At the ASCD annual conference Florida ASCD was recognized for their excellent work in the area of Communication and Publications at a recognition luncheon for affiliates. Florida ASCD was recognized for the consistently high quality publications that contain rich and thorough content as well as unique design. Additionally, Florida ASCD's online and print publications were recognized for highlighting voices in the field, including student voices, and providing avenues to connect with members in multiple communications. Florida ASCD's website was commended for for its inviting atmosphere, ease in navigation and informative content. Congratulations Florida ASCD! (Picture from left to right: Jaime Castellano, Ralph Barrett, May Gamble, Nancy DeFord, Kim Pearson, Allan Dornseif, Gene Carter).

 

New Members

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

 

Jackson Stevens Kylene Davis, Alachua Katherine Johns, Brevard Andrea Delgado, Broward Anglea Ludica, Broward Renee Pleasant, Clay Denise Hall, Duval Susan Anderson, Duval Gary Avery, Duval Lance Barnett, Duval Carol Daniels, Duval

Leorah Mims, Escambia Ofelia Desposito, Escambia Emily Carroll, Gilchrist Andrea Guogas, Lake Gita Wijesinghe Pitter, Leon Angela Essig, Manatee Allan Danuff, Marion Mona Bethel Jackson, Miami-Dade Michael Robinson, Miami-Dade Willa Young, Miami-Dade Hope Walker, Miami-Dade

Martha Ricard, Orange Erin Alina Davis, Orange William Floyd, Orange Diane Curcio-Greaves, Palm Beach Cynthia Myers, Palm Beach Brad Finkbiner, Pinellas Rachel Powers, Pinellas Stephen Harris, Santa Rosa Karen Rose, Sarasota Susan Reaves, Volusia Marlen Veliz, Volusia

 

Thank you to the following members who recruited a new Florida ASCD member this month:

Ralph Barrett, Florida ASCD President 

 

Members in the News

Carol Mullen, Florida ASCD member, is a professor at USF. She has written a new book on prolific writing! Her new book is called Write to the Top! It is a concise guide to writing, and is designed to help any academic become not only productive but also truly prolific. It is a pithy, no-nonsense, no-excuses guide to maximizing the quality and quantity of your scholarly products. Write to the Top! offers an accessible overview of the art of writing efficiently and effectively; it is a one-stop source for the nuts and bolts of success in getting things written and into print, and for navigating the turbulent waters of professorial role strain along the way. This is the first book that explicitly summarizes the key elements to prolific productivity in academic settings. Find more information about the book at http://www.coedu.usf.edu/mullen/WriteTop.html.

 

Congratulations to Dr. Shelia Windom, Florida ASCD Vice President, for starting up a student chapter of ASCD at Nova Southeastern University, Orlando Campus! This new student chapter is the 2nd chapter started in Florida! Dr. Windom is the faculty advisor and is joined by Ulanda Frazier, the student chapter president. We know we will hear great things coming out of their work with this student chapter. They are looking forward to joining hands with Florida ASCD in helping to continue the vision of ASCD. If you are interested in starting a student chapter with ASCD at your university, please visit http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.332fa460285426cadeb3ffdb62108a0c/

 

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

 

Urban Outreach Program for Emerging School Leaders

The Florida affiliate of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) is sponsoring a one-day professional development institute for emerging school leaders through its Urban Outreach Program. This professional development opportunity will focus on two half-day events. One half of the day is titled: Differentiated Instruction to Increase Student Achievement: A Focus  on Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. The other half -day will focus on Advocacy and Influence: Making a Meaningful Difference. Mark your calendars for May 26, 2007! Registration information will be sent out soon.

 

2007 Annual Conference

The Florida ASCD Conference Committee has determined that the 2007 Annual Conference will be held in Orlando at the Nova Southeastern University, Orlando Campus on Millennium Blvd. on November 30, 2007-December 1, 2007. Mark your calendars now!!! More information will be sent out as it becomes available.

 

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Grants

Recognizing Innovative Reading Programs
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture by providing citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, and an extensive Web site providing comprehensive information on authors and their works. Maximum Award: varies. Eligibility: literary organizations, libraries, and community organizations across the country. Deadline: April 12, 2007.
http://www.neabigread.org/application_process.php

Professional Development Travel Program to Galapagos Islands
Toyota’s Institute of International Education is offering a professional development program for teachers to travel to the Galapagos Islands. Maximum Award: fully-funded, ten-day trip to the Galapagos. Eligibility: teachers grades 7-12. Deadline: April 23, 2007. http://www.iie.org/toyota

Grants to Improve Teen Driver Safety
State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council are sponsoring Project Ignition, which funds programs that give high school students and their teachers the chance to work together to address the issue of teen driver safety. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: students grades 9-12. Deadline: April 15, 2007. http://www.sfprojectignition.com/00home/

Community College Encore Career Grants
The MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Community College Encore Career Grants explore how community colleges can help those in the second half of life pursue new careers in education, health care, social services, and similar fields. Maximum Award: $25,000. Eligibility: community colleges. Deadline: May 1, 2007. http://www.civicventures.org/communitycolleges

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Awards

 

All USA Teacher Team Award
USA TODAY seeks teachers, both individuals and instructional teams to honor as representatives of all outstanding teachers on the All-USA Teacher Team. Maximum Award: $2,500 - $500 for the teacher; the remainder to the school for use as designated by the teachers. Eligibility: certified full-time K-12 teachers for the 2006-07 school year. Deadline: April 30, 2007.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/allstars/front.htm?Loc=vanity

 

