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.

Bob Simonson, Bay Billy May, Bay Walter Christy, Brevard Julie Biancardi, Broward Allen Valentine, Broward Brenda Cumings, Broward Dorothy Hammer, Broward Fred Hartford, Broward Debbie Williams, Calhoun Rae Konjoian, Charlotte Maureen Watts , Charlotte Marilyn Moser, Collier John Kasten, Collier Nanette Rathbun, Collier Linda Lecht, Dade Lucy Puello-Capone, Dade Karen Ingraham, Dade Loriana Novoa, Dade Gina Romero, Dade Adrian Cline, DeSoto

Sharon Burnette, Duval Susan Wilkinson, Duval Beverly Walker, Duval Tammy Boyd, Duval Jay Marinelli, Duval Cynthia Miller, Duval Vivian Bennett, Hendry Connie Tzovarras, Highlands Deborah Mosley, Hillsborough Cathy Thornton, Lake Diana Lowry, Lee Janis Johnson, Leon Carol Bounds, Marion Mary Ann Salis, Nassau Karen Sinclair, Orange Philip Koger, Orange Elizabeth Prince, Orange John Edwards, Orange Kathryn Gunter, Orange Jennifer Reeves, Orange

Susan Scorch, Orange Vicky Torrey, Osceola Denise Doyle, Palm Beach Margaret Collier, Palm Beach Carol Moore, Pinellas Gerald Schlereth, Pinellas Jan Herzik, Pinellas Jayme Joslyn, Pinellas Buddy Thomas, Polk Brenda Hardman, Polk Gary McDaniel, Polk Jonathon Meyers, Polk Virginia Richard, Polk Michael Griffith, Sarasota Sharon Richert, Sarasota John Zoretich, Sarasota Michael Blasewitz, Seminole Michael Mizwicki, Seminole Juanita Wright, St. Lucie

 

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

Help us fill in your name here! Recruit a member today and extend your membership!

 

Members in the News

Four of the five officers for the newly formed Nova Southeastern University ASCD were chosen for the Aspiring Administrators Leadership Program for Orange County Public School. This was quite an honor because the number of people applying for the program was overwhelming and only 80 participants were chosen.  Kudos to the officers and this speaks volume to our leadership for this chapter. The new officers are as follows:  President-Tony Bolyard from Timber Creek High School, Vice President- Carletta Davis-Wilson from Richmond Heights Elementary,Membership/Secretary -Tammye Young from Westridge Middle School, and Historian/Scrapbooker-Origin Call from Richmond Heights Elementary.

May Gamble, Florida ASCD Board Member, is retiring after 39 years as a teacher, district specialist, and principal. She has been on the Florida ASCD Board since 1993 and was Florida ASCD president in 1999. Congratulations May!

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

 

Learning Symposium

Florida ASCD is sponsoring a one-day professional development institute. This professional development opportunity will focus on two half-day events. Half of the day will be discovering best practice in Differentiated Instruction. The other half-day will focus on Advocacy and Influence. This event will be held at Nova Southeastern University-Orlando Campus. Mark your calendars for May 26, 2007! Registration information is available at www.fascd.org/learningsymposium.htm. A great learning opportunity!

 

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

Grants for Professional Development for Performing Arts Teachers in Rural Communities
The Dana Foundation Rural Arts Initiatives grant funds to professional development programs for performing arts teachers in rural communities in the U.S. Dana supports projects in various stages of development and approach. Maximum Award: $50,000. Eligibility: Professional artists teaching performing arts in public schools; in-school arts specialists who teach performing arts in public schools. Deadline: June 4, 2007. http://www.dana.org/grants/artseducation/rural/guidelinesrural.cfm

Target Arts in Education Grants
Target Arts in Education grants make art exhibitions, classes and performances more affordable and accessible for families by funding programs that bring arts to schools or school children to the arts. Maximum Award: $3,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: May 31, 2007. http://target.com/common/page.jhtml?content=target_cg_prequalifier

