This message was sent to ##Email##
|
|
|
|
|
| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
USA Today
America's public schools — 62 years after the Supreme Court's historic Brown v. Board of Education decision — are increasingly segregated by race and class, according to new findings by Congress' watchdog agency that echo what advocates for low-income and minority students have said for years. U.S. Government Accountability Office investigators found that from the 2000-2001 to the 2013-2014 school year, both the percentage of K-12 public schools in high-poverty and the percentage comprised of mostly African-American or Hispanic students grew significantly, more than doubling, from 7,009 schools to 15,089 schools. The percentage of all schools with so-called racial or socio-economic isolation grew from 9 percent to 16 percent.
READ MORE
The New York Times
The Obama administration's directive instructing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of the gender they identify with has set off an intense debate. Many politicians and parents have raised alarms about privacy and warned of predatory boys sneaking into girls' bathrooms. But others say that such accommodations are critical protections for a vulnerable population. For all of the heated debate, a central fact remains elusive: How many students are we talking about? No one knows for sure. Researchers have not figured out how to obtain consistent, reliable answers from teenagers, much less younger children. The best estimates are that the population is small, probably under 1 percent of adolescents.
READ MORE
U.S. News & World Report
In nearly every category, female students outperformed male students on a national technology and engineering test — the first of its kind administered under the purview of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Overall, female students outscored their male counterparts by 3 points. But on questions dealing with communication and collaboration, they outscored male students by 5 points, and on questions about information and communication technology, they outscored them by 6 points.
READ MORE
The Hechinger Report (commentary)
If we viewed students as learners and not uneducable criminals, then we wouldn't kick them out of schools. We certainly wouldn't shuttle children through an adult justice system. Education's original sin of not believing children are actually children erodes even the most strident of educators' belief that all children can learn and should be educated in school (and not disciplined out of it). Believing in children as learners is why schools should applaud Louisiana Senate Bill 324.
READ MORE
 |
|
Choose from sponsors offering funding for Custom apparel, donations, and create your own Pear page in minutes.
Click here for more information.
|
|
MindShift
Jennifer Tammi teaches U.S. History to tenth graders at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx. A few years ago, she took on an additional role, one with a long-lasting, school-wide impact: she led a task force to study academic dishonesty and to come up with a new way of countering it. Fallout from a cheating incident at school set the task force in motion. A student had been reprimanded for plagiarism, and the student's parents had rebelled at the school's punishment. At the time, Fieldston imposed a tough three-strikes policy: the first offense resulted in an automatic zero on the assignment combined with a letter of reprimand from the dean, with progressive penalties for further offenses, and ending in expulsion.
READ MORE
The Hechinger Report
No doubt, it's hard for students to learn in a school where classmates are constantly getting into fights and where bullying or disruptive, threatening behavior is common. Teachers who have to spend classroom time breaking up altercations can't do as much teaching. Academic researchers back that up. A 2013 study in Chicago found that violent crime on school grounds has a negative effect on test scores. The stress and the disruptions get in the way of learning.
READ MORE
The Washington Post
For the past 15 years, educators have debated, exhaustively, the perils of laptops in the lecture hall. Professors complain that laptops are distraction machines; defenders say that boring classes are to blame — students have always doodled or daydreamed, so what's the difference that they're browsing Facebook instead? The remarkable thing about all the fuss is that, until now, there hasn't been really great data on how classroom computing affects learning. There have been some small-scale, short-term experiments. A 2003 study found that laptops make it harder for students to remember what they had just learned in lecture.
READ MORE
 |
|
Read the Book! Book the Training!
Improve instruction, improve student performance.
Book your staff development now - (832) 477-5323.
|
|
Connected Principals (commentary)
As many schools in the northern hemisphere come towards the end of a long school year, frustrations and tiredness can mask all of the good things that may have been achieved. Certainly, in international schools and most other schools, the end of the year is a tough time, as both staff and students can move on to new locations. It can be tough listening to those leaving as they talk about not only new opportunities but things that are not "right" in your school and what needs to be improved. Furthermore, many people who are leaving support each other by discussing the school's faults to affirm their decision. Additionally, some of our colleagues moving on no longer commit to their work in the same way, which means that others have to pick up the slack, so to speak. This can be hard to take as a leader, as you keep working hard to finish the year on a high and prepare for the start of the next.
READ MORE
By: Alyssa Skolnick (commentary)
 I am the mother of 10-year-old twin boys, and one of my sons has had an IEP for the last three years. Along the way, I have learned a few tricks that have helped me make sure my son was getting everything he needed. Every child is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for a child with a learning disability. Parents must figure out what works best for their children. And I am just a parent, with no special training in this area. These tips are just things I gleaned along the way.
