3DON-LINE

October, 2006 #30= &nb= sp;

Welcome to Dimensions On-Line, the electronic edition of Dimensions. E-mailed to all members it contains news of interest to FASCD members and Florida educators. This newsletter is= a benefit of your membership in FASCD.=

= Annual FASCD Conference Coming

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Mark your calendar now for Friday, December 1 and Saturday morning, December 2 for the annual FASCD Conference. The theme of this conference is: “Reconstructing the Educator’s Toolbox”.

This year the major speaker is Dr. Deborah Estes, a nationally known presenter on how educators can use recent discoveries about learning = and the human brain to improve learning opportunities for students. Her presentation is “Effective Brain-Based Presentations.” You can learn more about her and h= er presentation on her website: = = http://www.estes-group.com/.

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= Dr. Marcy Kysilka = and Dr. Larry Holt will present their brand new book “Instructional Patterns: Strategies for Maximizing Student Performance”. Copies of their book will be available for sale at a special conference price.

Sus= an Jones, a life-long educator, is a leading expert on research-based classroom instruction and student achievement. She possesses= a deep knowledge of the learning process, and is unique in her ability to transform that knowledge into practical application with a light-hearted, w= arm and often humorous approach.   Susan presents on Saturday, December 2^nd.

Ms. Jones= is author of Blueprint for Student Suc= cess: A Guide to Research-Based Teaching Practice K-12 and Backstage Pass for Trainers, Facilitators, and Public Speakers (Corwin Press). She has written numerous articles and columns dealing with strategies to improve achievement, and is a contributing author for two brain-research based books.

Below is a sampling of 2 hour se= ssions and descriptions:

Improving Comprehension for Struggling Students – within Subject Area Classroom= s! Appropriate for all subject areas, grades 6-12

Finally, a training that addresses the question, “How do I improve comprehension= and raise student achievement for students weak in literacy skills?” Gain strategies to build those skill= s - while teaching subject area content. This is a practical workshop, which mo= dels techniques easily incorporated into any classroom. A must for today’s teachers.

Strategies to Motivate Students and Improve Participation = (MS/HS)<= /span><= /h3>
Disengaged students are not successful learners. But how do we gain participation and increase motivation without sacrificing curriculum? Not a theoretical discussion of technique, this session is a profes= sional learning experience for serious educators who seek strategies that work – and will work in your classroom. Experience tasks firsthand that trigger motivation and student participation to create more efficient learning environments.

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= Board News

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The FASCD Board me= t in Orlando at the Ha= wthorn Suites on Saturday, October 7, with a full agenda. The primary topic of conversation = was the annual conference scheduled for Dec. 1 & 2 (see above). Board members convened the evening= prior to the Board meeting to conduct the annual audit of FASCD finances. At its regular meeting, Board memb= ers formally approved the FASCD audit. The next Board meeting is scheduled to t= ake place after the first day of the annual conference on Friday, December 1, at 4:00 PM.

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= Get Involved with FASCD

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FASCD is always lo= oking for folks who want to get more involved in the activities of FASCD. In order to move forward we need mo= re members who will take a little bit of their time to get involved with their organization. A few recent resignations from the board have created openings for replacements. If you have four Saturdays a year = to help direct our organization, you might consider applying for a board position. If interested, plea= se send a two-page (no more) resume to fascd@fascd.org. The board will review applications= and you will be invited to join the board at their next meeting. There are three candidates for Boa= rd positions. These candidates h= ave been invited to attend the next Board meeting.

We, like most affi= liates group our work around five major areas:&nb= sp;

1 – Diverse = Active Membership,

2 – Communication/Publications, <= /span>

3 – Programs, Products, and Services, =

4 – Influence/Policy, =

5 – Leadersh= ip and Governance.   =

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If you are interes= ted in getting involved in activities such as the development of our annual conference, professional development institutes, membership recruitment, influence activities and/or any other areas please send an e-mail to fascd@fascd.org indicating your interest. We = will get back to you with ways that you might get involved.

