This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here October 22, 2021 ##\member## .PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP SEL & beyond: Responsible decision-making Infobase Welcome to the sixth blog post of our six-part blog/workshop series on Social and Emotional Learning for grades K–12. One of the most trusted sources for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning is The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. READ MORE How school leaders can navigate conflicting demands this year Edutopia The changing landscape of leading schools through the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted school leaders to temper optimism with a strikingly sobering reality. While face-to-face instruction has resumed for many children, school administrators cannot hold on to the comfort of teaching, learning, and leading the way it was done before the pandemic. Not while COVID exposure email notifications tick-tock like metronomes establishing schools' tone and tempo. READ MORE How student-led vision statements can nurture school community MindShift For teachers, the first weeks of school can feel like a blur, between setting the tone of your classroom and trying to remember a whole set of new names. And when it comes to setting expectations and rules, teachers are usually the ones who determine those before students set foot in the door. While such rules are hard to enforce during the best of times, they’re proving to be especially difficult this year. READ MORE Focusing on safety can help schools mitigate teacher stress eSchool News A defining feature of the COVID-19 pandemic is the haze of uncertainty in which we now live. Are cases rising or falling? Which activities are deemed “safe” for the vaccinated? And now that most U.S. schools have re-opened in person, will they stay open, and can they keep COVID-19 at bay? This uncertainty has landed heavily on teachers and contributed to teacher stress. For several reasons, the jobs to which they returned in fall 2021 are more challenging than what they faced in the pre-COVID world. READ MORE VIDEO SHOWCASE Principals say this is the go-to fundraiser for the upcoming school year. Promoted By Boosterthon Lexia Proves Remote Learning Effective Promoted By Lexia Learning Is there really a teacher shortage? Yes, but it's hitting some areas harder District Administration Most states report not having quite enough teachers across all subjects but mathematics, special education, foreign languages and science continue to see the most severe and chronic shortages. One reason is that prospective high school teachers typically graduate with a major in their content area, which — particularly in science and math — make these candidates attractive to employees outside education who can offer higher salaries. A 2019 Brookings Institution analysis found that science, technology, engineering and math majors take the biggest wage hit for choosing to teach compared to other college graduates. READ MORE Schools need family input on COVID spending. Here's how they can get it. Chalkbeat Though many districts have launched surveys or held town hall meetings, just one in five public school parents said they recall being asked by their child’s school how to spend the new money, according to a recent nationwide poll. It’s not too late, though. While a portion of this new funding has been spent, much of it — probably most — is still available. Plans can be revised. And public input, in this case, is required by the U.S. Department of Education. READ MORE Pandemic rage drove most superintendents to contemplate quitting EdTech Magazine Almost two-thirds of school superintendents (63%) said they have contemplated leaving the job. While some were already planning to retire during the 2021-2022 school year, more said they were driven by "the stress of the no-win situation" in which they were finding themselves. That's the big outcome from a survey of superintendents run in June by the National Superintendents Roundtable. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Peaceful Playgrounds Enter the U.S. Map Contest. It’s free to enter Playground Stencils A Recess Program that Works Use Coupon Code naesp2021 for 10% off your order COVID Social Distancing Playground Sex ed is growing more inclusive of LGBTQ+ but is the norm in only 17 states District Administration Instruction that affirms LGTBQ+ students’ gender identities is spreading but still lacking in many states, as are gay-straight alliance clubs where young people can turn for critical support. LGBTQ+-inclusive sex-ed curricula were offered in a majority of the schools in only 17 states as of 2018, says a new report from Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization, citing the most recently available CDC data. READ MORE Nation's Report Card shows big slide in scores as achievement gaps grow District Administration Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds fell, and fell sharply, for the first time in the history of the longer-term Nation's Report Card, based on tests conducted prior to the COVID outbreak. Gaps between higher- and lower-performing students in most age groups also widened significantly compared to the last time the NAEP Long-Term Trend tests were last administered in 2012. These achievement gaps in reading and math were driven by declines among lower-performing students. READ MORE Online SEL can help students overcome struggles and barriers THE Journal School-based counseling teams are finding the need to support students is the top priority — and an incredibly challenging one. We’re all wrestling with trying to find a solution to help teach our students how to calm fears, re-engage, and thrive. It can feel overwhelming, especially as the pandemic persists. A national shortage of highly qualified professionals to support students compounds the challenge. The American School Counseling Association recommends a student-to-counselor ratio of 250 to 1, roughly half the national average of 464 to 1. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Whitepaper | Supporting High-Quality SEL Research shows that social-emotional learning increases positive social behavior and academic success. To ensure all students benefit, it’s important to closely evaluate SEL programs to make sure they fit the unique needs of your school or district. Read this whitepaper for expert advice to guide your program selection and implementation. LEARN MORE Districts want to make school meals free forever. But they need help paying for it. EdSurge School staff navigating a complex reopening process this fall have a lot on their plates—literally. School meals have long been a bedrock for low-income and food insecure communities, but new research shows that food insecurity has climbed significantly since the beginning of the pandemic, leading many families to rely more heavily on free meals, snacks and groceries provided by their local public schools. READ MORE How 2 Nashville education leaders are teaming up to solve for equity District Administration Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is bringing some formidable resources to bear in its efforts to eliminate long-entrenched equity problems that have beset urban districts. The school system has partnered with Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development to form the Nashville Partnership for Educational Equity Research to conduct research design to ultimately improve outcomes for underserved and marginalized students, says Paul Changas, the district's executive officer for Research, Assessment & Evaluation. READ MORE Study correlates SROs with increased risk of school firearm discharges, disciplines, arrests K-12 Dive Districts' decisions to cut or change school police programs were among the most immediate changes following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis, at the hands of police, and the killings of other Black Americans. In response to those changes, school police advocates often cite school gun violence, especially the predicted increases following COVID-19 shutdowns, as a reason to keep SRO programs in place. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Drive Meaningful Data Discussions Not all data is equal. Great data provides leaders with valuable insights into classroom practice. The best data fuels PLCs, professional learning, and school improvement efforts in meaningful ways that result in visible gains. Improve data discussions at your school with our free data discussion checklist. Download now. Analysis: Families play 4 key roles in partnership with schools. How two-way communication makes these relationships stronger The 74 The critical role of family-school partnerships, particularly in historically underserved communities, was well documented even before the pandemic struck. Decades of research show that family involvement — including supporting at-home learning, participating in school activities and monitoring children’s academic and social activities — pays dividends across the developmental continuum. It’s particularly beneficial for lower-income students for whom school may be one of many competing demands (e.g., jobs, sibling baby-sitting) on their family’s time. READ MORE 'This is not inclusive.' Some students with disabilities are going without as districts scale back virtual programs Chalkbeat School districts don’t have to offer virtual learning this year, and most have scaled back their virtual offerings to encourage students to return to in-person school. But where virtual school is available, some students with disabilities are finding it’s closed to them — or they are being asked to give up certain kinds of support to enroll. That’s left families, advocates, lawyers, and school districts disagreeing on a key question: With schools open nationwide, what exactly must districts provide online? READ MORE The tyranny of letter grades EdSurge Our current grading system can be a way for kids to prove themselves, win college scholarships, or gain admission to highly selective colleges. It also can turn into a game that encourages comparison to fictional “averages.” Some say the whole system of grading focuses on ranking and sorting students rather than actually helping them learn. And it turns out, that’s by design. READ MORE .EDUCATION POLICY More states are making the 'science of reading' a policy priority Education Week As states have crafted plans for addressing the academic disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, one area has emerged as a policy priority: early reading instruction. READ MORE Biden admin: New effort to start COVID vaccination sites at schools on the way Chalkbeat Ahead of the expected authorization of the COVID vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, the Biden administration says the shots will be distributed to school-based clinics as well as pediatricians’ offices, pharmacies, and other sites. The federal government will also launch a program helping school districts start school-based vaccination sites by "matching" districts with vaccine providers, officials said recently. READ MORE .SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY How educators can help all students reach for the stars in STEAM District Administration On the eve of the recent SpaceX flight, Dr. Sian Proctor, a geoscientist, science communicator, and the pilot of the four-person crew, said her wish was to inspire the next generation of women and girls of color to “reach for the stars.” As the fourth Black female astronaut to go to space, Proctor is not only a pioneer in space trave but also