April 2011 Newsletter
Games and Simulations Help Children Access Science By Katie Ash Education Week Want to know what it’s like to stalk elk, or a mate, from the vantage point of a wild animal? Read more... Ultimate Food Fight Erupts as Feds Recook School Lunch Rules By Nirvi Shah Education Week April 5th, 2011- Across the country, school cafeteria managers, farm lobbyists, food companies, celebrity chefs, students, and parents have started the ultimate food fight. The skirmish is over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s efforts, prompted by the recent passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, to rewrite the rules about meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs. At stake is what will and won’t be offered in the breakfasts and lunches schools serve millions of children every weekday. Read more... Push to Mandate Algebra 2 in High School Ramps Up By Caralee Adams Education Week April 4th, 2011- Those in higher education complain that students arrive on campus ill-prepared for college-level math because they don't take rigorous classes in high school—often skipping it as seniors, leaving a gap of a year in math instruction. Some 60 percent of new students at community college must enroll in development classes—often math—for no credit just to catch up. Read more... Science Competitions Integrated Into Curriculum By Sean Cavanagh Education Week April 1st, 2011- Competition has brought out the best in students at Lyman High School: Styrofoam gliders, designs for airplane wings, and miniature rockets built to soar hundreds of feet in the air. Read more... The Limited Value of 'What Works' Research By Bo Yan and Mike Slagle Education Week April 15th, 2011- Ever since educational research became an academic discipline more than a century ago, researchers and educators have been vocal in their dissatisfaction over its impact on practice. For decades, education research has been criticized as confusing, irrelevant, and of little practical use, fueling a pessimistic view that research probably will not lead to better schools. Read more... Advocates Worry ESEA Rewrite May Weaken Law By Alyson Klein Education Week April 1st, 2011- Civil rights, business, and education advocates are warning that Congress and the Obama administration may defang a key portion of the No Child Left Behind Act in their quest to make the law more flexible—shortchanging racial minorities and other historically overlooked student subgroups in the process. Read more... Environmental Issues Inspire Children to Dig Into Science By Caralee J. Adams Education Week April 1st, 2011- After-school and summer activities offer the flexibility for young people to pursue their own interests—without the stress of the grades. Read more... Recognizing the Value of Good Teachers By Eric A. Hanushek Education Week April 5th, 2011- The teachers’ unions have put themselves in a difficult position, with Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio demonstrating that the traditional labor stance is untenable. So far, media attention to the union story has focused on the fiscal side—state deficits, teacher-benefit packages, and the like. Without question, these are important issues, but they are dwarfed by the implications for teacher effectiveness and improved student achievement. Read more... Educate or Incarcerate? NAACP Reports on "Path to Prison" Crisis By Loudspeaker Films African-American boys in particular are suffering the consequences of a failing and inequitable education system. Recent results from the PISA International Reading Assessment, which the TEACHED project disaggregated by race and gender, made this stunningly clear. To watch the The Path to Prison (5 min. running time), see the PISA results and learn more about TEACHED, go to http://www.teached.org/path-to-prison/. Common Assessments a Test for Schools' Technology By Catherine Gewertz Education Week It’s a daunting job for two big groups of states to design multilayered assessment systems by 2014, and a panel of experts has made it even more daunting, composing a long list of concerns about what it will take to make the venture a success. Read more... Getting Ready for High School By Louise Hajjar Diamond American School Counselor Association Getting Ready for High School High school brings back special memories for each of us. Looking back, I remember those years with nostalgic fondness, yet I wouldn't want to return to high school and start over. High school students struggle with personal identity, fitting in a social group, peer pressure and of course the stress of academic studies. They also are concerned with dating, driving and figuring what they will do once high school is over. There are a few ways parents can provide support and guidance to their kids who are about to enter high school. Read more... Turning College and Career Planning into Family Communication By John Sommers-Flanagan and Rita Sommers-Flanagan American School Counselor Association When it comes to helping your children with college and career decision-making, the first rule for parents is self-awareness. Be aware of how your lifestyle and values expose your children to particular professional activities. Read more... My Future, My Way: First Steps Toward College Federal Student Aid This workbook contains information for middle and junior high school students about how to go to college and how to pay for education beyond high school. This publication also includes charts, checklists, and other activities to help students answer important questions, such as "Why think about college