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= Members in the News

Have you had a recent= event to share with others in FASCD (like a job change, promotion, retirement, aw= ard 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=

Districts and Schools in the News=

= Publicize Your Good Work

Is your school or = school district doing any unique curriculum, instruction, assessment, or staff development programs, projects, or material development you are willing to share with others? Here is an opportunity for sharing the good work your schools and/or district is doing. Please contact Harry Teitelbaum at fascd@fascd.org with information. =

Positions Available

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Post positions here. Send position announcem= ents to fascd@fascd.org.=

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION - NEWS OF INTEREST FROM OTHER SOURCE= S

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        &nb= sp;         REPLICAS OF THE VOYAGE SCALE MODEL SOLAR SYSTEM ON THE NATIONAL MALL IN WASHINGTON, DC, ARE NOW AVAILABLE =

In October 2001, the Voyage scale m= odel of the Solar System was permanently installed on the National Mall in Washington, DC, b= etween the U.S. Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. The Natio= nal Center for Earth and Space Science Education is now making replicas of the = exhibition available for permanent installation in communities across the U.S. and int= ernationally, along with extensive resources and community-wide programming. The Voyage program was designed to take an entire community to the frontiers of exploration.

Undertaken in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and NASA, Voya= ge portrays the Sun, planets, and largest moons at one ten-billionth actual si= ze. The Exhibition is contained on 13 stanchions located along the sidewalk from the National Air and Space Museum to the Smithsonian Castle<= /st1:PlaceType> Building, spanning a distance of 600 meters (2,000 ft).

Voyage reflects a seamless fusion of sculpture and science education a= nd achievement deemed worthy of placement on the National Mall by the U.S. Commission of F= ine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. The Sun is represented = as a striking gold sphere. Planets and moons are depicted to scale as 3-dimensio= nal spheres laser-sculpted inside solid crystal. Porcelain enamel storyboards w= ith full color imagery provide a compelling up-close view of the planets and mo= ons. In stark contrast, the 3-D models provide the reality of tiny worlds in a v= ast space.

The vision is an exhibition that can engage an entire community, stude= nts, families, teachers, and the public in a powerful story about Earth&sup= 1;s place in space. Complementing the exhibit and maximizing its impact are tou= rs and tour brochures; activity guides promoting use of the exhibition as a So= lar System laboratory; grade K-13 lessons on Solar System science comprehensive enough= to be adopted as some or all of a school district¹s space science curricu= lum; workshops for educators; programs for thousands of students in classrooms a= nd delivered by planetary scientists and engineers from research organizations across the nation; and programs for families and the public.

Voyage can be installed on a university campus, providing wonderful outreac= h opportunities to the community, e.g., undergraduate-led tours for students from area scho= ols. Voyage is well suited for a community park, or near a science center where = it provides a pathway to the gate. Voyage is also appropriate as a sculptural element along a downtown street.

Voyage can be used to develop sustainable collaborations between school dis= tricts, a university¹s education, science, and engineering departments, a muse= um/science center/planetarium, civic organizations, businesses, and the public. The National Center for Earth and = Space Science Education is ready to work with you and other representatives of yo= ur community to fully explore how Voyage can serve your community¹s strat= egic needs in science education; foster community outreach; and introduce a remarkable sculptural element
into the community landscape. Take the Voyage. For more information visit <= /span>www.voyagesolarsystem.org or contact Stacy Hamel at 202-689-1295, = shamel@usra.edu.

   &n= bsp;            = ; STUDENTS FLOCK TO = NEW ONLINE SCHOOL

Washington's two newest online schools didn't know how many students to expect = when they announced they would open their virtual doors this fall. Leaders cautiously hoped for 250, maybe 300 as a start. They were low -- way low. As school starts, the two public schools are happily struggling to handle doub= le and triple that number. Insight = School of Washington, the state's first fully online high school, stopped accepting students after 650, and has 1,000 more who've expressed interest. The Washington Virtual<= /st1:PlaceName> Academy, a K-8 base= d in Steilacoom, has 652 students registered, and another 500 in the application pipeline. Going to school via computer is "not for most kids," sa= id Bill Finkbeiner, executive director of Insight School. "Most students are going to do better in traditional high schools. But there are a significant percentage of students who don't fit in to a regular high school and, for many of them, this is a good option." Some had dropped out of high school. Some don't like the high-school social scene. Others want the flexibility of the online schedule so they can hold down jo= bs, or, in a few cases, because they're elite athletes who have an extensive training and travel schedule. At Washington Virtual Academy, more than 60 percent of students are home-schoolers or previously attended private schools, reports Linda Shaw. In both schools, students come from all corners of the state, with larger numbers from the larger urban areas. A ch= ange in Washington law last year made it clear that public schools could operate online progra= ms in which teachers have no face-to-face contact with students. Critics quest= ion whether it's a good idea for students to miss the give-and-take of classroom debate and discussion. Many also warn that the quality of online classes is uneven, and that no research shows how well students learn when their class= room is a screen. http://www.king5.com/education/stories/NW_091106WA_SEATTLETIMES_onlineschoo= lsSW.8b6d5ea0.html

