This message was sent to ##Email##
|
|
|
|
|
| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
District Administration Magazine
The standards-driven push for project-based learning and collaboration may inadvertently penalize introverted students who prefer to work quietly on their own, some educators say. "As the 21st century school moves into an arena where students learn to communicate and work together in addition to working alone, there has to be an accompanying awareness on the part of educators to support students of all personality types," says Jill Berkowicz, co-author of The STEM Shift and a former curriculum director.
READ MORE
K-12 TechDecisions
Technology has significantly changed how we present, discuss, share and interact with information. With what used to involve numerous wires, cords and hardware, teachers can now present media from their laptops to a large presentation screen through the wireless pairing of devices. Wireless presentation solutions have made a significant impact on the way teachers and students share information, and the latest wireless presentation systems not only help to enhance the way students and teachers present information, but also share and interact with content and media.
READ MORE
By: Savanna Flakes
 The goal of assessment is to improve instruction and provide student feedback. However, many assessments take so much time to administrator and grade that teachers aren't able to use the data immediately. Studies have been conducted on the benefits of using assessment as a resource to help students learn and self-monitor their growth. Thus, assessment doesn't just help teachers, it also supports students in understanding their learning. Enter tech tools and resources.
READ MORE
Edutopia
There are so many forces at work that make educators grade, and grade frequently. For sports eligibility, coaches constantly look at grades to see if a student is at an academic level that will allow him or her to play. Colleges review transcripts to examine what type of courses students took and their corresponding grades. Teachers must follow policy that demands them to enter a certain amount of grades every week, month or marking period. There's no stopping it. However, we need to reflect upon policies and practices like this — and possibly consider regulating them. Is grading the focus, or is learning the focus? Yes, grades should and can reflect student learning, but often they can get in the way and actually harm student learning.
READ MORE
The Seattle Times
A big, new study out of Portland found significant gains in reading for students enrolled in dual-language immersion programs, in which students are taught in both English and a second language. Portland students enrolled in such programs had reading skills in English that were almost a full year higher than their peers, according to the study. The study, which included 27,741 children, found that students randomly assigned to Portland Public Schools' immersion programs in Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Russian were better readers than students not enrolled in the programs. The immersion students outperformed other students by about seven months in fifth grade and nine months in eighth grade, the study found.
READ MORE
Advertisement
Science Weekly Magazine
Science Weekly Magazine
READ MORE
|
The Huffington Post
Teachers who work at the poorest schools are more likely to think that computer science is vital to their students' futures, but are less likely to think their school boards agree, a new survey released Tuesday reveals. The survey was conducted by Gallup on behalf of Google, and looks at perceptions of computer science for different groups, including students, parents, educators and school district administrators. It follows an earlier survey released in August, which looked at access to computer science courses and found that lower-income students have fewer opportunities to study the subject. However, this latest survey shows that low-income students' lack of access is not due to apathy on the part of their educators.
READ MORE
Edutopia (commentary)
Now more than ever, teaching mindfulness in the classroom is a necessity. Our children are stressed and anxious. Teachers and parents are stressed and anxious, too. Our lives are busy, and we often find our thoughts buzzing over the past or worrying about the future. We need mindfulness because it teaches us to live in the present moment, enjoying and experiencing what's in front of us. Educators know that children learn best when they are comfortable, safe and relaxed. Imagine if, along with giving our children the gift of lifelong learning and the tools to become kind and productive adults, we could also give them the gift of mindfulness — using their breath and mind to lead a happy and healthy life. In turn, teachers will reap the benefits of mindfulness, as well — we all know that a happy teacher has a happy classroom.
READ MORE
New York University via ScienceDaily
A classroom program that helps teachers adapt their interactions with students based on individuals' temperaments may lead to more student engagement in kindergarten, more teacher emotional support to kindergarten and first grade students, and better classroom organization and less off-task behavior in first-grade classes, according to research.
READ MORE
TIME
Children who take commonly-prescribed stimulants to treat their attention disorders are more likely to be victimized at school than children who do not have ADHD, according to a new study. The findings come from a survey of almost 5,000 children in five public school across four years, comparing those who had ADHD; those who had recently been prescribed medication for it; those whose medication had ever been "diverted," meaning it didn't get to its intended recipient; and kids with no diagnosis.
READ MORE
|
Promoted by
|
|
|
|
 |
TeachThought
Preventing bullying is just as likely as preventing poverty, racism or violence. If we can start from this kind of humility, we may be able to improve our efficiency in dealing with and responding to it as a problem. Of course, there is no "it." Bullying is an output and a symptom — the result of a variety of factors that manifest themselves well beyond the school. Celebration of aggressiveness and violence, pack mentalities, peer pressure, lack of empathy, violence at home, insecurity, social media, a lack of role models and more all combine with scores of other factors to produce the ugliness that is bullying.
READ MORE
Scholastic Administration Magazine
In her six years as the social worker at El Dorado Elementary in San Francisco, Jennifer Caldwell has witnessed significant change. "It's a lot calmer," she says. "The kids have strategies to manage and regulate their emotions. They're better at talking it out and solving problems. The teachers have more tools to manage the behaviors and make classrooms more supportive." The change has been the result of training that the school received from a program called HEARTS (Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools), a prevention and intervention program run by the University of California at San Francisco's Department of Psychiatry.
READ MORE
 |
|
Graceland University is ranked #5 in the country for Online Masters of Education programs by US News and World Report. We have a 98% graduation rate and 97% would recommend our program to a friend. We have 4 programs to meet the needs of practically any teacher.
