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| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
MindShift
When vice principal Tim Carlin arrived at Everitt Middle School in Jefferson County, Colorado, he wanted to hold a schoolwide assembly, a pretty common activity in most schools. But his principal told him that the school didn’t hold assemblies anymore because too many kids were getting suspended for bad behavior when they did. That was the first clue that the school culture was not positive at Everitt, and it was clear the negativity and stress were affecting, students, teachers and staff alike.
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Education DIVE
As the United States continues to struggle with performance, quality and equity in its education system, a new study by the National Center on Education and the Economy examined how other countries approach affirming and strengthening teacher quality. The study found successful countries "focused on building effective systems" and made a "commitment to professionalizing teaching."
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The Brookings Institution
The exit and churn of public school teachers have always been of concern to policymakers. Ideally, we want to keep the best and the brightest in the schools where they are needed the most and, at the very least, we want to keep them in the teaching profession more generally. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 3.6 million full-time-equivalent public school teachers in the United States in 2015; 8 percent of those exited public school teaching during the following year, and another 8 percent moved to a new school. Combined, nearly one in six public teaching positions will be vacated and will likely need a replacement before the next school year.
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Over 75% of transgender students feel unsafe at school, and staff do not know how to help them. Welcoming Schools, the nation’s premier professional development program for elementary schools, provides educators with best practices to support transgender students and prevent bias-based bullying.
Visit www.welcomingschools.org to learn more.
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Education DIVE
The gaps between genders, in terms of STEM interest and proficiency (as well as concerns about a shortage in the number of qualified applicants for future STEM jobs), has spurred private industries, the public sector and educational institutions to respond. Still, women make up only 24 percent of STEM workers, despite being 48 percent of the country's workforce, according to information from the U.S. Department of Commerce. But the survey's results indicate schools must begin earlier by more robustly promoting STEM options for younger students, as the data indicates the underrepresentation may be prevalent by the time female students reach the ages of 13-17. But promoting a culture of support and innovation will help encourage more educators to take on the task like Sandra Wiseman, the school library media specialist/technology integration specialist at Woodsdale Elementary in West Virginia who is introducing and integrating tech into K-5 education.
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eSchool News
With the goal of making the learning experience more personalized and individual, a growing number of schools have embraced the concept of blended learning. The transition from more traditional pedagogies to one that's centered on blended learning isn't easy, but the rewards are certainly many.
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The Atlantic
When Betsy DeVos returned to the advocacy group she used to lead last month, she told attendees to push for systems where students could attend any kind of school. Traditional, charter, religious and virtual schools should be options for students, the education secretary argued, as should "an educational setting yet to be developed."
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By: Susan Winebrenner (commentary)
 Summer is beginning, and you haven't made any activity plans for your gifted child. By the end of this month, you may be regretting that decision. Here are some suggestions for your consideration. The first consideration should be to find paths to connect your child with other kids who share their interests. Most gifted kids care more about quality of friendships than quantity of options. To find a like-minded learner who shares one's learning passion is a gift.
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New Boston Post
There is one good reason that the most recent review of research on teacher professional development in mathematics in the USA almost uniformly finds it ineffective: It doesn't lead to student gains. The majority of our K-12 teachers were in the bottom third of their academic cohort in college, particularly those who became pre-school and elementary teachers, and they were typically not high achievers in high school, either. This does not describe teachers in high-achieving countries. Does it matter?
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The Hechinger Report
When Heather Kiausas was seven weeks pregnant, one of her third graders punched her in the stomach. Kiausas, an elementary school teacher with seven years of experience teaching in the School District of Philadelphia, had up until then handled the child's behavior issues — on that day, refusing to complete his work, getting out of his seat and distracting classmates — by following school protocol: first talking with the student, then recess detention, then calls home, and eventually pink slips to document extreme behavioral problems.