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BEYOND FIRE DRILLS: EDUCATION’= ;S ROLE WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

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Overall, most scho= ols are seriously deficient in preparing for events that result in mass casualt= ies: 86 percent have response plans for mass casualties, but only 57 percent have written plans to prevent events of this magnitude; 96 percent have an evacuation plan, but 30 percent have never conducted a drill; 43 percent ha= ve never met with local ambulance officials to plan for high-casualty disaster= s; and 66 percent use no form of student identification, such as badges or car= ds, and 48 percent provide no form of identification for teachers and other sta= ff. The first step in preparation is to accept that a wide range of emergencies= can happen anywhere. The next step, reports Susan Black, is for school and dist= rict leaders to conduct risk assessments to prioritize vulnerability to various disasters. The goal of disaster recovery, the U.S. Department of Education says, is "to return to learning and restore the infrastructure of the school[s] as quickly as possible." Fast recovery can get schools back = on track and help communities heal, as Florida’s Dade County learned aft= er Hurricane Andrew destroyed or damaged 287 schools and 80,000 homes. The day= the schools' bells rang, a DCPS official recalls, was a symbol of hope and &quo= t;the first sign of normalcy." But DCPS officials soon realized it was easie= r to restore buildings than restore children’s lives. http://www.ciconline= .org/aboutcic/publications/threshold.htm=

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   = DOES SCHOOL CHOICE LEAD TO COMPETITION AND PRESSURES TO IMPROVE?=

Research from countries with broad school choice initiatives has beco= me particularly relevant to the U.S. with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the potential for all students in failing schools to gain access to new schooling options. A new = paper by Cathy Wylie examines school choice policies in New Zealand. First, the histo= ry of school choice in New= Zealand is discussed. Wylie reveals that 91% of primary students and 84% of seconda= ry students attend their first choice school. Roughly 30% of students do not attend sch= ools closest to their homes, suggesting some competition for students between schools. Second, the impact of school choice on student achievement is examined. Wylie reports that low-income schools are less likely to produce qualified students and that competition does not appear to have induced the= se schools to improve. Third, the paper discusses why competition has not led = to superior student outcomes. Wylie argues that most schools in New Zealand do not face structural competition, defined as five or more competing schools = in close proximity, and most school leaders are not threatened by consistent competition. Out of 157 schools whose principals were surveyed in 1999 and 2003, only 17% reported facing competition in both years. Wylie concludes t= hat it is important to distinguish between offering choice and encouraging competition.

http://www.ncspe.org/list-papers.php =

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  VIVID EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL REDESIG= N

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"Windows on Conversions: A Multi-Media Exploration of Redesign at Four Comprehensive Hi= gh Schools" is an up-close and vivid examination of successful school redesign. The promising practices of four schools -- in rural Maine, suburb= an California, inner city Chicago and the urban fringe of Tacoma, Washington -= - have been documented in a this multimedia toolkit which includes an interactive = DVD and written case studies of the four high schools. The toolkit enables user= s to learn about the conversion process from the frontlines, reported in the voi= ces of teachers, administrators, parents and students who are successfully transforming their schools. The study kit provides vivid images of the promising practices and challenges facing comprehensive high schools as they convert to small schools and small learning communities, illustrating both = the truly difficult work of converting existing schools into radically different types of learning environments as well as the promising outcomes this work = can produce. To read case studies and view online video clips: http://schoolredes= ign.net/srn/woc/woc_main.php<= /p>
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   SO= RRY CUPCAKE, YOU'RE NOT WELCOME IN CLASS

The days of the bi= rthday cupcake -- smothered in a slurry of sticky frosting and with a dash of rain= bow sprinkles -- may be numbered in schoolhouses across the nation. Fears of childhood obesity have led schools to discourage and sometimes even ban what were once de rigueur grammar-school treats. "They can bring carrots,&q= uot; said Laura Ott, assistant to the superintendent of Orange County's Saddleba= ck Valley Unified School District, which this month started allowing non-nutritious classroom treats only three times per year. "A birthday= doesn't have to be associated with food." Such nutritional dictates have ignit= ed a series of mini cupcake rebellions across the country, and Texas has led the way. The Texas Legis= lature last year passed the so-called Safe Cupcake amendment, which guarantees parents' right to deliver unhealthful treats to the classroom -- such as sweetheart candies on Valentine's Day and candy corn on Halloween. Rep. Jim Dunnam sponsored the legislation after a school in his district booted out a father bringing birthday pizzas to his child's class. "There's a lot of reasons our kids are getting fat," said Dunnam, a Democrat from Waco. "Cupca= kes aren't one of them." Whether cookies, cakes and other birthday treats = at school are the culprits or not, writes Seema Mehta, the nation's children a= re definitely packing on the pounds. http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-cupcake27s= ep27,1,3733448.story?coll=3Dla-news-learning&ctrack=3D1&cset=3Dtrue= <= /p>
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      =             MANY CHILDREN STILL LEFT BEHIND

