 This message contains images. If you don't see images, click here to view.
Click here to advertise in this news brief.
|
Advertisement
|
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Moving to
Success is a comprehensive,
developmental elementary physical education curriculum guide.
MORE
|
|
|
Advertisement
Wisconsin principal elected next president of NAESP
LaCrosse Tribune
A La Crosse, Wis., elementary school principal has been picked as the next president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Mark White of Hintgen Elementary School will lead the national group, which serves about 20,000 principals across the country, offering informational resources and political advocacy. White, 53, will serve his term during the 2014-2015 school year, leaving Hintgen during that time to represent the association publicly.
|
|
Share this article:
    |
|
|
Advertisement
Most parents support mobile learning devices
eClassroom News
A majority of parents overwhelmingly think that mobile apps, mobile content and technology in the classroom promote positive learning habits and yield benefits, according to a new survey released on May 2. "Living and Learning with Mobile Devices: What Parents Think About Mobile Devices for Early Childhood and K-12 Learning," from Grunwald Associates, the Learning First Alliance, and underwritten by AT&T, surveyed 2,392 parents who have 4,164 children between the ages of 3-18.
States' online testing problems raise Common Core concerns
Education Week
Widespread technical failures and interruptions of recent online testing in a number of states have shaken the confidence of educators and policymakers in high-tech assessment methods and raised serious concerns about schools' technological readiness for the coming Common Core online tests. The glitches arose as many districts in the 46 states that have signed on to the Common Core State Standards are trying to ramp up their technological infrastructure to prepare for the requirement that students take online assessments starting in 2014-2015.
Advertisement
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
 |
|
We did the work, so you don’t have to. Teach essential Common Core knowledge daily and provide frequent opportunities for students to apply their knowledge with Common Core Standards Plus -
a comprehensive year-long program.
• Includes Daily Lessons, Performance Lessons, & Integrated Projects
Learn more about Common Core Standards Plus
|
|
Geography lessons make a world of difference in education
Times of Trenton (commentary)
A new nationwide survey finds overwhelming public support for geography at all levels of education and recognizes the discipline's value in government and business. The results indicate: Americans want more geography education to be offered in schools, colleges and universities throughout the United States. Approximately nine out of 10 respondents wish they themselves had more geographic education and nearly all want more for their children.
Digital crossword puzzles foster collaborative learning
EdTech Magazine
Arthur Wynne, a British journalist for the New York World, created the first known published crossword puzzle in 1913. Wynne sketched out a diamond-shaped grid and then wrote "FUN," the name of the newspaper's comic section across three squares toward the top of the puzzle. He left readers with simple instructions: "Fill in the small squares with words which agree with the following definitions." What was once just a pastime for adults now helps teachers introduce students to new concepts and improve their vocabulary.
| Looking for similar articles? Search here, keyword COLLABORATIVE LEARNING. |
|
Advertisement
Poll: Many teachers say they need training in Common Core standards
The Washington Post
Most public school teachers feel unprepared to teach math and reading to the Common Core standards that are rolling out in 45 states and the District, according to a poll of 800 teachers released by the American Federation of Teachers. The new standards, written by a group of states and embraced by the Obama administration, set common goals for reading, writing and math skills that students should develop from kindergarten through high school graduation. Curriculum is left to the states. The standards emphasize critical thinking and problem solving and are supposed to encourage students to think deeply about fewer topics.
Unstoppable learning
NPR
Learning is an integral part of human nature. But why do we — as adults — assume learning must be taught, tested and reinforced? Why do we put so much effort into making kids think and act like us? In this hour, TED speakers explore the ways babies and children learn, from the womb to the playground to the Web.
|
FEATURED COMPANIES
Advertisement
A Texas urban/suburban school district is seeking a proven instructional leader for its next elementary school principal. If you are an exceptional campus leader, contact Lead Your School.
|
|
Advertisement
• Creates safe, responsible and respectful school
common areas
• Gives supervisors positive strategies they can use immediately
• Get FREE demo!
|
|
A reminder about what is really important...
Connected Principals (commentary)
Jonathan VanderEls, a contributor for Connected Principals, writes: "It is incredibly easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day responsibilities we have as principals. Although each day presents different challenges, a recurring theme emerges: an incredible amount of work to do, and not nearly enough time in the day to do it. I had the opportunity recently to stop and remind myself why we do what we do, to share an incredible bond with like-minded educators, and to be reminded that what we do as educators each and every day is not only important, it is imperative in keeping our society moving forward."
