This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here November 6, 2020 .PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP Students are distracted. What can educators do about it? EdSurge Students these days are distracted. Devices and social-media notifications constantly beckon, and in this time of COVID-19 and widespread remote instruction, the distractions have multiplied. So what are educators to do? READ MORE VIDEO SHOWCASE Mitigating the Risk of Aerosolized Transmission Promoted By Erlab Boost Your School's Immunity Promoted By Apothepack How one of nation's biggest districts talks about race and racism District Administration One change in behavior that can begin to dismantle systemic racism and implicit biases in K-12 education involves the hundreds of “discretionary moments” that occur during the school day. These are the moments when a teacher may alter facial expressions and body language—whether consciously or unconsciously—when different students raise their hands or behave in certain ways, says Superintendent Robert Runcie of Broward County Public Schools. READ MORE Project explores how teachers can improve student-awareness skills UTSA Today Project Notice the Positives (abbreviated as Project Notice+), a new project within UTSA’s Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching, is investigating how future educators can develop professional noticing skills in the classroom while further developing a child’s problem solving and literacy skills. READ MORE Slow responses in shift to remote learning hurting students District Administration Despite “the great effort” districts have made to embrace remote learning this fall, schools are still struggling to deliver high-quality instruction online and make up academic losses, according to a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). With many districts still operating in fully remote or hybrid models — and the expectation that more will return to virtual environments because of COVID-19 case increases nationwide — the CRPE said schools have provided “insufficient” learning for students, especially to those in underserved or vulnerable populations. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. A School Leader’s Guide to Crisis Communication Free 3 PD Hour Course: Building Relationships in Online Learning Free 3 PD Hour Course: An Exploration into Social and Emotional Learning Teacher Resources: Supporting Students of Color and Battling Racism Appropriate Ways for Principals to Build Relationships with Teachers U.S. Department of Education releases parent and family digital learning guide U.S. Department of Education The U.S. Department of Education today released a new Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide, a resource to help parents and guardians understand how digital tools can provide tailored learning opportunities, engage students with course materials, encourage creative expression, and enrich the educational experience. "As technology continues to iterate and benefit every part of our lives, all students need more opportunities to leverage the potential of technology in education," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. READ MORE 'A real teaching opportunity': Elementary virtual schools overcome challenges The Kingston Whig Standard The three Cs — communication, collaboration and community — have been added to the three Rs — reading, writing and arithmetic — as keywords you’ll hear from many of the educators teaching or overseeing the elementary virtual schools in Kingston. “We’re really trying to mimic what’s happening in our schools,” Dan Finn, Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board’s elementary virtual school principal, said. “One of the challenges we have, and we’re looking at ways to do this, is how do you build community in an online environment, and I think that’s something we’re looking for and our parents are asking for." READ MORE 5 reasons to be optimistic about teaching, even in 2020 We are Teachers OK, so 2020 is basically a dumpster fire, and in many ways, it’s taken education along with it. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the many cracks in our system, as well as the ways in which we’ve been using schools as a stopgap for our society’s failures. Teachers are being asked to do more than ever before and sometimes at the expense of their own health. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Bakpax: Hybrid Learning on Any Device • Empower and engage students with instant feedback • Solve for digital access issues • Use for in-person, virtual, and seamless hybrid learning LEARN MORE 3 actions for assessing students' social-emotional learning skills District Administration A student with a disability who regularly becomes distracted after lunch may be goofing off, feeling overwhelmed by the assignment, or worried about the risk to his family’s health in light of the novel coronavirus. Having a teacher observe the student’s behavior, as well as that of the rest of his classmates, and using rating scales as a part of universal screenings three times a year, can help in identifying anyone who may need intervention within a multi-tier system of supports to be able to benefit from his education regardless of his circumstances. READ MORE Expanding social emotional learning so all students can benefit EdSource This fall, a typical “classroom” looks unlike anything we’ve seen before. Yet, during every Zoom session, teacher Paul Drake of Santa Rosa’s Hidden Valley Elementary School uses a familiar and powerful strategy to gauge his second-grade students’ readiness to engage and learn: He takes the time to ask students “How are you?” READ MORE How far behind did students fall during spring closures? District Administration Magazine Learning losses during remote instruction this spring were more severe in math than in reading, a new analysis has found. Using a model that treated spring school closures like an extended summer break, NWEA researchers found that students likely started school this fall with 37% to 50% of the typical annual learning gains in math. In reading, students began the year with 63% to 68% of the typical learning gains, according to a new research brief from the nonprofit testing company. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Tangible Play (Osmo) Whether you’re teaching in-person, online, or a mix of both, Osmo can make a difference. Explore the many ways Osmo can integrate with mainstream curriculum, special education, and more. Learn about the Osmo for Schools difference: educator resources for an educational environment. How to adapt educational leadership in the age of virtual learning EdTech Magazine The art of leading looks vastly different for school administrators today. They are now tasked with adapting their leadership practices to an environment where digital tools and remote collaboration and communication are the norm. While this is no easy feat, it does provide a great opportunity for school leaders to create a stronger school community and embrace innovative learning and teaching methods. But how can they get started with transitioning their leadership to the digital age? READ MORE Remote instruction for students with visual and hearing impairments District Administration Educators must ensure that students with visual impairments have equal access to their education while at home. Here’s how two public schools for students with visual impairments are teaching remotely. READ MORE The pandemic's impact on teacher, parent and student attitudes THE Journal Interest by teachers in professional development on how to teach online courses more than doubled when the pandemic arrived, by 120%. Interest in PD on the use of social media to communicate with parents and students grew by 83%. And interest in how to create videos jumped by 74%. Also popular: PD on how to facilitate online discussion forums (53%) and implement a blended or flipped class (52%). READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Don't Go It Alone The learning landscape is changing. Let us help you navigate it. Our experts are available for early-morning check-ins, or late in the evening as you reflect on your day. Bottom line: Leadership doesn’t have to be lonely. We’re here, day and night, to help you lead your schools into the future. Learn more LEARN MORE Grant helps CNE Schools attend to needs of truant students The Clermont Sun As it begins an ambitious program to increase and improve student attendance, Clermont Northeastern School District has had to answer the most basic question — when is a student actually in school? The answer is more complicated than it was eight months ago. READ MORE When kids say 'I'm not a reader': How librarians can disrupt traumatic reading practices MindShift "I'm not a reader." It's a common refrain Julia Torres, a teacher-librarian in Denver Public Schools, has heard throughout her 16-year career. She's seen students tear up books, throw them away or check them out only to immediately return them all because they didn't have confidence in their ability to read. READ MORE Why personalized learning is struggling during COVID-19 Education Week Personalizing learning to kids’ unique academic needs and personal interests is a tough nut to crack, and that is especially the case within the confines of a Zoom square. That is one of the big takeaways from a recent national survey by the EdWeek Research Center. READ MORE We're pressuring students to read too fast, too much, too soon We Are Teachers If 2020 has taught us anything at all, it's the value of slowing down. So why hasn't that translated to how we teach reading to our early learners? If there was ever a time to push back on developmentally inappropriate standards for beginning readers, it's now. Because current practice is not only failing to produce children who love to read — it's failing to even improve reading scores. READ MORE Survey: More than half of teachers felt less successful after COVID-19 The 74 New public opinion research indicates that COVID-19 and the hurried transition to remote learning presented teachers with an array of challenges that seriously damaged their sense of self-efficacy. The quality of school working conditions, including fair expectations and clear communication, was found to be critical in sustaining the educators' perceptions of professional success. READ MORE How to make student-teacher communication work eSchool News With remote learning still going strong, students now rely on virtual engagement with their teachers when they need questions answered and assignments clarified. With the appropriate tools and tech access, instructional assistance from afar can be academically beneficial, and digital student-teacher communication can work. 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   .EDUCATION POLICY K-12 election watch: 7 big questions for schools and education Red Lake Nation News There’s a lot more for educators to watch on election night than what’s happening at the top of the ticket nationally. From local school board races and state legislatures to what party controls the U.S. Congress, many of the decisions voters make Tuesday will have big stakes for schools on everything from the immediate COVID-19 crisis to long-term education policy. READ MORE Difficulties taking SAT and ACT persist, signaling long-term problems for test makers Education Dive The coronavirus largely shut down K-12 schools, some of the most common testing sites, during the spring and summer, limiting how many college applicants could take the SAT and ACT. The College Board attempted an at-home version of its test, but suspended it in June on the heels of a rocky administration of its digital Advanced Placement exams, which spurred a class-action lawsuit. READ MORE Eye on Education: Has federal education policy improved schools? Daily Republican Four years into the Trump administration, what has the U.S Department of Education done to improve public education? To review briefly, the USDE sits on top of America’s education hierarchy, not because of its omnipotence over public schools, but because of its broad reach across all 50 states. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by McGraw-Hill Identify and Address Individual Learning Gaps Many students will experience learning losses and have gaps in their knowledge and skills. With Rise, long-term learning loss doesn’t have to be one of the consequences. An adaptive math and ELA supplemental solution for grades 3-8 with over 1,100 learning objectives Rise can be used as independent practice work for progress monitoring, request a sample To improve democracy — and reading comprehension — we need more classroom discussions Forbes Whatever the outcome of the election, Americans will remain deeply divided. Schools can help us learn to disagree respectfully — and boost literacy at the same time. Civics isn’t just about memorizing the three branches of government. Ideally, it’s also about learning how to engage in a dialogue and listen to opposing views. Research at upper grade levels has found that well-organized classroom discussions of social studies topics, and particularly political issues, can