NEA Foundation Student Achievement Grants
The NEA Foundation Student Achievement Grants provides funds to improve the academic achievement of students in U.S. public schools and public higher education institutions in any subject area(s). The proposed work should engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: K-12 public school teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff at public colleges and universities. Deadline: June 1, 2007. http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/StudentAchievement_Guidelines.htm

Grants to Fund Participation in High-Quality Professional Development
NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of two purposes: grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: public school teachers grades K–12; public school education support professionals; or faculty and staff at public higher education institutions. Deadline: June 1, 2007.
http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/Learning&Leadership_Guidelines.htm

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Awards

 

Awards for Young Scholars Illuminating Culture & Economics
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute grants the Templeton Enterprise Awards to scholars under forty who have produced the very best books and articles in the field of humane economics and culture. Maximum Award: $50,000. Eligibility: authors aged 39 and under of books and articles published in the previous year on topics relating to the culture of enterprise. Deadline: May 31, 2007. http://www.cultureofenterprise.org/bookaward.html

 

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News Briefs

 

Videos on Demand

Teachers now have their very own version of YouTube. TeacherTube, launched in March 2007, is video-sharing site designed exclusively for educators. Created by a 14-year veteran educator (with technical help from family members), the site aims to “fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners.” TeacherTube provides many of the same tools featured on the popular YouTube site, which is blocked by many schools. Teachers can use the TeacherTube to upload and share instructional videos, comment on and rank videos, and create video groups to bring together users with similar interests. Videos can also be easily embedded on Web pages. In keeping with its educational focus, the site’s producers aim to feature mainly instructional and professional development videos. Users are encouraged to “flag” videos that might be inappropriate. Videos currently on the site include specific lessons, class projects, demonstrations of unique instructional approaches, and expressions of educational philosophy. http://enews.edweek.org/GoNow/a15864a164332a224463763a1

 

More Parental Power in Revised No Child Left Behind Urged
Advocates want the federal law to give states the power to enforce the parental-involvement sections of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), reports David J. Hoff in Education Week. The No Child Left Behind Act has expanded parents’ power over their children’s education and given them more information about student achievement than ever before. But Congress ought to take further steps to promote parental involvement when it reauthorizes the five-year-old law, parent activists told a Senate panel last week. The federal law should guarantee funding for parent resource centers, authorize schools to spend federal money to hire family-service coordinators, and give states the power to enforce the parental-involvement sections of the education law, the advocates told the Senate health, education, labor, and pensions committee on March 28. "Schools are not taking these provisions seriously enough," Wendy D. Puriefoy, the president of Public Education Network, said of the law. "Significant changes are needed." Under the NCLB law, districts are required to involve parents when they are writing their plans to comply with Title I and other programs in the law. They also must develop a parental-involvement policy and hold regular meetings with parents explaining what the district is doing to meet the law’s achievement goals for students in reading and mathematics. Although parental advocates considered those requirements to be significant improvements over previous versions of the law authorizing the Title I compensatory education program, they suggested that Congress should do more. In addition to Puriefoy’s request for states to be given the power to ensure districts are fully complying with the parental-involvement measures, other experts suggested that portions of the $12.7 billion Title I program be set aside to pay for services to help parents. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/04/31pta.h26.html

 

Free High-Quality Teaching & Learning Resources

The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education has just released OER Commons, the first comprehensive open learning network that enables users to find freely available high-quality teaching and learning materials. Created with and for educators, students, and self-learners, this broad selection of open educational resources for K-12 and higher education can be browsed, searched, and enhanced using collaborative social networking features, such as tags, ratings, and reviews. The goal of OER Commons is to bring innovation to teachers and learners around the world. Within its first month, OER Commons has forged alliances with over 60 major content partners in order to provide a single point of access through which educators and learners can search across collections to access over 9,000 open educational resources, read and provide descriptive information about each resource, and retrieve the ones they need. There are a wide range of educational resources, from complete courses to learning modules to library documents, and from algebra to zoology, all in one place. Many of the resources use one of the popular Creative Commons licenses.
http://www.oercommons.org/