Choosing the right battles
ED.gov Blog
Education researchers play an invaluable role in formulating policy, from preschool to grad school, Secretary Arne Duncan told the attendees of the American Educational Research Association annual meeting in San Francisco where he laid out a vision for where assessment is going, and engaged researchers on the role they play in improving education. "You are the experts. You are the independent truth-tellers," he said. Duncan's speech to AERA examined the major issues facing students, educators, policymakers and other stakeholders in today's education environment.
Advertisement
How does multitasking change the way kids learn?
MindShift
Living rooms, dens, kitchens, even bedrooms: Investigators followed students into the spaces where homework gets done. Pens poised over their "study observation forms," the observers watched intently as the students — in middle school, high school and college, 263 in all — opened their books and turned on their computers.
Students want more mobile devices in classroom
InformationWeek
When it comes to the influx of mobile devices into K-12 classrooms, you'll find both proponents and opponents among educators and parents. But ask kids what they think, and there's no debate: Laptops, smartphones and tablets are the future, they say. The Student Mobile Device Survey reveals that students almost unanimously believe mobile technology will change education and make learning more fun. The survey, which tallied the responses of 2,350 U.S. students, was conducted for learning company Pearson by Harris Interactive.
|
PRODUCT SHOWCASES
Advertisement
|
 |
|
Improve your students’ reading abilities no matter what language they speak with ReadingA-Z.com! This 27-level reading plan allows students to progress at their own speed while learning with the rest of the class. Thousands of printable and projectable books and support materials. Available in English, British English, Spanish and French.
|
|
Advertisement
|
 |
|
Based on scientific research, the GRADE and GMADE suite of products provides everything you need to assess, plan, and deliver your focused instruction in reading and math and will lead your classrooms to reportable success. Learn More.
|
|
Advertisement
|
 |
|
With more than 60 restaurants, over 65 years of guest service experience in the retail restaurant industry and over 80 food service locations, Piccadilly Food Service has the ability to customize dining solutions that meet the unique needs of your students and faculty.
|
|
Study suggests preordering school lunches leads to healthier choices
Medical News Today
A research letter by Dr. Andrew S. Hanks, of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and colleagues examined whether having students preorder their entrée (main dish) of their school meal improves the healthfulness of entrees selected for lunch. A total of 272 students in 14 classrooms (grades 1-5) from two elementary schools in upstate New York participated in the study. The schools are located in a predominantly white (96.6 percent) county where 55 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Students used an electronic system to preorder their lunch entrée over a 4-week period.
Funding questions affect teacher training
Iowa City Press Citizen
Accountants aren't the only Iowa City Community School District staffers in a bind as lawmakers negotiate an already overdue education funding plan. Teachers and administrators are trying to make staff training plans for next year, but they're not sure what funding will be available or what a statewide teacher training shakeup would entail.
Obama vows early childhood education push
The Hill
President Barack Obama is set to renew his push to make preschool education accessible to all children in America. The president will be touring the country in the coming weeks to press for congressional action on his State of the Union agenda, the White House said, starting with a stop in Austin, Texas. On the agenda: support for the economy and the middle class, including raising the minimum wage and investing in early childhood education.
Advertisement
Rewards for schools key facet of NCLB waivers
Education Week
One of the chief complaints about the No Child Left Behind Act has been that districts and schools that fail to meet achievement targets face serious sanctions, while schools that do a good job of closing the gaps between traditionally overlooked groups of students and their peers essentially get little in return. To help alleviate those concerns, the U.S. Department of Education asked states to identify so-called "reward schools" in their applications for waivers easing demands of the NCLB law, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which Congress has yet to revise.
Sequester slams Head Start programs
NPR
Sequestration resulted in automatic cutbacks to several government programs. Many families that rely on Head Start to care for and educate young children have been forced to make other plans. Host Michel Martin speaks with a Head Start teacher in Kansas and NPR Education Correspondent Claudio Sanchez, about how programs have been affected.
|
Efforts to reform teacher evaluations in Texas falter
The Texas Tribune
When Texas lawmakers rolled out a framework for evaluating public schoolteachers more than 15 years ago, they intended to identify ways to strengthen the state's teaching corps. But the regular result of the largely subjective evaluations since then has been: no improvement needed. Less than 3 percent of educators receive scores below the "proficient" level, and the variation in scores from year to year has been so small that state officials stopped collecting the data from school districts after the 2010-2011 academic year.
