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.

 

Jessica Barlow Jeffrey Bauer Betty Bernard Amalia Beunza Katherine Boice Ron Booker Tammy H. Boyd Anne L. Brown Christine M. Burk Marie Byrd-Blake Walter L. Christy John Davies Cindy Dempsey Carol Lynn Diaz-Zubieta Cindie Donahue Allan Dornseif Denise E. Doyle Angela A. Essig Dejah Fields Jeffery Fifield Ann Flanagan Alipia Gonzalez Lois Gracey Nancy J. Graham Betty Green

Steve Grnya Eloise Hayes Jennifer Hichez Rebecca Huffman Cassandra Jolliff Lorna Kitson Judy Klem Michele LaBute James F. Lane, Jr. Eyka Luby Janet G. Lukas David Magee Gary McDaniel Selena Menchan Gywn Mercer Linda Nelson Kathleen Oropallo Paul Ott Sally Oyler James Perry Gita Wijesinghe Pitter Bonnie A. Plucinski Mary Pollock Carla Radke Kathy Ramsey

Kim C. Richards Helen Roberts Nancy Roberts Gail A. Rossier Victoria J. Sartorio Marilyn Schaeffer Gerald Schlereth Karin Schmidt Stephen Schradek Elaine Scott Weslety L. Scott Robert Sheffield B. E. Shields Cathy Starling Leah Stephens Kevin Storch Mary Jane Tappen Mia Tardugno Cedric Thompson Mirta Silvia Torres Thomas Valesky Jacquelyn West Christina Williams Yvonne Williams Robert J. Ziegler Jennifer Zotter

 

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

 

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Florida ASCD Events

 

Annual Conference

Our 49th Annual Conference will be held December 5-6, 2008 at NOVA University in Orlando. We will be finalizing our plans for this conference at our next board meeting on February 22, 2008. Information will be posted on our site after this meeting. We are booking nationally acclaimed speakers including: Dr. Steven Layne. Mark the dates on your calendar and plan to attend!

 

Professional Development Institute-Fort Walton Beach

Our Professional Development Institute (PDI) was a hit in beautiful Fort Walton Beach. Alina Davis and Pat Melvin were the presenters for the PDI and have plans to take the training on secondary reading throughout the state. If you would like to see the PDI come to your area, please let us know at fascd@fascd.org and we will see what we can do!

 

 

Professional Development Institutes-What Do You Want?

As a member, we are asking for your help! We need to know if there is a need for a specific type of professional development in your area. Please email Kim Pearson at fascd@fascd.org and let us know what types of training is needed in your area and we will see if we can make it happen!

 

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Grants & Awards

 

Littlest Volunteers Contest
Wondertime Magazine and The Walt Disney Company are looking for stories about teaching young children the joys of volunteering. They are asking that volunteers share their story of what they and their little one have learned from an experience. The Maximum Award: $5,000 to winner’s favorite charity. Eligible participants include:: adults (parent, caregiver, or early childhood educator) volunteering with a child aged eight and younger. The deadline for submission is: February 29, 2008. For more information please see http://wondertime.go.com/contest/littlest-volunteers/index.html.

 

Motorola Innovation Generation Grants
The Motorola Innovation Generation Grants provide funds for initiatives that creatively foster a love of science early in life and show a new generation of inventors that careers involving science and math are important, challenging and possible. Priority will be given to programs that incorporate Motorola employees as volunteers. The Maximum Award is  $250,000. Eligible participants include any 501(c)3 organizations. The deadline for submission is Deadline: March 1, 2008. For more information please see http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=8153.
 

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News Briefs

To be a Good Teacher, Learn to be a Good Motivator
The Association for Childhood Education International (ACE) has released a new research brief, Beyond Benchmarks and Scores: Reasserting the Role of Motivation and Interest in Children's Academic Achievement, that focuses on the complex nature of learning. The paper asserts that learning as a process must be redefined and that today's educational practices require superior understanding of the role motivation plays in learning. The paper addresses the challenges educators face when working with students who are disinterested, reluctant or particularly resistant to certain tasks. The brief provides research-based recommendations to help teachers improve their ability to reach students and help them learn. Download a copy of the report at http://www.acei.org.