School Forms “Parknership” For Hands-On Education
The local environment is serving as Fort White High School’s (FWHS) laboratory of sorts. The school and Ichetucknee Springs State Park formed an Outdoor Service Learning “Parknership” for grades six through 12 to offer educational experiences by providing hands-on, field-based investigations that reinforce, enrich and make relevant classroom studies, as well as provide opportunities for service learning in the community. For the full story, visit http://fldoe.org/successstories/2007/04-10-2.asp.

Billionaires Launch $60 Million Education Campaign
Eli Broad and Bill Gates have together pumped more than $2 billion into improving schools; now they have joined forces to try and ensure education is a key topic of discussion during the 2008 presidential campaign. Dubbed Strong American Schools, their education campaign will include TV and radio advertising in battleground states and a push for more consistent curriculum standards, longer and more school days and improved teacher quality. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/education/25schools.html

2006 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Expectations & Experience

The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, conducted by Harris Interactive each year since 1984, explores teachers' opinions and brings them to the attention of the American public and policymakers. The 2006 survey examines what teachers, principals and deans of schools of education each consider most critical to prepare teachers to meet classroom demands, as well as the expectations and experiences of prospective and former teachers. Major findings include: (1) Teacher career satisfaction is at a 20-year high; (2) Principals and education leaders disagree on what new teachers should expect on-the-job; (3) Teachers are driven to leave by unmet expectations, lack of preparation and lack of support by colleagues and principal; (4) Many teachers say they lack the basics to get the job done; (5) Many teachers feel shut out of decision-making at school, but having a say in school policies is a key determinant of teacher satisfaction; (6) Professional prestige is on the rise, but teachers still lack parental support; (7) Teacher shortages are expected to be greatest in secondary schools and in schools with predominantly low-income and minority students; (8) Veteran teachers are more likely than newcomers to opt out, and teachers who plan to leave are twice as likely to be African American as are those who intend to stay in the profession; and (9) Teachers and principals share common views on recruitment and retention strategies. Three of the four top strategies for teacher recruitment and retention recommended by teachers are similar to those of principals, including providing a decent salary, providing increased financial support for the school system, and providing more respect for teachers in today’s society. http://www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/81821402701160505871V1F2006MetLifeTeacherSurvey.pdf

 

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ASCD Connections

 

Innovative High School Redesign

ASCD's 2007 Legislative Agenda supports high school redesign that includes rich and rigorous curriculum, meaningful and relevant learning experiences, and relationships with caring adults who know students well.

ASCD calls upon the U.S. Congress to support the efforts of states and local education agencies to use research-based approaches that engage high school youth and improve educational outcomes. These outcomes should enable high school graduates to become productive world citizens, prepared for economic success in a competitive global market.

To achieve this, ASCD proposes five key areas for innovative high school redesign:

• Multiple Measures of Assessment, including a progress-based interpretation of the data as an essential element in determining adequate yearly progress.
• Personalized Learning to enable students to take ownership of their learning with a caring adult/mentor to support academic efforts achieving graduation.
• Flexible Use of Time and Structure to allow high schools to determine the appropriate learning, classroom, calendar, and graduation time and to free them from the 100-year-old Carnegie unit and other inflexible structures.
• Professional Development for All Educators that builds capacity for successful school leadership and effective instructional practice. High school innovation requires that teachers and school leaders are supported in gaining and sustaining the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to address the evolving needs of students.
• Business and Community Engagement to provide expanded business and community support for new learning opportunities and increased student engagement.

ASCD opposes school choice programs that do not provide equal access for all students. ASCD also opposes policies that evaluate schools and students according to a narrowly constructed testing system. For more information visit www.ascd.org.

Annual Conference

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." ASCD is currently in the process of accepting proposals for concurrent sessions and research sessions for the 2008 conference. Apply online if you are interested.

 

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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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