Colorado school becomes a model for guns in schools
The Denver Post
In a first-of-its-kind move in Colorado, a rural school board has given two of its top administrators new job titles — security officer. The new titles make it possible to bypass state gun laws and carry guns in schools. This move in Dove Creek in the southwest corner of the state has turned the tiny town into a model for other Colorado school districts looking to get around laws that allow only peace and security officers to pack heat in schools. A legislative effort that would have changed that and put guns in the hands of Colorado schoolteachers died in committee earlier this year.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
CORE districts to make big changes to try to win NCLB waiver
Education Week
The nine California districts seeking their own version of a No Child Left Behind Act waiver plan to make significant changes to their request to increase their odds of winning this flexibility. Armed with feedback from the U.S. Department of Education's outside peer reviewers, the districts say they will no longer only factor in test scores of the last grade in each school for accountability purposes. This was one of the more radical ideas in the proposal submitted by these "CORE" districts, which stands for California Office to Reform Education. The districts include Fresno, Los Angeles and Sacremento.
New initiative for Detroit Public schools: What will it mean?
Yahoo News
Detroit Public Schools announced a groundbreaking initiative that should have broad-spectrum impacts for residents when fully implemented. "Neighborhood-Centered, Quality Schools" aims to partner community and schools and make schools hubs within the neighborhoods they serve. Here are outcomes and changes locals can expect.
|
FEATURED COMPANIES
Advertisement
Let a Veteran bring leadership, experience, and maturity to your school. Make a difference in the classrooms of your school and do it for your students hire a Troops to Teacher!
Contact Troops to Teachers TTT@navy.mil
|
|
Advertisement
Helping hundreds of school districts improve teacher performance, Halogen eAppraisal Education makes teacher evaluations easy and manageable. Book a
Free Trial of Halogen’s award winning software today.
|
|
Hispanics now largest ethnic group in Texas' public schools
The Dallas Morning News
Hispanics have passed whites as the largest ethnic group in Texas schools, making up almost 51 percent of public school enrollment. The influx of Hispanic students, many from poor families, has brought about many changes in classrooms, with more expected as that population continues to grow. Some schools already struggle with how to teach an increasing number of poor children who don't speak English. Others are preparing for a day when their enrollment primarily is made up of low-income students, most of them Hispanic.
Public school first in nation to offer kids all-vegetarian meals
eSchool News
A New York City elementary school has adopted an all-vegetarian menu, serving kids tofu wraps and veggie chili. Public School 244 is the first public school in the city to go all-veggie. The animal-welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it might be the first all-veggie public elementary school in the nation. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott says he's proud of the "trailblazing" school.
PD spotlight: The achievement gap
NAESP
Tap into free online professional development with PD 360. This month's video segments explore data use, formative assessment and equity walkthroughs. NAESP members receive exclusive access to four high-quality videos each month, perfect for individual learning or staff training. Visit the newly revitalized, easy-to-navigate PD 360 page to watch.
Time is of the essence — register now for 2013 conference and save $100
NAESP
Register today for the biggest professional development event of the year for principals. NAESP's 2013 Best Practices for Better Schools™ National Conference kicks off on July 11. Delve into topics from the Common Core to collaboration, creativity to cyberbullying and more. Hands-on workshops, keynotes, plenary presentations and over 100 concurrent sessions will offer expert guidance and information. Plus, register by May 13 — just a week away! — and save $100.
|
|
|
|
|
Before the Bell is a benefit of your membership in the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). For information about other member benefits, visit www.naesp.org or contact us at naesp@naesp.org.
Before the Bell is a digest of the most important news selected for NAESP from thousands of sources by the editors of MultiBriefs, an independent organization that also manages and sells advertising. The presence of such advertising does not endorse, or imply endorsement of, any products or services by NAESP. Neither NAESP nor Multiview is liable for the use of or reliance on any information contained in this briefing.
Feedback about an article? Contact NAESP Liaison Meredith Barnett at MBarnett@naesp.org.
Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469.420.2601 Download media kit
This edition of Before the Bell was sent to ##Email##. To unsubscribe, click here.
NAESP | 1615 Duke Street | Alexandria, VA 22314 | www.naesp.org | 800-386-2377
|
|
Recent issues
May 3, 2013
April 30, 2013
April 26, 2013
April 23, 2013
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
Mobile version