now?" "What can a college education do for me?" and "How will I pay for college?" Read more... Where do I start? Federal Student Aid College preparation is about more than just classes and grades. It's also about developing the skills that will help you succeed in college and life. Read more... A Better Way to Teach Math By David Bornstein The New York Times April 18th, 2011-Is it possible to eliminate the bell curve in math class? Imagine if someone at a dinner party casually announced, “I’m illiterate.” It would never happen, of course; the shame would be too great. But it’s not unusual to hear a successful adult say, “I can’t do math.” That’s because we think of math ability as something we’re born with, as if there’s a “math gene” that you either inherit or you don’t. Read more... Insider Tricks for Assessing High Schools By GreatSchoolsStaff Deal-breakers and red flags on assessing high schools. Read more... The Top 5 Reasons to Avoid a High School High schools don't post banners announcing when they are failing. So how are parents supposed to know which ones aren't doing their job? Read more... USDA Expands Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Schools Read more... New School Meals Information from USDA Food & Nutrition Services Read more... |
SAVE THE DATE ** May 12, 2011- DCPCSA hosts its annual STARS Tribute at 6:00 pm at Community Academy PCS located on 1400 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the event as well as online at: http://guestlistapp.com/events/51069 ** May 14, 2011- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will opening its gates to welcome the public for a day of fun-filled activities, hands-on demonstrations, entertainment, and food. The event is free and hours are 11:00AM to 5:00 PM. Visit NASA's website for more information. Draft Rules Point Way to Consistency in ELL Policies By Mary Ann Zehr Education Week April 6th, 2011- The proposed rules attached to new federal grants aimed at helping states collaborate in creating new assessments aligned with the common academic standards are likely to spur dramatic shifts in policies for English-language learners in school districts nationwide. Read more... Role of Science Learning Outside of School Grows Opportunities are plentiful, from after-school programs to computer simulations to visiting a zoo By Erik W. Robelen Education Week April 6th, 2011- When a fresh round of national and international data on student achievement in science came out recently, the results—widely seen as disappointing—prompted familiar hand-wringing from political leaders and education experts about the steps needed to improve science instruction in the public schools. Read more... School reform's next test By Ame Duncan Washington Post January 3, 2011- With a new Congress set to begin, key members on both sides of the aisle are poised to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). In fact, the work has been underway for much of the past year, and few areas are more suited for bipartisan action than education reform. Read more... 2010 Broad Prize Report The Broad Prize December 2010- A new date analysis, based on data collected as part of The Board Prize process, provides insights into which urban school districts in the United States are doing the best job of educating traditionally disadvantaged groups: African- America , Hispanics, and low-income students. Read more... Hurdles Emerge in rising efforts to rate teachers By Sharon Ottoman The Broad Prize December 26th, 2010- It is becoming common practice nationally to rank teachers for their effectiveness, or value added, a measure that is defined as how much a teacher contributes to student progress on standardized tests. The practice was strongly supported by President Obama's education grant competition, Race to the Top, and large school districts, including those in Houston, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Washington have begun to use a form of it. But the experience in New York City shows just how difficult it can be to come up with a system that gains acceptance as being fair and accurate. Read more... Teacher-Leader Corps Helps Turn Around Schools By Stephen Sawchuk April 18, 2011- It’s hard to imagine two schools superficially more different from each other than Blackstone Elementary, with its labyrinthine 1970s layout, and Orchard Gardens K-8 School, which opened in 2003, with its modern skylights and cheery primary-color accents. But they were similar in the way that matters most in young lives: Both Boston schools were among the poorest-performing in Massachusetts . Read more... Civil War: Teaching A Defining Concept By Eric Robelsen Education Week April 15th, 2011- Six boys clad in Union garb stand shoulder to shoulder, then march across a field here at Manassas National Battlefield Park . One holds a Union flag, another an Irish one. Suddenly, a boy falls forward, presumably shot by enemy fire, but deftly passes the Irish flag to a companion. A moment later, another boy tumbles but hands off the Union flag first. Read more... Computer Tutors Prod Students to Ask for Help By Sarah D. Sparks Education Week April 14, 2011- Ask a friend to meet you at a restaurant in a city he or she has never visited, and it’s entirely possible the friend will get lost along the way. You might expect the friend to pull out a map, turn on the car’s navigation system, or even ask a gas station attendant for directions. You wouldn’t expect your lost friend to wander around town, knocking on random restaurant doors until eventually giving up and hopping in a taxi. Yet research