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Education Week
New research is helping to clarify how teachers become chronically stressed, and how it can affect their students' well-being and achievement. "Relationships really matter for learning; there's a lot of evidence around that," said Robert Whitaker, a professor of public health and pediatrics at Temple University. In one 2016 study, University of British Columbia researchers tracked the levels of stress hormones of more than 400 elementary students in different classes. They found teachers who reported higher levels of burnout had students with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol each morning, suggesting classroom tensions could be "contagious."
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MindShift
Neuroscience isn't on many elementary school lesson plans. But this spring, a second grade class at Fairmont Neighborhood School in the South Bronx is plunging in. Sarah Wechsler, an instructional coach with wide eyes and a marathoner's energy, asks the students to think about the development and progress that they've made already in their lives.
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Education DIVE
Many decry the influence of politicians via decisions that exclude teachers and principals from the conversations about what's best for students, and there should be similar concern around business tycoons using money as a lever to wield their agendas in schools, as well. It is worthwhile to consider that tech companies are notoriously negligent to issues of diversity, which begs the question of whether their touted "best practices" actually consider the needs and differences of an increasingly diverse student population.
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American Institutes for Research
A growing share of children in the United States participate in formal pre-kindergarten (pre-K/preschool) programs before they enroll in kindergarten. These programs are popular with parents, help children get ready for school, and can reduce academic achievement gaps in kindergarten and beyond. The evidence base regarding the most effective approach to pre-K is mixed, with some approaches showing greater benefits than others, as summarized in a 2016 report from the American Enterprise Institute. Economists interpreting the available evidence generally support government investment in quality early childhood programs because the benefits of such investments tend to outweigh the costs.
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| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
NPR
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made it clear, appearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, that she sees no connection between school funding and school performance. As evidence, she criticized the Obama Administration's $7 billion grant program to improve struggling schools, an effort that yielded no significant impacts in test scores or graduation rates.
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Education World
Betsy DeVos took a hammering from both Republicans and Democrats, appearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee regarding proposed budget cuts and discrimination of LGBTQ students. DeVos' vision that she tagged onto the proposed $9 billion across-the-board cuts — a 13 percent cut to the current budget — outlined in the administration's budget proposal was one of reforming an education system to offer parents and students more choice. DeVos argued the budget puts a focus on "programs that are proven to help students while taking a hard look at those that are well-intended, but haven't yielded meaningful results."
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Education Week
If you listen to one top Democratic senator, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has pledged to make sure schools participating in a proposed federally backed school choice program must follow federal special education law. But the issue isn't necessarily so straightforward. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Senate education committee, thinks DeVos made the answer pretty clear.
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THE Journal
L. Robert Furman urges educators to break the cycle of wash, dry, rinse, repeat. In other words, get out of the rut of the habitual ways of doing things and try something different. Furman is principal at South Park Elementary Center in South Park, PA, 12 miles outside of downtown Pittsburgh. He's also an ISTE author, a regular public speaker and presenter, and a champion of tech-infused education for the 21st century.
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The Associated Press via U.S. News & World Report
A dozen states are trying to keep children in school longer, from making kindergarten mandatory to raising the legal drop-out age. But it's not an easy sell. Nevada is among the states this year that have or are considering proposals to stretch the compulsory attendance age. A bill that would require children in Nevada to start school at age 5 was met with such resistance that it was amended to age 6. Current state law sets the age at 7.
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Chalkbeat New York
New York City will invest $385 million over the next four years to provide all city schools with a designated space for physical education, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday along with Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña.
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NAESP
Together with Crayola, NAESP offers a special opportunity to apply for a Champion Creatively Alive Children Grant. Your school could receive a $3,500 grant (a $2,500 check and $1,000 worth of Crayola products) to establish a creative leadership team and build the creative capacity of your professional learning community. The deadline to apply is Friday, June 23.
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NAESP
Principals Day of Action: Say "No" to education budget cuts
Save the date and get ready to tell Congress to reject proposed budget cuts that would eliminate key programs like those that support teachers and principals. Join NAESP and other national organizations on June 14 for the National Title II Day of Action. Be ready to tell members of Congress why these funds are important to you, your district, and teachers to meet the needs of over 34 million Pre-K-8 elementary school students in the United States.
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