FREE Teaching Resource Links to Key Teaching Aids
Recently, the US DOE launched a new and improved version of its Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE). The new site makes it easier for users to find teaching and learning resources by offering, for the first time, a list of 500 educational topics and a redesigned home page. FREE provides educators with lesson plans, primary documents, science visualizations, math challenges, literary works, paintings, music manuscripts and many other classroom resources. The tool also provides comprehensive lesson plans by integrating important educational elements culled from the Library of Congress, Smithsonian, National Science Foundation, NASA, National Archives and other federal agencies. Visit http://www.free.ed.gov/.

Using Music to Teach English as a Second Language
Several web sites advocate using music to teach English as a second language (ESL). A site called ESL through Music as a trove of lesson plans that include song exercises and links to more ESL resources. For ESL through Music, visit http://www.forefrontpublishers.com. Click on lesson plans at left. Also check out Teaching Language with Music at http://gs.fansha wec.on.ca/tlwm. 

Competitive College Admissions Drive Middle-School Preparation
Having scored a 35 out of 36 on the ACT, earned a near-perfect GPA in college-level classes, and founded an organization dedicated to peace, Arianna Pattek at one time would have had her pick of Ivy League schools -- but no more: Increasingly intense competition means that getting into one's school of choice is no longer a sure thing, even for students with stellar qualifications, which has the parents of some middle-school children already mapping out college plans. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/content/accent/epaper/2008/01/31/a1e_collegemain_0131.html

Central Florida Districts Mull Possible Influx of Puerto Rican Students
After two years of fruitless negotiations with Puerto Rico's government, the teachers union there is prepping for a February strike that could shut down 1,400 schools, raising questions about whether there will be a mass exodus of students from the island to Central Florida; such a move would result in a sudden and major influx of new students into area schools, which officials there are concerned would overburden their resources. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-teachers0108feb01,0,6860780.story

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ASCD Connections

 

Annual Conference

It is not to late...Make plans now to attend  ASCD's annual conference in New Orleans, March 15-17, 2008. The conference theme is "Reinventing Schools: Courageous Leadership for Positive Change." Pre-conference institutes are available for registration now. Volunteers still needed...cheaper rates are available if you volunteer!

 

ASCD Announces BOOKS BASH to Kick Off 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibit Show
The 2008 ASCD Annual Conference & Exhibit Show will kick off with The Next Chapter: Books Bash and Beyond, the association's annual book bash and celebration, Friday, March 14, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. The ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show goes from March 15 to 17, 2008, and focuses on the theme Reinventing Schools: Courageous Leadership for Positive Change. Find out more at http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.1805ef 8d57c58379a5ea4510e3108a0c/template.article? articleMgmtId=6e98193fd9824110VgnVCM1000003d0 1a8c0RCRD#Bash
 

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Professional Development

 

Growing Gifted in the Sunshine State

National Association for Gifted Children is hosting a convention in Tampa, October 29-November 2, 2008. Their theme is Growing Gifted in the Sunshine State. Be sure to hold the dates if this sounds like something you are interested in attending! Visit their website for more information at www.nagc.org.

 

Holocaust and Human Behavior

Facing History and Ourselves is pleased to announce that we will be offering our online seminar, "Holocaust and Human Behavior," again this winter/spring. By using the Holocaust as a case study, we raise profound moral questions about the consequences of our actions and our beliefs, and we help our students make connections between history and the moral choices they make every day. While the Holocaust was a unique event in human history, the questions remain universal.

Seminar Dates:
--February 21, 2008 - April 16, 2008 or March 27, 2008 - May 21, 2008.

Information and application: http://www.facinghistory.org/OnlineSeminar

 

Failure Is Not an Option Institute

This Institute, sponsored by the HOPE Foundation, will focus on creating and sustaining learning communities based on the Failure Is Not an Option^® process, outlined in the book Failure Is Not an Option^®. Attendees should read the book, Failure Is Not an Option^®, to maximize their experience. Special attention will be spent on creating instructional leadership - within and across schools - to engage students and accomplish long-term goals. Leading educational experts will review how high-performing schools effectively promote and utilize collaborative teaming to sustain student achievement.  This institute will be held in Orlando, February 5^th – 8^th.

For more information and/or registration please visit: http://hopefoundation.org/hope/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=9&func=details&did=14

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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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