in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Xello Social Emotional Learning Activities for Your Elementary Students: Turn Learning Gaps into Learning Opportunities: 3 Strategies to Encourage Student Growth: When Should Students Start Thinking About Their Futures? What Educators Learned from Remote Learning That Can Be Reintroduced in the Classroom: Introduce Career Exploration to Your Elementary Students. Here’s How This District Did It: How immersive learning will revolutionize education eSchool News Immersive learning experiences are a new type of educational experience that can be used in place of traditional lectures and classrooms. Immersive learning is meant to mimic the real world by providing students with an environment that is as close to reality as possible. It’s designed for learners who are interested in hands-on experiences, problem-solving, and discovery over non-traditional methods like reading textbooks and listening to lectures from a professor. READ MORE Analysis: Out-of-school STEM programs inspire, empower and engage children. What teachers can learn from them The 74 Even before the pandemic, it was common for teachers to grapple with the challenge of teaching students varying in mastery of academic skills, with as many as seven grade levels represented in one room. The pandemic has only widened that gap, particularly in math, with the most disadvantaged students experiencing the most difficulties. A recent analysis by McKinsey found that students ended the year, on average, five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading. This gap is wider for historically disadvantaged students; children in majority Black schools have six months of unfinished math learning, and students in low-income schools have seven. READ MORE The changing face of cyber insurance in K-12 THE Journal Cybersecurity insurance has become as complicated in K–12 as fire insurance in rural California. You need it. Insurance carriers are giving a jaundiced eye to how well prepared you are. And you may find yourself receiving notification that you're going to be dropped if the numbers don't pencil out or if you don't prepare the way insurers expect you to. But unlike wildfire, which can quickly grow beyond human control, cybersecurity is something schools can get better at if they just give it the attention it deserves. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Case Study: Go Live with Digital Signage Sarah Scott’s outstanding media program provides incredible hands-on experience to students who may otherwise have never become interested in the field. Using Rise Vision on the school website, Sarah Scott Middle School shares schedules and photos from the school year, upcoming events like sports tryouts, and announcements.  Read here. LEARN MORE Using classroom video to improve your teaching Edutopia As teachers, we aren’t always the best at recalling exactly what happened in our classrooms on a given day or assessing how a lesson is going in real time. Maybe we thought that the way we explained a concept made things click for our students, only to realize later that it left them more confused. Or maybe we were proud of a question that we posed but learned later that students didn’t even understand what we were asking. READ MORE .PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3 powerful lessons for teachers from remote teaching Edutopia A common term currently used in educational communities around the country is learning loss. This refers to the supposed loss of learning that has occurred during the pandemic due to virtual or hybrid learning. While there were certainly changes in learning, there hasn’t been enough reliable quantitative data to support the idea that there was significant learning loss. In my experience, the term has a negative impact on students and teachers. READ MORE A realistic solution for closing the math achievement gap? Classwide intervention. SpringMath Students in the U.S. experience persistently low math achievement across all grades — as shown in the most recent iteration of  The Nation's Report Card. Roughly 17 years ago, our district realized the need for additional rigor in our mathematics curriculum, and decided to focus on math fluency, rather than rote memorization. With this in mind, we implemented classwide interventions across the district to help every student achieve mastery in math. READ MORE PRODUCT SHOWCASE New Air Purifier for Schools The all-new AstroPure™ portable air purifier from AAF Flanders features an advanced interface that allows fine-tuning of settings and visualization of particulate levels. This interface can be locked to prevent unauthorized changes, and because the unit makes so little noise, distractions are kept to minimum.   LEARN MORE   Reach Your Prospects Every Week Thousands of industry professionals subscribe to association news briefs, which allows your company to push messaging directly to their inboxes and take advantage of the association's brand affinity. Connect with Highly Defined Buyers and Maximize Your Brand Exposure   LEARN MORE   6 small instructional changes teachers can make for big results Education Week What is a "small teaching move" that you think is not as common as it should be? A "small teaching move" in this context is an action that would require very little prep, can easily be made into a routine or habit, and is likely to result in increased student engagement and learning. READ MORE A question teachers should ask as often as possible Edutopia Imagine you're back in school: math class. Your teacher has a mathematical expression on a whiteboard and would like a student to come up and solve the problem. You volunteer, because you already know the answer. It's a complex equation, requiring you to multiply, divide, add and subtract. READ MORE Choice, guidelines key to helping students hone public speaking skills K-12 DIVE Educators can build opportunities for students to pick up soft skills such as public speaking in almost any subject area, from English language arts to science. While some students may feel innately comfortable with oral presentations, others may feel more reticent to stand up and talk to their peers. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Benefits of an Early Childhood Leadership Certificate from Bank Street A child’s first few years of educational experiences set the stage for how they will learn for the rest of their lives. The Bank Street Early Childhood Leadership Advanced Certificate Program is designed for mission-driven educators seeking to advance their professional opportunities and fill the need for exceptional leadership in early childhood education. Areas of study within the program include curriculum and development, social justice, systems thinking, progressive education and law. LEARN MORE   Tips from the pros: Improve student learning with peer feedback Faculty Focus As instructors, we often assume that students must learn from us and not others. But feedback on performance is one of the most important factors to learning, and peer feedback can fill in the gaps in instructor feedback or preempt instructor feedback to improve student performance. There are a variety of ways that instructors can harness peer feedback in their courses. READ MORE How to teach older students social-emotional skills? Try civics Education Week Civic engagement is the oil that keeps the gears of democracy working. But what exactly are the behaviors of an engaged citizen? READ MORE .EDUCATION RESEARCH The necessity of finding more ways to praise Edutopia Are you keeping track of the praise you give out in a classroom? If not, it’s time to give it serious consideration, researchers assert in a new study. Being mindful of the actual ratio of praise to reprimands results in dramatic improvements in on-task behavior and grades, the study concludes — a finding echoed by previous work on “praise ratios” by experts at Vanderbilt University, who also recommend “6 praise statements every 15 minutes.” READ MORE PROOF POINTS: What research tells us about gifted education Hechinger Report After years of discussion, New York City announced in October 2021 that it is overhauling gifted and talented programs, eliminating the testing of thousands of 4-year-olds and the city’s separate education system of schools and classrooms for students who score high on this one test. I wanted to know what the research evidence says about the model that New York is discarding and how education researchers would remake gifted and talented programs. READ MORE .IN THE STATES A clear path to success for NYC students Yahoo! Even before the pandemic, young people across New York State were graduating high school ill prepared for college or the workforce, putting them at risk for dropping out before earning a degree and missing out on gaining skills and professional connections critical for earning a family-sustaining income. The current moment provides an opportunity for change, as school districts are already receiving significant increases in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act. READ MORE Illinois to make teacher evaluations optional for second year Chalkbeat Last school year, when districts were mostly remote due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state board of education provided districts with some flexibility on how to evaluate teachers. At the time, members said they hoped 2021-22 would return to normal. But with districts currently struggling to reopen amid staff and food shortages, board officials argued recently that it would be best to pause their evaluation system for another year. READ MORE .ASSOCIATION NEWS NAESP Mastermind Groups NAESP New this year, NAESP is offering Mastermind groups for school leaders. A Mastermind group is a peer-to-peer mentoring group used to help members solve their problems through input and advice from the other group participants. NAESP Mastermind will offer a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability, and support in a group setting to sharpen educational leadership and personal skills. In pursuit of success, members will challenge each other to set strong goals and, more importantly, to accomplish them. READ MORE Webinar: Reducing Chronic Absence: Insights from Successful Principals NAESP Experienced principals understand the importance of attendance for student engagement, learning and achievement. As absenteeism has spiked during the pandemic, what strategies can we learn from principals who have led their school teams to address and reduce chronic absenteeism? READ MORE SUGGESTED COMPANIES Landscape Structures @Landscape Structures © Give kids the opportunity to explore a forest canopy with the new Tree Tops playstructure. Read more   Spark Imaginative Play   Promoted by Landscape Structures Novartis @Novartis © We want to discover, develop and successfully market innovative products to prevent and cure diseases. Read more   Providing Healthcare Solutions   Promoted by Novartis GE Healthcare @GEHealthcare © We provide medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Read more   Healthcare Collaboration   Promoted by GE Healthcare   Principal Insights Connect with NAESP Hailey Golden, Director of Publishing, Multiview, 469-420-2630 | Download media kit Anastasia Logan, Content Editor, MultiView, 469-420-2655 | Contribute News National Association of Elementary School Principals 1615 Duke Street  |  Alexandria, VA 22314  800-386-2377  |  Contact Us  |  www.naesp.org Click here to unsubscribe.  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. ADVERTISE SUBSCRIBE PAST ISSUES   7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063