develop those skills and habits. READ MORE .SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY Could education technology do better for our children? Politics Home The COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented closure of schools catapulted education technology (EdTech) into the forefront of people’s minds and routines. It found its way into homes up and down the country in a way hitherto unimaginable. EdTech itself is, of course, nothing new and has been around for longer than we may realize. READ MORE State is buying $24 million worth of computer technology for students The Daily World Washington state will use $24 million from its share of the federal CARES Act stimulus package to make a bulk purchase of 64,000 computer devices for students learning remotely, Gov. Jay Inslee’s office announced late last week. READ MORE .PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3 ways to build teacher retention: Mentoring, PD, leadership opportunities Education Dive Using strategies to prevent teachers from leaving the profession could save schools money and lead to better outcomes for students, including those with disabilities, said panelists during a recent virtual webinar on teacher retention. Programs such as mentoring, professional development and teacher leadership opportunities can ensure a stable workforce, said the panel members during the National Summit on Improving Effective Personnel for Children With Disabilities. READ MORE Consultancy: Safe back to school & teacher professional development tool development ReliefWeb Save the Children is the world's leading independent organization for children, comprised of 29 international member organizations operating in over 68 countries. Save the Children UK (SCUK) is one of the member organizations. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. READ MORE How remote PD is helping this district get back to school EdSurge Education technology continually examines and redesigns pedagogy in an attempt to meet the learning needs of our students. But rarely do we apply this same level of commitment and creativity to the learning experiences of educators. We often don’t reflect on how professional development — both in-person and virtual — can be better, more relevant, more applicable and more appropriate for teachers. READ MORE PRODUCT SHOWCASE Enter for a Chance to Win! PCS Edventures is awarding 8 winners, $12,000 in STEM curriculum & materials. Hurry, the entry period ends on December 7th, 2020. Enter sweepstakes at: https://contest.edventures.com   LEARN MORE   Create a Safe Learning Environment Sneeze Guards allow for proper social distancing while keeping maximum capacity in the classroom. Made from clear acrylic, set up is easy. Made in Michigan. Variety of different sizes available.   LEARN MORE   PD that helps teachers improve the quality of their video instruction EduTopia The education profession has been saturated with articles, podcasts, and news segments on the impacts of COVID-19 on teaching and learning, and the pandemic has shown us that we need to shift our educational system from a structure based on quantities of time to one that is ongoing outside the classroom, with student learning at the center. READ MORE .EDUCATION RESEARCH Harvard EdCast: Applying education research to practice Harvard Graduate School of Education Senior Lecturer Carrie Conaway, an expert on making use of data and research to improve education, knows education research can truly be useful for education leaders — some leaders just may need to be enlightened as to how. One way to prevent the research from being disconnected from practice, says Conway, is keeping educators from getting bogged down in statistical details, and instead helping them to use their own common sense and experience to apply the research. READ MORE .IN THE STATES New data: Number of NYC students referred for special education plummets during COVID shutdown NY Daily News The number of city students referred for special education evaluations plummeted during last school year’s coronavirus shutdown, according to new city data — sparking fears that thousands of students with disabilities aren’t getting the extra support they need. READ MORE Republicans maintain majority on Texas education board with three seats too close to call Texas Tribune Democrats appeared poised to gain one seat on the Republican-dominated State Board of Education early Wednesday morning, with tight races in all three they hoped to flip. With the final votes still being counted around the state, Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau, a Texas State University professor, was leading Republican Lani Popp, a Northside Independent School District speech pathologist, in District 5. READ MORE Thousands of NYC students with disabilities missed out on services last year, but the pandemic's full impact remains murky Brooklyn Eagle When the coronavirus first forced New York City school buildings to shut, disability advocates began raising alarms about how remote learning would affect some 200,000 city students with special needs. On Tuesday, an education department report showed tens of thousands of students with disabilities did not receive all of their mandated services — and significantly fewer students were referred for special education services at all. READ MORE .ASSOCIATION NEWS Ending the youth e-cigarette epidemic and reducing youth tobacco use: What principals need to know NAESP Just as we were achieving extraordinary progress in reducing youth use of cigarettes, we face a new crisis. There’s a public health emergency unfolding right before our eyes — and the cause couldn’t be clearer. E-cigarettes are hooking a new generation of kids, thanks to thousands of kid-friendly flavors, slick marketing, and massive doses of nicotine. This dangerous epidemic is putting millions of kids at risk and threatens decades of hard-fought progress in reducing youth tobacco use. READ MORE My epiphany: Data discussions are effective NAESP Are these data really effective for teachers to drive their instruction with? Should we take the time to share the data with our students? These are questions that as a classroom teacher and an aspiring administrator that I have asked myself. I always wondered if students would understand what I am explaining to them and whether they actually care about their data. READ MORE   Principal Insights Connect with NAESP Dennis Hall, Director of Publishing, MultiView, 469-420-2656 | Download media kit Hailey Golden, Senior Education Editor, 469-420-2630| 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