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings didn't quite declare "mission accompli= shed" in her glowing appraisal of the successes of the federal No Child Left Behi= nd law. But she did suggest the nation is well on the road toward victory in t= he classroom. "High standards plus accountability plus resources equals results," she wrote. She specifically praised San Francisco schools. "In San Francisco, ne= arly half the students scored at grade level in reading and math, compared to 40 percent in 2003," wrote Spellings, a key author of the NCLB legislatio= n. The problem with these optimistic assessments is that they overstate the accomplishments being attributed to the five-year-old No Child Left Behind = law. Spellings neglected to mention that the San Francisco Unified School Distri= ct is being punished by the federal government for failing to make "adequ= ate yearly progress" as defined by the No Child Left Behind law. San Francisco has= n't only failed this year -- it has failed for three years in a row. What's most disconcerting is that the No Child Left Behind law has failed to accomplish= one of its major goals -- closing the yawning achievement gap that separates bl= ack and Latino students on the one hand, and whites and Asians on the other. San Francisco and= other diverse school districts cannot relent in their efforts to make sure that a= ll students succeed. But it seems clear that it will take far more than a piec= e of federal legislation to close a stubborn achievement gap rooted in a potent = mix of class, race, neighborhood, culture and history. We are nowhere close to being able to declare victory.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=3D/c/a/200= 6/09/27/EDG6PKDU3B1.DTL&hw=3Dschools&sn=3D002&sc=3D759<= /p>

        &nb= sp;         FEDERAL READING PROGRAM IGNORED LAW & ETHICAL STANDARDS

A scorching internal review of the Bush administration's billion-dollar-a-yea= r reading program says the Education Department ignored the law and ethical standards= to steer money how it wanted. The government audit is unsparing in its view th= at the Reading First program has been beset by conflicts of interest and willf= ul mismanagement. It suggests the department broke the law by trying to dictate which curriculum schools must use. It also depicts a program in which review panels were stacked with people who shared the director's views, and in whi= ch only favored publishers of reading curricula could get money. In one e-mail, the director told a staff member to come down hard on a company he didn't support, according to the report released last week by the department's ins= pector general. About 1,500 school districts have received $4.8 billion in Reading First grants. The audit found the department: Botched the way it picked a p= anel to review grant applications, raising questions over whether grants were approved as the law requires; Screened grant reviewers for conflicts of int= erest, but then failed to identify six who had a clear conflict based on their industry connections; Did not let states see the comments of experts who re= viewed their applications; Required states to meet conditions that weren't part of= the law; and tried to downplay elements of the law it didn't like when working = with states. = http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/22/reading.first.a= p/index.html<= /p>

        &nb= sp;         MOST D.C. CHARTER SCHOOLS MISS TEST BENCHMAR= KS

Thirty of 34 charter school campuses, representing thousands of District students, failed to meet reading and math benchmarks on a new test, according to data released yesterday by the D.C. Public Charter School Board. The poor result= s on the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment mirror the performance of students in traditional D.C. public schools reported weeks ago. Of the 146 government-r= un schools, 118 failed to meet academic targets, up from 81 last year, reports= Theola Labbé and V. Dion Haynes. The charter board knew the results for the= schools it oversees at the time but declined to release them, saying it would take = more time to verify scores and notify parents. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, students from the underperforming schools have the right to tra= nsfer to schools that meet benchmarks for yearly academic progress. But with the = vast majority of charter and government-run public schools failing to meet the standards, and with long waiting lists at many charter schools, parents have fewer choices. The latest test results provide a fuller picture of the pauc= ity of high-achieving schools in the District, despite the expansion of charter schools in the past 10 years as an alternative to the low-performing tradit= ional system.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2= 006/09/26/AR2006092601745.html

      =             WHY ARE WE DRUGGING OUR CHILDREN?

