Kim Pearson from Pinellas County has recently been named as Florida ASCD's Executive Director. Kim has been a very engaged Board Member of Florida ASCD since she joined the board in 2006. Kim is a teacher who is active in the educational community in many aspects. She is a member of various educational organizations and brings a wealth of knowledge with her to this position. We are delighted to have her join us as our Executive Director!

 

New Members

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

 

Jackson Stevens Jackie Busse, Duval Kevin Lutkenhaus, Hendry Shirley Jackson, Hillsborough

Michael Robinson, Miami-Dade Elaine Scott, Orange M. Doster, Orange Constance Scotchel Gross, Palm Beach

Kim Richards, Pinellas Beth Rawls, Pinellas Rebecca Huffman, Pinellas

 

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

Please help us fill in names here! We would love to recognize you for helping us to recruit more members!

 

Members in the News

Barbara Kleinsorge, Florida ASCD member, will soon become the principal of Cottee River Elementary School located in New Port Richey (Pasco County). Florida ASCD wishes her the best of luck in her new endeavor. Congratulations Barbara!

 

Congratulations to Florida ASCD Board Member Carlos Viera who is joining the ASCD Board of Directors! Florida ASCD looks forward to seeing all of the great accomplishments he will make as a board member of the national organization.

 

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

 

Board Meeting

We held our Board Meeting on February 24, 2007 at the Hawthorn Orlando Suites. At our meeting we approved the minutes from our December 2006 meeting. There was a very good discussion on our membership numbers as well as how we could improve our membership. Updates were given regarding our communications and publications that we put out to members. We confirmed information about our 2007 conference as well as important updates about the annual ASCD conference in Anaheim, California in March. We had a lengthy discussion on how we could become more influential in policy making as an organization and a bigger advocate for the children of the state of Florida. More information will be coming about this as we finalize our plans. We also received an update regarding ASCD's legislative initiatives. We concluded our meeting by making plans for our summer recharge meeting. We will be meeting at TECO/PATHS (Technical Education Center Osceola/Professional and Technical High School) in Kissimmee on June 23-24, 2007.

 

2007 Annual Conference

The Florida ASCD Conference Committee has determined that the 2007 Annual Conference will be held in Orlando on December 1, 2007. Mark your calendars now!!! More information will be sent out as it becomes available.

 

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Grants

Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education
The 2007 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education celebrates the theme of global awareness in U.S. education and recognizes those behind educational programs that help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to function as workers, citizens and fulfilled individuals in an increasingly interconnected world. Maximum Award: $25,000. Eligibility: policy makers, leaders in higher education, and school-based personnel. Deadline: March 16, 2007.
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/prize/about_history.shtml

Grants to Public Schools to Purchase Books & Reading Materials
The NEA Foundation is offering the D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards, which grants funds to public schools for the purchase of books and reading materials that will entice students to Drop Everything And Read! Maximum Award: $500. Eligibility: practicing pre-K thru 12 teachers, school librarians, or education support professionals in U.S. public schools. Deadline: March 12, 2007. http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/DEAR%200607.htm

Recruiting Bright and Ambitious People into the World of Education Policy
Fordham Fellows is a program designed to initiate talented, serious education reformers into the world of national education policy. Our goal is to bring together a cadre of the sharpest minds in American education and put them to work immediately in some of the nation's top policy shops. They'll be surrounded by intelligent, goal-oriented, hard-working veterans of the education policy arena. Primary deadline is March 15, 2007.
http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/fordhamfellows/index.cfm

Grants to Support Job Skills & Education for Disadvantaged Youth
Staples Foundation for Learning Grants provide funding to programs that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Maximum Award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: April 6, 2007. http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html

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Awards

 

Awards for Excellence in Teaching Gifted Students
The National Association for Gifted Children A. Harry Passow Classroom Teacher Scholarship awards teachers who have shown excellence in teaching gifted students, the ability to meet the needs of gifted students, and commitment to furthering the development of their teaching skills. Eligibility: teachers K-12 who have been members of NAGC for at least one year. Deadline: April 2, 2007. http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1255

 

MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award
The MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award recognizes teachers who have undertaken extraordinary, and voluntary, efforts to connect with their students' communities and to make themselves an active member of their community. Qualified nominees build partnerships and increase communication between the school, families, local businesses/nonprofits, and local government. Maximum Award:  $5,000. Eligibility: middle or high school teachers in one of 25 participating school districts (see website). Deadline: March 14, 2007. http://www.ncl.org/metlife/index.html

 

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News Briefs

Eight for 2008: Education Policy Guidebook for Presidential Candidates
Education remains a top 10 priority for the American people even during a divisive war and amid competing national concerns, according to the Gallup Poll.  In a new report, Education Sector offers eight education ideas for the 2008 presidential campaign.  These ideas are neither Democratic nor Republican.  They have realistic goals and price tags. The eight ideas include: (1) Unlock the Pre-K Door; (2) Offer Teachers a New Deal; (3) Create a National Corps of "SuperPrincipals"; (3) Open New Schools in Low-Income Neighborhoods; (4) Launch Learning into the 21st Century; (5) Reward Hard-Working Immigrant Students; (6) Give Students a Roadmap to Good Colleges; and (7) Help Students Help Others. http://www.educationsector.org/research/research_show.htm?doc_id=464943