suggests this random searching and reluctance to seek basic help is exactly how high school students often approach problem-solving. Read more... Writing Re-Launched: Teaching with Digital Tools By Liana Heitin Education Week April 4th, 2011- The nature of writing has shifted in recent years. There are very few—if any—jobs these days for which employees produce lengthy handwritten reports. News stories are an integration of words, images, audio, and website links. College applications are all online, and some schools are beginning to accept videos in place of essays. A friendly letter is more likely composed on a smartphone than on stationary. Read more... NAEP Study Finds Jump in Students Taking Tough Course By Caralee J. Adams Education Week April 13th, 2011- Students who take more rigorous courses in high school are more likely to perform well on achievement tests, according to a study released today that shows more students are doing just that. Read more... Experts See Hurdles Ahead for Common Core Tests By Sarah D. Sparks Education Week April 12th, 2011- As America’s “next-generation” assessments for common core academic subjects begin to take shape through two state consortia projects, researchers and test developers alike are beginning to worry that expectations for the tests may outpace states’ technology and budgets. Read more... Next Generation Learning Awards $10.6 Million to Improve College Readiness Philanthropy News Digest April 12th, 2011- The Next Generation Learning Challenge, an effort to identify and scale technology-enabled approaches to college readiness and completion, has announced inaugural grants totaling $10.6 million to twenty-nine organizations. Read more... Poverty Puts Struggling Readers, Minorities at Greater Risk of Dropping Out, Study Finds Philanthropy News Digest April 12th, 2011- According to a longitudinal study of nearly four thousand students, one in six children who do not read proficiently by third grade — and one in four who are both poor and struggling readers — fail to graduate from high school. Read more... Science-Rich Institutions Provide Venues for Exploration By Eric W. Robelen Education Week On a recent evening, hundreds of children and their families climbed off school buses and filed into a science center in this city’s historic Old Town neighborhood. The event that drew them, dubbed Family Science Night, was no invitation to hear a lecture on climate change or quantum physics, or to catch a documentary on a gigantic IMAX screen. Instead, families from two high-poverty public schools dived into an array of hands-on, interactive exhibits separated into small alcoves in a place aptly named Explora, Spanish for “explore.” Read more... Life Equations By Liana Heitin Education Week Teacher pd Sourcebook Like most great teachers, Dan Meyer commands attention. He’s not particularly loud or imposing—indeed, he has an easy, matter-of-fact manner of speaking. And though at well over six feet he’s often the tallest person in the room, it’s not just his stature that draws eyes. Meyer has a talent for recognizing—and delivering—a hook. He knows what kind of anecdote or punch line will garner interest and starts there when telling a story. Read more... A System of Learners By Susanna Loeb, Dan Goldhaber, and Michael Goldstein Education Week Teachers and principals play the most direct and central role in creating learning opportunities for students in our schools. Indeed, there are striking examples that show the power that exceptional teachers and school leaders have to make a difference for students. This is obvious. This comports with personal experience. We also know this empirically. A weaker math teacher, for example, might get students to learn about a half-year of material; a strong teacher can get the same children to learn a year-and-a-half, or three times as much. Read more... Proposed Changes to D.C.'s Healthy Schools Act By DC Farm to School Network In March 2011, D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced the Healthy Schools Amendment Act of 2011, designed to make a series of technical amendments to Healthy Schools Act passed last year. The only change specific to farm-to-school is that local milk no longer counts for the farm to school reimbursement of 5 cents per meal (so milk is not considered a fresh, local meal component). Dates and times for working group meetings and hearings will be available soon. Mary Cheh's office hopes for this bill to pass by the end of May. Helping Your Child Learn Science By Margaret Spellings, Secretary US Department of Education Every day is filled with opportunities to learn science-without expensive chemistry sets or books. Parents don't need degrees in chemistry or physics to help their children learn science. All that is needed is a willingness to observe and learn with them, and, above all, to make an effort and take the time to nurture their natural curiosity. This booklet provides parents of children ages 3 through 10 with information, tools and activities they can use in the home and community to help their child develop an interest in the sciences and learn about the world around them. Read more... Helping Your Child Learn Mathematics By Margaret Spellings, Secretary US Department of Education Our increasingly technological world demands strong skills in mathematics, not only in the workforce but also in everyday life, and these demands will only increase over the lifetimes of our children. The major portion of this booklet is made up of fun activities that parents can use with children from preschool age through grade 