Eye on Curriculum

• New approach helps Oregon students increase math achievement
  Educators in Oregon say more of their middle-school students are understanding and retaining math concepts because they have reduced the number of topics covered in each grade, allowing them to spend more time with hands-on lessons that use real-life examples. Teachers also say they are collaborating more, sharing best practices in math instruction and working to more closely monitor student progress. The approach will be required by the state beginning next year. The Oregonian (Portland) (11/7)

• Nashville schools hope for success with fresh-starting
  School officials in Nashville, Tenn., hope to see improvements at five district schools where they have employed a fresh-start strategy, asking teachers and staff to reapply for their positions. While proponents of fresh-starting say it is an effective strategy for turning around struggling schools by shaking up leadership and forcing out ineffective educators, others say the strategy is degrading to teachers. The Tennessean (Nashville) (11/8)

Yardsticks, a new edition of an old favorite. "The best single book on child development. I give copies to teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents." (Principal, PA) Clear descriptions and charts of children's development from ages 4 to 14 with classroom implications. Click here for details.

Professional Leadership

• Illinois teachers' salary gaps do not reflect student achievement
  Despite having one of the largest salary gaps among teachers nationwide, there is little difference in achievement among Illinois schools with the highest- and lowest-paid teachers, according to the 2009 Illinois School Report Card. However, researchers say, the relationship between educator pay and student performance is still unclear. Teacher quality and parental background continue to be the biggest indicators of student performance, said a senior policy analyst with the Education Commission of the States. Chicago Tribune (11/9)

• Grant provides incentives to teach math, science in urban schools
  A $16.7 million national grant will provide financial stipends to selected teachers who earn master's degrees and agree to teach math and science for three years in urban Michigan schools. Paid for by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the grant will be offered through six Michigan universities. The schools will be asked to overhaul their teacher-training programs in math and science, and grants will be available to 240 teacher candidates who could receive their degrees as early as 2012. The Detroit News (11/6) , Detroit Free Press (11/7)

New from the authors of The Daily Five! The CAFE Book shows you how to implement a system for remembering and selecting reading strategies, including a notebook-based approach to daily assessment that goes beyond leveling. Click here to read Chapter 1 online!

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by ASCD SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Does sorting students by ability exacerbate achievement gaps? (National Public Radio)

• Group wants authors of common standards to disclose potential conflicts (Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org))

• Obama to highlight education-reform efforts on election anniversary (The Washington Post)

• Ford Foundation pledges $100 million for urban-school reform (Los Angeles Times)

• Private-school data is public domain on education Web site (The Washington Post)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Technology Solutions

• Use of Web 2.0 tools increases student collaboration, say educators
  More educators in New Jersey are utilizing the tools of Web 2.0 technology, which allows students shared access to content and more collaborative learning. While some educators caution about the downside to the latest technology -- like its propensity for distracting students -- others say wiki pages, classroom blogs, video conferences and online chats help students learn how to be creative and prepare them for college and the real world. The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) (11/7)

• FCC: E-rate schools must show Internet-safety programs
  Schools and libraries participating in the federal e-Rate program will have to show that they are teaching students about safe online behavior and monitoring online activities at school under guidelines proposed last week by the Federal Communications Commission. During the next month, the FCC will seek public input about the e-Rate changes, with the goal of implementing them in the 2010 program year. eSchool News (free registration) (11/9)

• Other News

• How to protect children from media without limiting free speech
  eSchool News (free registration) (11/6)

Office Live Workspace: Educational, collaborative … and fun! Teachers at a Pennsylvania middle school found an interesting way to help their students both learn from and team together online to create their school mascot using Office Live Workspace, along with Office and Bing. Check out this video.