A recent study found that the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat children an= d adolescents increased by more than five times from 1993 to 2002. Are educators, parents, and citizens aware of or concerned about this tremendous increase in prescr= ibing psychiatric drugs for young people? If the drugs were being prescribed in t= his quantity for a physical disease, medical and political leaders would be alarmed. They would want to know why, writes Julian Weissglass. He believes that much of the increase in prescriptions of psychiatric drugs is because children’s behavior and emotions are difficult for adults to handle. = This is impossible to prove, but if even one child is prescribed drugs because of adults’ discomfort with his or her behavior, it is a grave injustice. Children have the right to be themselves as they grow up, to be loved and supported, and to have their emotions attended to by caring adults. If they= are acting in ways that are inconvenient or difficult for adults to handle, the= n it would be wise to give the adults emotional support, so that they can constructively handle the young people’s behavior, rather than resort= to drugging them. When such large numbers of children have to be drugged to co= pe in school, we should consider changing schools, so that they are better pla= ces for young people. We could well begin by asking what kind of school will as= sist young people to have full, meaningful lives, rather than measuring the succ= ess of schools by students’ performance on standardized tests.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/09/27/05weissgl= ass.h26.html<= /p>

        &nb= sp;         NEW SCHOOL FITNESS RULE IS WORKING OUT

A new North Carolina rule this year that middle-school students do at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity prompted a common reaction from educators: Fat chance. Middle-school students typically take physical education, but the classes d= on't always meet each day. So how, teachers wondered, are we supposed to find ti= me to boost heart rates, when it's hard enough to boost test scores? But four weeks into the school year, students are shadow boxing in their classrooms, walking while taking notes, even taping together phone books for step aerob= ics. And skepticism has begun to fade, reports Peter Smolowitz. After desks are returned to rows, some teachers say what they initially feared would be a distraction has actually helped improve student behavior and learning. &quo= t;I am pleasantly surprised that this is working out well," said Jennifer O'K= ane-Fenk. "They are a little more awake than they would have been." Other s= tates also have physical education requirements. South Carolina, for instance, requires elementary students to get at least 60 minutes of physical education a week= and 90 minutes of physical activity (which can include recess). But most N.C. middle schools don't have recess, and the requirement seemed likely to cut = into instruction. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/education/15609147.html<= /p>
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WISCONSIN TEACHERS MAY GET $5000 TO WORK IN POOR SCHOOLS

Qualified teachers= in high-needs areas such as Milwa= ukee and rural districts would receive a $5,000 stipend per year under a budget = plan released by State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster. The budget would also= set aside $26 million to help financially struggling rural districts cope with rising costs. Burmaster's plan would give $5,000 per year for nine years to teachers with certain qualifications who teach in schools where at least 60 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Issuing a c= all to action to those teachers, she said: ''You will provide a vital service f= or the public good, and you will grow as an educator and a person.'' Burmaster said her plan would also increase the state's share of funding for the Milwaukee school = voucher program to 75 percent from 55 percent. <= /span>http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/67436,CST-NWS-p= oor22.article

I= NDISPENSABLE ARTS EDUCATION

The arts often are sidelined these days in an educational landscape of soaring expenses and standardized exams. As school officials across the country take the red pen= to their arts budgets, they generally reason, "How do we justify the time= and expense of music, dance, or drawing when we have federal benchmarks to meet= and little money to spend?" At the Boston Arts Academy, however, there's nothing dispensable about singing -- or dancing, acting, d= rawing, and painting. The arts at this public school are central to the mission of = educating students in math, science, and the humanities. What could singing lessons possibly have to do with science class? As teachers here see it, tough trai= ning in the arts is training for everything important, and it's a kind of preparation teenagers passionately want and need. "There's a deep-seat= ed belief here that art allows young people to develop a creative and entrepre= neurial understanding of the world," says headmaster Linda Nathan, who helped found the school. "In arts, kids learn there's not just one right answ= er. They learn that judgment counts. They learn to connect." Using a caref= ully calibrated mix of rigorous high school academics and classical arts trainin= g, this seven-year-old academy aims to help 415 teens become capable, creative= men and women -- artists and scholars with a faculty for self-reflection and the drive to continually refine their work. Students, many of whom enter ninth grade with no prior artistic training, choose a major from among theater, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, and visual art. Arts and academics = are not separate endeavors here; they are deeply connected disciplines, and teachers draw on the rigors of one to feed another. The results are impress= ive, reports Grace Rubenstein. http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=3DA= rt_1645&issue=3Doct_06