New Members

Florida ASCD would like to recognize and welcome all of the new members who have recently joined or renewed their membership with our organization.

 

Karen Adderly Clark Curry Aldridge Kevin Archard Dana Archibald Gary Avery Kari Benefiel Steven Blinder Westa Bryant Sarah Butzin Cheree Davis Ofelia Desposito Maribel Diaz Rebecca Fleck Gail Grimm Andrea Guogas Dorothy Hammer Laura Hill Mona Jackson

Fredda Johnson Elisabeth Keimer Jenny Knight Kathleen Lazarus Candace Lile Sue Lisk Deborah Long Susan Marohnic Kelli Mastroianni Ginni Maxwell Patricia McCoy Cory Miller Ellen Moceri Karen Montgomery Mary Mosley Timothy Motala Dale Moxley Jacqueline Overton

MaryChris Peterika Trish Priest Jonathan Prince Christina Ramirez-Smith Jennifer Reeves Melinda Robinson Kathleen Shatlock Deborah Shepard B. E. Shields Kathleen Steiner Cynthia Still Maria Torrey Andrea Townshend Linda Tyce Frances Vandiver Marlen Veliz Sue Wilder Steven Zoldos

 

Members in the News

Have you had a recent event to share with others in Florida ASCD (like a job change, promotion, retirement, award or recognition received, unique travel experience, etc.)?  We would like to include your information in the next Electronic Dimensions. Send it to us: fascd@fascd.org

 

Board Meeting February 23, 2008

At our most recent board meeting on February 23, 2008 we discussed a number of items relating to the business of Florida ASCD. We discussed and came up with guidelines for partnering with other like organizations and how we can have a symbiotic relationship with them. Additionally, we are working on ways to get sponsorships from vendors. We looked at new ways to involve our members more and get them more involved in the workings of Florida ASCD, as we feel that our members are our greatest asset and we want to draw from the strengths of members.

 

We also worked very hard to determine some new ideas to implement within Florida ASCD. Due to the success of the Professional Development Institutes (PDI's) around the state, we have decided to work hard to get more PDI's closer to our members throughout the state. We are looking for ideas on what types of PDI's you would like to see. Please take a moment to email us at fascd@fascd.org to let us know what is important to you.

 

Our next board meeting will be our retreat on June 21-22, 2008. If you are interested in becoming a board member, please email us at fascd@fascd.org for more information.

 

Two Florida ASCD Members Identified as Emerging Leaders
ASCD announced at its annual conference in New Orleans the members of the Emerging Leaders Class of 2008. Emerging Leaders are educators who have been in the profession about 5 to 15 years, have promise as ASCD leaders, and are committed to fulfilling leadership opportunities. Those nineteen identified by the international association included two members from board of Florida ASCD. They are:
 

• John Nash, an assistant principal in Orange County
• Kim Pearson, a teacher from Pinellas County as well as the Executive Director of Florida ASCD
 

We are very proud that two of the members of our board were selected as Emerging Leaders!
 

 

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Florida ASCD Events

 

Annual Conference

Our 49th Annual Conference will be held December 5-6, 2008 at NOVA Southeastern University in Orlando. The call for presenters is ready and posted on our website. Consider being a speaker at our conference. We have already booked nationally acclaimed speaker: Dr. Steven Layne. Mark the dates on your calendar and plan to attend! Visit the conference site for more information!

 

Professional Development Institute-Fort Walton Beach

Join us for a Professional Development Institute in beautiful Fort Walton Beach on May 10, 2008! Our PDI is geared for secondary reading teachers who are interested in learning the secrets of teaching reading instruction in any subject! The title of this workshop is: Weaving Thinking and Reading Strategies into Content Instructional Plans. The cost is only $100! This is a great deal. If you would like more information or would like to register, please visit http://fascd.org/07PDI-FWB.htm.

 

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Grants & Awards

 

Grants Reward Young Stars of Social Change
By celebrating and spotlighting young stars of social change, Dosomething.org’s BR!CK Award creates a new breed of role models who aren't famous for what they wear (or don't) or who they date, but for what they do. The maximum award is $25,000. Eligibility for this grant include permanent residents of the Unites States and Canada under 25. The deadline for submission is April 12, 2008. Click here for more information http://www.dosomething.org/brick.

 

Sprint Ahead for Education Grants
The Sprint Foundation Sprint Ahead for Education grant program awards grants to school districts and individual schools to fund the purchase of resources that facilitate and encourage character education among K-12 students. The maximum award is $25,000. Eligibility is open to all U.S. public schools (K-12) and U.S. public school districts. The deadline for the application is April 15, 2008. Click here for more information http://www.sprint.com/citizenship/education/sprintahead/.

 

Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grants
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grants foster inventiveness among high school students. InvenTeams composed of high school students, teachers and mentors are asked to collaboratively identify a problem that they want to solve, research the problem and develop a prototype invention as an in-class or extracurricular project. The maximum award is $10,000. Eligibility is open to high school science, mathematics and technology teachers -- or teams of teachers -- at public, private and vocational schools; intra- and inter-school collaborations are welcome. The deadline for this application is April 25, 2008. Click here for more information http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/about.html. 
 