Honoring Teachers Who Change Outcomes in Students' Lives
The Turnaround Management Association is now accepting nominations for the 2007 Butler-Cooley Excellence in Teaching Awards. The award honors classroom teachers who have changed the outcome of students’ lives and the communities in which they live. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: primary or secondary school teachers employed by accredited schools for at least five years. Deadline: May 1, 2007. http://www.turnaround.org/cmaextras/ButlerCooleyEntryPackage2007.doc

 

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News Briefs

ABC's of Change for Latino Children
Latino education advocates said they are battling a misperception that Hispanic parents are less concerned about teaching young children. Research shows lack of interest isn't the problem. Often Hispanic families don't have affordable preschools in their communities or, because of language barriers, don't know what's available. Many don't know the benefits of telling stories to young children or reading or counting with them. To many recent immigrants and their families, experts say, the U.S. culture of Baby Einstein tapes, museum trips and library story times is unfamiliar. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301579.html

Musical Software a Hit in Reading Classrooms
This year some 66 Florida schools have installed software originally designed to teach singers pitch and rhythm. When one of the original software's users found her daughter's reading had improved along with her rhythm, Electronic Learning Products adapted the software with reading comprehension in mind. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/grtQzrvdCbaHfZpKmc

The Case for National Standards in School Reform
In the absence of a clear and consistent set of national academic standards for what should be expected of all children, each state instead sets its own standards for what kids should know and be able to do. Sometimes these standards are high; often they are not. Either way, they drive the teaching and learning in America’s classrooms and serve to perpetuate the nation’s educational inequities at a time when we should be working to overcome them. In this Education Week commentary, Rudy Crew, Paul Vallas, and Michael Casserly advocate for the development of rigorous, uniform national standards for what we expect of all children, starting with the core areas of math and science. National education standards would give all our schools common targets and clarify what we expect teachers to be teaching and what we will hold schools and districts accountable for. National standards would give us, for once, a common definition of what academic proficiency means and what it doesn't mean, rather than having 50 different definitions. There is little reason to think, as some critics have claimed, that national standards would undermine the nation’s tradition of local control of schools. That would remain intact. Besides, the laws of science and math do not change when state lines are crossed, and do not require much local discretion.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/05/26crew.h26.html

Looking Back & Ahead After a Decade of Upheaval in Educational Technology
The tenth edition of Technology Counts from Education Week is now online. Technology Counts 2007 grades states on leadership in educational technology, and finds wide variation among them in the core areas of access, use, and capacity. Also included is an interactive timeline that examines key educational technology trends over the past 10 years. The use that students and educators are making of digital technology has moved in new directions. Students are taking more tests on computers. And educators are making ever-greater use of digital data on student achievement -- principally standardized-test scores, but also other student work organized in digital portfolios -- to make decisions about instruction. Much of that data analysis is being driven by test-based accountability, but not all. The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center now finds that, unlike 10 years ago, most states have technology standards for students and educators, for example. But few states test to see if those standards are being met, so the degree to which schools are reaching them is unknown. Anecdotal evidence and research suggest that teachers’ integration of digital tools into instruction is sporadic. Many young people’s reliance on digital technology in their outside lives stands in sharp contrast to their limited use of it in school. Large gaps, though, have emerged in students’ use of computers at home based on their demographic backgrounds. So while disadvantaged students now have nearly as broad access to computers in schools as their more advantaged peers, at home they typically have much less. http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2007/03/29/index.html

Florida Focuses on Math and Science: New Research Center Created
Governor Charlie Crist recently announced the formation of an initiative designed to increase math and science achievement in Florida schools. This new initiative creates the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and establishes the Office for Math and Science in the Department of Education. The Office for Math and Science will oversee the development and implementation of new world-class math and science standards, develop and deliver professional development, and coordinate all state and federally funded programs in these subject areas. The Center will be housed at Florida State University and will support the Department of Education’s efforts to increase the rigor and relevance of secondary programs to increase the number of students who graduate prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce. Funded by the Florida Legislature with a $2 million grant, the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics will conduct research and use these research-based findings to support the Office for Math and Science in the Department of Education. The center will be led by Sir Harold Kroto, co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and an ardent advocate for K-12 science education worldwide. In addition, Florida State University will hire three to six nationally and internationally renowned math and science faculty members. The grant was awarded to Florida State University following a competitive bid process. For more information, visit: http://www.fldoe.org/justforteachers
 

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ASCD Connections

 

ASCD Whole Child Campaign

ASCD calls on educators, communities, and policymakers to work together to fulfill the new compact for the education of the whole child. Successful implementation of these policies results in successful learners who are knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy, civically active, artistically engaged, prepared for economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond formal schooling. ASCD calls upon policymaking bodies from local school boards through the United States Congress to embrace and implement these goals to ensure we, as a society, meet our new compact with today's students and tomorrow's leaders. For more information visit ASCD's Whole Child site http://ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.2faf6f04644fa36557e54210e3108a0c/ where you can download and read all of the documents associated with the Whole Child Campaign. Also visit ASCD's site dedicated to getting the word out about the whole child and take the pledge to become a whole child advocate. You can also "grade" how your school is doing with teaching to the whole child. There are lots of resources and information that you will want to share with your educational communicty! Visit  http://www.wholechildeducation.org/ today and help spread the word about giving our students the schools they deserve.

 

Annual Conference

ASCD's annual conference, Valuing the Whole Child: Embracing a Global Vision, was a huge success! From the Book Bash, Annual Gala Dance, and many sessions, the ASCD conference provided many opportunities for networking and learning...and dancing! Wow, the Florida attendees sure knew how to have fun! 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."

 

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Professional Development News

 

 

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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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