Policy Watch

• Congress considers legislation to improve literacy programs
  Congress is considering legislation that would replace three federal literacy programs and provide $2.35 billion for K-12 reading and writing programs. If approved, the legislation would replace Reading First, Early Reading First and Striving Readers, and it would increase the focus on teaching reading and writing beyond fourth grade. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (11/11)

• Massachusetts bill sparks controversy over church-state separation
  Advocates of separation of church and state are upset over a bill under consideration by Massachusetts legislators that would offer protections to students who express religious views at public schools. Sponsors of the bill say it aims to further protect the First Amendment rights of religious students, while opponents say it could lead to allowing the teaching of creationism in Massachusetts public schools. The Boston Globe/The Associated Press (11/8)

	The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) The end is the best place to start. The Write Beginning outlines an assessment-based writing process in which elementary writers use model texts and set personal success criteria to improve their writing in all genres. Includes tips for conferences, revising, assessment, and more. Click here to preview the entire book online! Don't miss Harvey "Smokey" Daniels in Boston! Interested in learning more about advertising in ASCD SmartBrief? Contact Joe Riddle at (202) 737-5500 x228 or jriddle@smartbrief.com.

In the Field

• Pittsburgh to offer summer-school programs that feel more like camp
  Pittsburgh school officials are trying to enroll middle-school students who are struggling with literacy by providing summer-school programs with a camp-like feel. Students will learn camp cheers and hear from motivational speakers before attending classes such as "Criminal Mastermind: Writing the Perfect Getaway Scene" that are aimed at improving reading and writing skills while allowing students to explore career options. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11/8)

• Counselor: Gap year offers many benefits for high-school graduates
  Gwyeth T. Smith Jr., a former high-school guidance counselor who is a college admissions consultant, touts the financial and educational benefits of taking a "gap year" before students enroll in college. Smith argues in this opinion article that high-school graduates -- who have often been on a frenetic schedule of activities and academic assessment since preschool -- can gain valuable insight about what they want to study by taking a year off. And colleges will reap the benefits of a less stressful admissions process, Smith writes. The Washington Post (11/7)

Association News

• The Tests That Won't Go Away
  How many hours does a teacher spend preparing students for "multiple assessments"? An Educational Leadership article explains how the answer depends on the interpretation of the word "assessment." The article also examines whether all these "multiple measures" really lead us to achieve the three most-often cited goals of testing.
  
  • Read the article.
  • See other articles in the November Educational Leadership, Multiple Measures.
  

• Measuring ARRA's Impact on Education
  Recently, Vice President Joe Biden hosted an event to highlight jobs saved or created with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An ASCD blog post highlights two ASCD members who were featured at the event: Jill Neustadt, a math content coach in Gaithersburg, Md., and Crystal Turner, a reading interventionist who is also in Montgomery County, Md. The post also addresses skeptics' views on the estimated number of jobs saved through ARRA, and it links to a preliminary federal report on the educational impact of ARRA.
  
  • Read the post.
  

Education Consultants Evans Newton Incorporated Nation Wide K-12 School Teacher The International Educator Int'l Schools Worldwide K - 12 Teachers and Administrators International Schools Services Worldwide Assistant Professor of Education Hope College Holland, Michigan 49424 Director of Accountability National Heritage Academies Grand Rapids, MI Principal- Apex National Heritage Academies Cleveland, OH Associate Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Baltimore County Public Schools Towson, MD - Baltimore suburb Executive Director Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy Chattanooga, TN Founding Principal - College Prep Academy Lighthouse Academies Indianapolis Executive Director Primary Source Learning, Inc Arlington, VA Elementary School Principal MEP Services Huron Academy Asst. Supt. for Sp. Ed. and Pupil/Personnel Services East Lyme Public Schools East Lyme, CT Principal- Atlanta Heights National Heritage Academies Atlanta, GA Principal- Capstone National Heritage Academies Denver, CO Principal- East Chicago National Heritage Academies East Chicago, IN Prinicipal- Legacy National Heritage Academies Detroit, MI Principal- Brooklyn Bay National Heritage Academies Brooklyn, NY

SmartQuote

I have learned to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution." --Wernher von Braun, German-American rocket scientist