ING Unsung Heroes Awards Program
The ING Unsung Heroes awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards. The maximum award is $25,000. Eligibility is open to full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals or classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school. The deadline is April 30, 2008. Click here for more information http://www.ing-usa.com/us/stellent2/groups/dc/documents/companylobinformation/001143.pdf.  
 

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News Briefs
 

Not on the Test Satirizes Current American Curriculum Trends
Tom Chapin, a Grammy Award-winning musician perhaps best known for children's music, has released a new song titled Not on the Test. The song satirizes the American education system's renewed focus on rote teaching, in which tests have become the sole reason to teach and learn. Music, art, drama and sports were what kept Chapin engaged in school. In addition, these subjects make the teacher's (and the student's) job easier and infinitely more rewarding. Unfortunately, they are also what have been cut from curriculums across the country as Chapin explains lightheartedly in song. Listen to the song at http://www.notont hetest.com.

 

Does High-Stakes Testing Increase Cultural Capital among Low-Income and Racial Minority Students?
Research from Texas and Chicago to examined whether high-stakes testing enables low-income and racial minority students to acquire cultural capital. While students’ performance on state or district tests rose after the implementation of high-stakes testing and accountability policies in Texas and Chicago in the 1990s, several studies indicate that these policies seemed to have had deleterious effects on curriculum, instruction, the percentage of students excluded from the tests, and student dropout rates.  Others have also written of the likely negative repercussions of high-stakes testing and accountability policies. More information can be found at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v16n6/.

Free Web Tool Connects Teachers and Students
SchoolNotes is a free service that teachers can use to post information online, such as homework assignments, resource links, and even flash card quizzes. Parents and students can be notified automatically when the teacher updates the Web page. SchoolNotes complements school sites by allowing teachers to share information on the Web without worrying about HTML or FPT because there is no programming required. Always available, this free community service allows parents, teachers, and students to access school information from home, work, school, or anywhere the internet is available. Find out more at http://www.schoolnotes.com/.

 

Simple Board Games Might Help Disadvantaged Children Learn Math
Children's games might help low-income preschoolers improve counting and other basic math skills and hold on to those gains for more than two months, according to a Carnegie Mellon University study, which tested the theory using a simple board game that researchers patterned after "Chutes and Ladders." "We [need to] improve preschool mathematics curriculum, especially for low-income children," said researcher Robert S. Siegler, a professor of cognitive psychology. "One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to do this is to provide board games to Head Start centers, child-care centers serving low-income populations and perhaps individual parents." For more information please visit http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08086/867918-298.stm.

 

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ASCD Connections

 

ASCD Annual Conference

Make plans now to attend  ASCD's annual conference in Orlando, March 14-16, 2008. The conference theme is "Learning Beyond Boundaries." ASCD is currently seeking speaker proposals for the 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibit Show. All 2009 conference proposals are due May 1, 2008. View the procedures and guidelines for submitting a proposal at http://www.ascd.org.

65 Years of Making a Difference
As ASCD celebrates its 65th year, it is appropriate to remember the past as we look toward the future. That's why the next four issues of Educational Leadership will include a series of columns exploring how ASCD has responded to the changing needs of schools and society throughout the years in four key areas. The April column will look at schools; efforts to educate the whole child; the May column will examine high school reform; the September column will discuss efforts to promote effective assessment practice; and finally, the October column will deal with improving teacher quality. Read the upcoming series to find out what has changed and what has remained the same during ASCD's first 65 years.

 

The Whole Child
ASCD has been mounting a major effort in its campaign for the whole child. The recently established a new website just to bring more helpful information to you. You can grade your school on its efforts, find links to many other sources, find ways that you can help spread the word and to influence your legislators and, how to spread the word to others. You can find complete information at http://www.wholechildeducation.org/
 

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Professional Development

 

Achieving Academic Excellence by Educating the Whole Child

Florida ASCD has agreed to be a sponsor with More Health Inc., in hosting a Florida School Leadership Summit on June 11, 2008 in Tampa. ASCD's Executive Director will be a speaker for this event as well as Florida ASCD's President Elect, Paul Terry. The institute's goal is to provide opportunities for school leaders and community decision makers to explore how to positively influence student academic performance by addressing health and wellness as integral to educating children. For more information please see brochure.

 

FASD Fall Leadership Conference

The Florida Association for Staff Development is hosting a Leadership Conference on September 22-24, 2008 in St. Pete Beach. Highlights will include how to incorporate state of the art technology in staff development delivery to meet the needs of the 21st Century students and identify low cost technology delivery tools to address budgetary impacts. View their website at www.fasdonline.org for more information.

 

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Contact Us

 

Florida ASCD Electronic Dimensions is published as the newsletter of Florida ASCD, publishing announcements, coming events, awards, short articles and items of interest for and about Florida ASCD members.  Items for publication should be sent to Florida ASCD headquarters at the address below. Views expressed are not necessarily the official position of Florida ASCD. Any product announcements appearing in Florida ASCD Electronic Dimensions are paid advertisements. They do not reflect an endorsement by Florida ASCD.

 

Please send comments, articles, announcements, and suggestions for future topics to the Editor:

 

Kim Pearson, Executive Director, Florida ASCD

11225 Kapok Grand Circle

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

727-871-1112

fascd@fascd.org

www.fascd.org

 

 

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