an organizing principle — perhaps the organizing principle — of efforts to improve American schools. But lately, accountability has been under fire from many critics, including Common Core opponents and those calling for more multifaceted measures of teacher and school performance. And yet the Every Student Succeeds Act, NCLB's successor law, still mandates standardized testing of students and requires states to have accountability systems. So: is accountability on the wane, or is it here to stay? If accountability is indeed dying, would its loss be good or bad for students?
READ MORE
|
Promoted by
|
|
|
|
 |
NPR
Some of the nation's top researchers who've spent their careers studying early childhood education recently got together in Washington with one goal in mind: to cut through the fog of studies and the endless debates over the benefits of preschool. They came away with one clear, strong message: Kids who attend public preschool programs are better prepared for kindergarten than kids who don't. The findings come in a report "The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects," and the authors include big names from the early childhood world: Deborah Phillips of Georgetown University, Mark W. Lipsey of Vanderbilt, Kenneth Dodge of Duke, Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution and others.
READ MORE
Edutopia
Is homework worthwhile? Does doing it make a difference in learning? These questions are the source of much debate nowadays. Some may say homework is good practice, and practice makes perfect. Others insist homework is unproductive and pointless. What benefit is there in doing 20 of the same type of math problem? If students didn’t understand the lesson from the day, not understanding 20 problems may make them feel that math is inaccessible. This is how children begin to struggle in math and decide it’s not for them. And if they did understand the lesson, repeating similar problems is pointless. Worse still, students begin to believe math is boring, irrelevant, a set of mundane rules, and maybe even a waste of time.
READ MORE
 |
|
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
|
|
MindShift
Will Richardson and Bruce Dixon are two longtime education activists and reformers who have become increasingly convinced that the current education model is not preparing students for a world in which computers can do much of what humans used to do and in which creative thinking is highly prized. They consult with school leaders around the world for their company Educating Modern Learners. After many conversations they believe education as a system is ripe for a radical shift away from reform efforts that tinker at the edges and towards learning that puts students at the center with agency over what and how they learn.
READ MORE
The Hechinger Report (commentary)
As more schools across the country experiment with personalized learning approaches to better meet the needs, goals and interests of individual learners, many are overlooking an important piece: arts integration. That's one reason the Integrated Arts Academy of Burlington, Vermont, got together with Crayola's art-focused professional learning programs, channeling resources to identify reasons why infusing arts into other subjects can make personalized learning programs more effective. The Academy is a magnet elementary school located in a U.S. State Department Refugee Resettlement Area that houses families from dozens of nations.
READ MORE
By: Susan Winebrenner (commentary)
 After delivering workshops on teaching gifted kids, I am often asked, "Wouldn't these teaching tips and interventions for gifted students be helpful for other students in my class?" I always give the same enthusiastic response: "Of course they would. What I have been demonstrating in this workshop are simply effective teaching techniques to improve any teacher's ability to diagnose each student's entry level into upcoming content, then prescribe work that moves that student forward in his own learning." Interestingly, those words describe a popular program in current use in many districts, called "response to intervention."
READ MORE
Education Week
Elementary and middle school students' test scores were negatively affected by a computer-based exam interface that did not allow them to return to questions they had previously completed or skipped, according to a new study from the American Association for the Advancement of Science presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association. Non-native English speakers in the study also performed better on paper-and-pencil exams than they did on either of two computer-based testing formats, the study found.
READ MORE
EdTech Magazine
The $1.5 billion increase in E-rate funding in 2014 may be providing more schools with high-speed internet, but now districts must address a new side to the digital equity issue — the homework gap. Millions of students (many of whom are economically disadvantaged or live in rural areas) don't have reliable high-speed internet and technology access at home. This is a major issue if you consider that within the next three years at least 50 percent of learning resources and content will be digital, according to CoSN's 2016 K–12 IT Leadership Survey.
READ MORE
MindShift
When Aly Buffett was a young girl struggling with reading, her parents brought in a tutor. The tutor told her, "You're struggling right now, but I'm here with you, and you're going to do amazing things" Buffett said. Now 20 years old and a junior at Tulane University, Buffett believes her tutor's warmth and confidence altered the path of her life. She realized that the steady support she’d received from her parents, teachers and tutor isn't something every struggling child receives.