NAEP Reports Grades Rising, Test Scores Lag
More American students are taking challenging courses and getting higher grades, yet substantial percentages still score below "basic" levels on national reading and math tests, according to two reports released today by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. "The results don't square," said the chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board.
http://www.ednews.org/articles/8451/1/NAEP-Reports-Grades-Rising-Test-Scores-Lag/Page1.html

No Child Left Bored: How to Challenge Gifted & Talented Students
A highly targeted array of learning opportunities for students is not common practice in schools and districts across the country. A few states have created separate schools for academically talented students in math and science. Some large districts have established magnet schools to serve the needs of academically talented students. Some communities offer theme schools for gifted learners, including schools with full-time programs for academically gifted and talented students with a focus on critical and creative thinking skills. Districts and states also have developed innovative programs that include mentorships, Saturday programs, after-school enrichment activities and summer internships. However, recent experiences suggest strongly that this attention has decreased in the years following the implementation of No Child Left Behind, writes Sally M. Reis in The School Administrator. In a recent study that her colleagues conducted, across 92 observation days in all subject areas, gifted students experienced only minimal instructional or curricular differentiation. The goal for each superintendent and administrator is to work with teachers and parents to develop a program and a continuum of services that is appropriate for each individual school, taking into account the unique learning needs of the students, the programs and services already in place and what is needed to challenge every child. For every child deserves the opportunity to make continuous progress in learning.
http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=8205&snItemNumber=&tnItemNumber=

Playground Heroes: How Can We Teach Kids to Stick Up for Peers Who are Bullied?
In "Playground Heroes" in the latest issue of Greater Good magazine, researchers Ken Rigby and Bruce Johnson make clear that research has not only documented the great prevalence of bullying at schools; it's also shown that quite often, children serve as passive bystanders to bullying. They neither join in the bullying nor try to stop it, but just watch it from the sidelines. Yet when these observers do intervene, more often than not they're successful in stopping the bullying. So why don't they intervene -- and perhaps more importantly, how can parents and teachers effectively encourage them to intervene when it's appropriate for them to do so? Drawing on the results from a six-country study that they ran, called the International Bystander Project, Rigby and Johnson offer concrete strategies for helping children act on their best intentions.
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/current_issue/rigbyjohnson.html

What, Exactly, is Proficiency?
The No Child Left Behind Act created an audacious goal for American education: by 2014 -- just seven years from now -- all children must be "proficient" in reading and mathematics. But what, exactly, is proficiency? What would it take to bring all students to that level, and what role would organizations outside of schools play? The latest issue of "Voices in Urban Education" from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform offers five perspectives on what "proficiency" looks like and how students can learn in and out of school to reach that goal. According to professor Edmund W. Gordon, "The ability to use knowledge to engage and solve problems, not just acquire knowledge, is increasingly the currency of advanced societies. The goal should be to develop such abilities in a broader range of young people." These articles suggest that there is somewhat of a consensus on what constitutes proficiency and that, in the consensus view, proficiency demands fairly high levels of ability. These abilities, writes editor Robert Rothman, are not just "a little more" than basic skills; they are qualitatively different. Achieving them takes more than simply ratcheting up teaching and learning. There is also a growing recognition that schools alone cannot accomplish this task. Affluent families already know this; children from relatively well-off families not only receive high-quality instruction in school, but also visit museums, join clubs, and engage with professionals in the workplace. Children from low-income families tend to lack these resources, so the inequalities they face in school are magnified. The challenge is to marshal the resources cities have for learning and make them more widely accessible, particularly for youths who have been poorly served in schools. Only then, with stronger support for learning in and out of school, can we move all students toward proficiency. http://www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/index.html

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ASCD Connections

 

ASCD Legislative Agenda: Increase Support and Flexibility for Comprehensive Professional Development

ASCD supports high-quality professional development, including leadership development for all educators, because it is critical to student learning and the development of the whole child. High-quality professional development is data-driven, contextual, and learner-centered within research-based practices. Click here to learn more about ASCD's position on Professional Development.

 

Annual Conference

ASCD's annual conference, Valuing the Whole Child: Embracing a Global Vision, will be held on March 17-19, 2007 in Anaheim, California. Check out ASCD's annual conference page for more information.

 

If you will be joining us in Anaheim, please support our Florida ASCD members who will be presenting! The following list includes the names of these presenters: Jaime Castellano-West Palm Beach, Sally Butzin-Tallahassee, Carlos Viera-Miami, Carolyn Guthrie-Miami, Judy Carr-USF Sarasota, Lenford Sutton-USF Sarasota. Be sure to look up their presentations in your program book and plan on attending if you can! 

 

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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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