READ MORE
Edutopia (commentary)
Tired. Exhausted. Stressed. Sad. Done. These are the words that stand out for a teacher at the end of the school year. For those of us that give everything we have, these last few months can seem like an eternity. No matter how hard we try to pace ourselves, when we're dedicated to giving students our all, sometimes that doesn't leave much when April rolls around. Every teacher needs to approach the end of the year in a way that works best for him or her, but here are some of the things that have helped me make it to summer vacation.
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.
|
MindShift
School libraries are no longer simply quiet places for students to study or check out printed materials. Many have transformed themselves into vibrant hubs of school life, boasting makerspaces, computer access, collaborative work areas, quiet zones and many more ways for students to access information. Students are now using a variety of devices to do schoolwork and access textbooks or other class materials. To help meet their needs, librarians are scrambling to curate effective digital collections accessible through a variety of devices, but it's a complicated and often expensive task.
READ MORE
Scholastic Administrators (commentary)
Karen Beerer, a contributor for Scholastic Administrators magazine, writes: "In my previous position as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Pennsylvania's Boyertown Area School District, I had the unique opportunity to witness the important role professional development plays in supporting systemic change. From balanced literacy instruction to standards-based reforms, I saw how sustained, job-embedded professional development for educators at all levels could drive systemic transformation and ultimately improve student achievement."
READ MORE
By: Bambi Majumdar (commentary)
 Bill Gates and news go hand in hand, so the hoopla surrounding his recent comments about education technology at the ASU GSV Summit in San Diego shouldn't come as a surprise. But it should be a wakeup call for parents, students, school districts, authorities and education departments. Gates said that despite years of technology-infused innovation, the ed-tech industry has not really lived up to its transformational promise.
READ MORE
Edutopia
The story of Luis is a good example of the benefits of engaging parents and families. A simple home visit by the teacher revealed how, previously unbeknownst to the school, a young ESL student was connecting his tutoring and schoolwork with his family. In turn, Luis' family was most appreciative of their son's progress in school and welcomed his newly gained English skills that were helping them learn.
READ MORE
| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
Education Week
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the Senate education committee chairman, repeatedly criticized the U.S. Department of Education for what he said was an attempt to create a burdensome spending regulation governing federal money for poor students that would go beyond what the Every Student Succeeds Act allows. In the third of six ESSA oversight hearings being held by the committee, several of those testifying, including teacher union leaders and a state superintendent, joined Alexander in that criticism.
READ MORE
NPR
"This is an intolerable situation," Sen. Lamar Alexander said in a heated speech on the Senate floor. The Tennessee Republican is chairman of the Senate's education committee, and he's furious with the Education Department. He even gave states some remarkable advice: "If the regulations are not consistent with the law, I don't believe [states] should follow them," he said. "If the department persists, then the state should go to court to sue the department." Things could get even more heated today as Alexander, himself a former education secretary, hosts a Senate hearing to spotlight his frustration with the current secretary, John B. King Jr.
READ MORE
Houston Chronicle
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a celebratory statement about the school funding decision from the state Supreme Court, leading us to wonder: What's to celebrate? Sure, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state's system meets minimum constitutional requirements. But the governor's attention ought to be focused elsewhere. No later than the second page of the opinion, written by Justice Don Willett, came this petition to lawmakers: "Texas' more than 5 million school children deserve transformational, top-to-bottom reforms that amount to more than Band-Aid on top of Band-Aid," Willett wrote. "They deserve a revamped, nonsclerotic system fit for the 21st century."
READ MORE
Star-Ledger (commentary)
Earlier this year, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed legislation requiring a daily 20-minute recess period in elementary schools in New Jersey, calling it "a stupid bill." We could not disagree more: the importance of providing children, with a break in the day, to re-energize, socialize, and just play cannot be over emphasized. Children were not designed to sit still for extended periods of time and to force them to do so is unrealistic, unproductive and unfair. Unfortunately, more schools are reducing or eliminating the amount of school recess, in order to increase time for student academics.
READ MORE
NAESP
If students laze away the days of summer without using their minds, they can lose up to a month of learning — especially in reading and math. This month's issue of Report to Parents, "Exercise Kids' Minds During Summer" offers families fun, brain-friendly activities to keep their children engaged over the summer. Share this handout with parents, teachers, volunteers — anyone who can use this information. Available in both English and Spanish.
READ MORE
NAESP
Great principals are intentional about their process for hiring, training, and supporting new teachers. Author and educational consultant Todd Whitaker sits down with NAESP Executive Director Gail Connelly to take a look at best practices supporting teachers, and how they impact school culture. Visit www.naesp.org/radio to listen.
READ MORE
|
|
|
 |
|
ZipKrooz™ brings zip line-like adventure to the playground in an exciting, inclusive and safe way!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Students will enjoy reading all 5 books in the Cornbread Series (appropriate for 3rd - 5th).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