Apply Now
|
|
Connected Principals (commentary)
Dan Kerr, a contributor for Connected Principals blog, writes: "So here we are again, well into another season of recruiting and trying to find those perfect fits for ourselves and for our schools. Recruiting is tough in many ways, and with it comes a wide range of emotions, so many unknowns, so much excitement, and for many of us, a lot of anxiety. It's a difficult time of the year as you learn that friends and colleagues have decided to chase new adventures, and as leaders you try and find those quality educators who will add value to your school ... it's tough. Other than being sad that a few great teachers/friends will be leaving our community, I actually like the process in many ways, and I enjoy the opportunity that we have to attract those inspiring individuals who will help lead us into the future."
READ MORE
The Hechinger Report
The billionaire chief executive of Facebook said he will invest $20 million in a small nonprofit organization that works to improve Internet access in schools. The California-based EducationSuperHighway provides schools with information to help school leaders make smarter choices about increasing high-speed Internet access. The donation from Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, will allow the organization to hire more staff and expand outreach to more schools. "Twenty million dollars is an incredible gift for an organization like ours," said Evan Marwell, CEO of the EducationSuperHighway, the nonprofit he founded in 2012.
READ MORE
|
Promoted by
|
|
|
|
 |
Education Week
The transition from print to digital resources has been playing out unevenly across districts, with some school systems pressing ahead full-bore and others staying more entrenched in the paper-bound world, either by choice or necessity. So what are some of the factors that are impeding schools' movement into the digital space? MDR, a market-research company, attempts to bring clarity to that question in a new report: "The Shift Toward Digital: Forcing Factors, Benefits and Barriers." It was written by Geoffrey Fletcher, a private consultant who's a former deputy executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association. The report is available at a cost, but MDR is allowing Education Week to draw some of the highlights.
READ MORE
Education World
We teachers spend our entire professional lives trying to "figure out" our students in a never-ending quest to give them the best education possible. Recently, Education World started to wonder what students wanted to really know about their teachers! Fortunately, due to the wonders of modern technology, Google's autocomplete suggestions allow us insight into this inquiry.
READ MORE
 |
|
"The Fundamental 5 maximizes teacher effectiveness. It is the best instructional system I have ever observed." Robert Brezina, U.S. Academic Decathlon Past President.
Order now on Amazon.com
|
|
The New York Times
Charter schools are controversial. But are they good for education? Rigorous research suggests that the answer is yes for an important, underserved group: low-income, nonwhite students in urban areas. These children tend to do better if enrolled in charter schools instead of traditional public schools. There are exceptions, of course. We can’t predict with certainty that a particular child will do better in a specific charter or traditional public school. Similarly, no doctor can honestly promise a patient she will benefit from a treatment.
READ MORE
| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
The Associated Press via The Huffington Post
The Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law has long been criticized as unworkable, too punitive and in need of repair. After years of trying, Congress is finally on the verge of rewriting the 2002 law. House and Senate negotiators approved a compromise framework that merges two different education bills that cleared the House and Senate in July. Votes in the full House and Senate are expected early next month. The Senate bill passed this summer with overwhelming support. The House measure was more conservative, and narrowly passed.
READ MORE
USA Today
States would set and enforce their own K-12 academic standards under a massive, bipartisan rewrite of education policy that cleared a crucial vote. The legislation would produce the most significant changes to elementary and secondary education since President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law in 2001, giving the federal government significant power over school reforms. The 39-1 conference committee vote approving an outline of the rewrite sets up final votes in the House and Senate early next month. The lone "no" vote came from presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
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.
|
eSchool News
Pasadena Unified School District is addressing the new Next Generation Science Standards for California by providing its K-6 teachers and students with STEMscopes California, a hands-on digital STEM curriculum built to meet the California NGSS standards. Developed by Accelerate Learning and Rice University, STEMscopes California places problem-based learning, engineering challenges, scientific investigations, math and literacy connections, and culminating claim-evidence-reasoning assessments at teachers’ fingertips, so they can help students understand the NGSS as they were designed.
READ MORE
Scholastic Administration Magazine
On the first day back from summer break, a significant percentage of our students return to campus below grade-level in reading and math. As administrators and teachers, we know something has to change. While we can't solve the dilemmas of society at large, we can address the systemic problems in school. At Oak Heights Elementary School in Oregon, we use Response to Intervention to address a couple of issues. First, students, who have significant learning holes still need to experience grade-level core instruction.
READ MORE
NAESP (commentary)
Maryland principal Greg Mullenholz writes: "'Is this how it's supposed to look?' Russella Davis-Rogers of the U.S. Department of Education (USED) uttered these words in hushed, yet excited tones in reaction to a fourth-grade math lesson we had just observed. Russella was visiting the school I lead, Ashburton Elementary in Bethesda, Maryland, as part of USED's 'Principal Shadowing Week,' an opportunity for federal policymakers to get a hands-on glimpse into the world of a school principal. The purpose of the event is to get policymakers out of their offices and into school buildings to gain insight into the realities of schooling. The requirement was simple: the policymaker does everything the principal does, no matter what."
READ MORE
NAESP
Just as students have diverse approaches to learning, principals should have a variety of ways to grow personally and professionally. NAESP's Best Practices for Better Schools Conference, to be held July 6-8 at the National Harbor in Maryland, will offer education leaders multiple ways to improve their leadership, their schools and their teacher-leadership. Visit www.naespconference.org to learn more.
READ MORE
|
|
|
 |
|
ZipKrooz™ brings zip line-like adventure to the playground in an exciting, inclusive and safe way!
|
 |
|
| Math Problem solving contests for teams of up to 35 students in grades 4 through 8.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