5 to strengthen their math skills and build strong positive attitudes toward math. Read more... Considerations for Evaluation Systems By Margaret Spellings, Secretary US Department of Education A new report from the Aspen Institute looks at the teacher evaluation systems of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the Achievement First (AF) charter network as a means to help education leaders develop their own teacher evaluation and performance management systems. According to the report, their challenge is to simultaneously focus on the details of an evaluation system while keeping an eye on the bigger picture of performance management and how it will support district-wide improvement in instruction and student achievement. Read more... New Options Project Receives $28 Million From Kellogg Foundation Philanthropy News Digest April 11th, 2011-The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has announced a $28 million investment in the New Options Project, a multiyear initiative to create career pathways for out-of-school 16- to 24-year olds who are motivated to succeed but unable to find meaningful work. Read more... National Archives May Programs The National Archives Experience 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington D.C. 20408 http://www.archives.gov/calendar/
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2011 100 Best Communities for Young People Competition Deadline: May 27
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2011 International Essay Contest for Young People Deadline: June 30
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2011 Toyota International Teacher Program to Costa Rica Deadline May 4
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AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize $1,000 Deadline: May 27
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ASCD: Outstanding Young Educator Award $10,000 Deadline: Aug 1
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Be Big In Your Community Contest $2,500- $25,000 Deadline: June 17
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Brower Youth Award $3,000 May 16
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Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation: Grants to Help Inner-City Educators $2,000 Deadline: None
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Campell's: Labels for Education Deadline: N/A
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Captain Planet Environment Grants $250- $2,500 Deadline: June 30
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Castle Ink Green Scholarship $2,500 Deadline: June 30
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Challenge 20/20 Applications accepted until August 15
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Citizen Writer Contest Deadline: April 30
- COMPASS ANNOUNCES 2011-12 CLIENT APPLICATIONS Pro Bono Consulting For Nonprofits. Deadline: June 15 at 5:00 p.m. Contact COMPASS directly with questions at www.compassdc.org, or contact Compass’ Executive Director, Suzanne Laporte at (202) 459-6291 or slaporte@compassdc.org.
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Discovery Education 3M: Young Scientist Challenge $25,000 Deadline: April 15
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Do You Know an Unsung Leader in Our Community? $2,000- $3,000 Deadline: May 25 at 5pm
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Dominion and the Dominion Foundation Up to $10,000 Deadline: May 1
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Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes $2,500 Deadline: April 30
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Home Depot Community Impact Grants Program Deadline: October 31
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ING Unsung Heroes $2,000- $25,000 Deadline: April 30
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KaBOOM! Playful City USA Grants $15,000- $30,000Deadline: June 1
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Lois Lenski Covey Foundation Grants for Urban, Public, and School Libraries $500- $3,000 Deadline: June 15
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MetLife Foundation: Partners in Arts Education Program $20,000 Deadline: May 20
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National High School Journalism Teacher Awards Program $1,000 Deadline: July 1
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NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership grants $2,000- $5,000 Deadline: June 1
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NEA Foundation Student Achievement grants $5,000 Deadline: June 1
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Net Literacy Financial Connects Contest $100- $1,000 Deadline: Rolling through June 30
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Nickelodeon Big Help Grants Up to $5,000 Deadline: June 1
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NSTA: New Science Teacher Academy Deadline: June 13
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Pepsi Refresh Project Grants Deadline: 5th of each month
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State Farm Youth Advisory Board Grants $25,000-$100,000
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Target Arts & Culture in Schools Grants $2,000 Deadline: April 30
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The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Deadline: May 2
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U.S. Department of State: Teachers for Global Classrooms Deadline: June 15