READ MORE
|
|
The Brookings Institution
Despite the recent change in political parties in our nation's capital, colleges of education and teacher preparation programs continue to be blamed for the failure of public education. Indeed this blame is not new; it has a long history and deep roots designed to distract the broad base of education stakeholders from co-engaging in the kind of dialogue and inquiry needed to develop effective, lasting educational reform. This is especially true for those students and their families who have been the most persistently and pervasively underserved by America's public schools.
READ MORE
MindShift
Some of the nation's top researchers who've spent their careers studying early childhood education recently got together in Washington with one goal in mind: to cut through the fog of studies and the endless debates over the benefits of preschool. And they came away with one clear, strong message: Kids who attend public preschool programs are better prepared for kindergarten than kids who don't.
READ MORE
 |
|
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.
|
|
By: Bambi Majumdar (commentary)
 The last 12 months have been a study in fake news, ransomware, hacking, allegations of media manipulation and malicious interference in public and private lives — all via the Internet. In such a scenario, it is quite understandable that parents and school administrators are worried about cybersecurity in schools. As we progress deeper into digital education and more connected devices are used by students for regular lessons, our students need cybersecurity-related education.
READ MORE
| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
Education World
United States Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has a new assignment from President Donald Trump's desk and is tasked with reviewing the federal government's role in the K-12 education system. The president signed the executive order, requiring a study to determine if and how the federal government has overstepped its boundaries in shaping local school systems. DeVos and her senior counselor, Robert Eitel, will review education policy and guidelines that are believed to not be consistent with federal law, which could lead to them being modified.
READ MORE
NPR
President Donald Trump's budget would eliminate all funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, after-school programs for 1.8 million mostly poor children. The administration says there's no evidence that the program works. Advocates argue there is evidence that it does help improve children's test scores and other learning skills. Those who participate in the program in a small Appalachian community in Virginia say it's invaluable for both kids and their struggling parents.
READ MORE
|
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
|
|
Don't be left behind. Click here to see what else you missed.
|
The Conversation (commentary)
President Donald Trump has directed the United States Department of Education to evaluate whether the federal government has "overstepped its legal authority" in the field of education. This is not a new issue in American politics. Ever since the Department of Education became a Cabinet-level agency in 1979, opposition to federalized education has been a popular rallying cry among conservatives. Ronald Reagan advocated to dismantle the department while campaigning for his presidency, and many others since then have called for more power to be put back into the states’ hands when it comes to educational policy. In February of this year, legislation was introduced to eliminate the Department of Education entirely.
READ MORE
The Associated Press
Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation that will change the rules and qualifications for who can become a teacher in the state, marking another enacted education measure strongly opposed by Democratic lawmakers. The governor called the legislation a win for schools, teachers, and students in a written statement. Arizona has struggled with a teacher shortage, and Ducey, along with other backers, say easing the certification requirements will help fix the problem. "No longer will an outdated process keep qualified, dedicated individuals out of the classroom," Ducey said in the statement. "Instead, principals will now be empowered to make hiring decisions and attract the best individuals to serve our students."
READ MORE
School Library Journal
"Modern librarianship and science education go together like bread and butter," says Rebecca Oxley, librarian and tech teacher at Robert Goddard Montessori in Seabrook, MD. "There's no reason why we can't be as involved as we want to be with science and technology education." As school librarians dive deeper into STEM and STEAM initiatives, educators at all levels agree that a library maker space can be an ideal base for these explorations. "It's a flexible space whereas a classroom might not be quite as flexible," says Robin Coutras, librarian at Rose Park Magnet Math and Science Middle school in Nashville, TN.
READ MORE
NAESP
The American Federation of School Administrators, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals — representing the nation's 120,000 school leaders — issued the following statement regarding funding for Title II Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
READ MORE
NAESP
A death in a school community has a deep impact. The loss will usually touch many individuals — students and staff alike — and often the entire school. It is vital that schools plan ahead to be prepared to deal with a range of possibilities involving the death of a student, teacher or other staff member. Information about the death is likely to spread quickly among students and staff. Responding rapidly and appropriately can limit rumors, misinformation and gossip.
READ MORE
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
