Teacher Bulletin Board Ideas

At the beginning of every school year teachers are faced with the challenge of how to decorate their bulletin boards. If you're having trouble deciding whether you should go with leaves or pencils maybe, check out this article from Buzzle.com.

What ideas do you have for your bulletin board this school year?

New School Combines Vocational and General Classes

Yesterday, Quincy High School opened its doors to the public. Complete with three separate wings: a science, mathematics, technology wing; an arts wing; and a humanities wing, this high school will have vocational labs across from the subjects that accompany them, according to principal Frank Santoro.

Full Article at The Boston Globe

How can combining vocational and general classes benefit students?

How Passing Pays Off—Literally

Yesterday, the Houston school board agreed to implement a $1.5 million program to provide incentives for parents and students at the 25 elementary schools ranked the lowest in math achievement.

Students would earn money for mastering key math concepts while parents would earn money for attending conferences with teachers. Together, students and parents could earn over $1000.

Will this program really pay off?

Learn more by reading the full article at the Houston Chronicle

Equity 101 Session 6

Session 6: Online Conversation with Best-selling Author Bonnie Davis on Equitable School Culture

Join Curtis Linton and Bonnie Davis for the next webinar on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 9 a.m. Pacific/ 10 a.m. Mountain/ 11 a.m. Central/ 12 p.m. Eastern
Register HERE

For thirty-eight years, Bonnie Davis has shared her passion about education with thousands of fellow teachers and students. She has taught at many levels and in a wide variety of diverse settings: middle schools, high schools, community colleges, four universities, a homeless women's shelter, a shelter for runaway adolescents, and a men's prison. In this powerful Equity 101 webinar, engage with Curtis Linton and Bonnie Davis as they discuss equitable school culture: a safe learning environment for educators and students alike, and culturally competent administrators and teachers. Bonnie Davis' best-selling book How to Teach Students Who Don't Look Like You will serve as the basis for this conversation that will help you learn culturally relevant teaching strategies in order to reach all students, especially students of color and those from diverse backgrounds.

Virginia School District Attributes 80% of Equity Gains to Use of PD 360

PD 360 is the leading on-demand professional learning resource for schools and districts. After two years with PD 360 Loudoun County Virginia Schools English achievement among economically disadvantaged students improved 15%, raising them from the 68th percentile to the 81st percentile. Among ESL students, scores improved by 18%, taking them from the 61st percentile to the 79th percentile.

To find out more about how Loudoun's economically disadvantaged students also saw improved math scores read the full article HERE.

Longer Days for 15 Chicago Schools

Chicago Public schools has plans to add 90 minutes to the schedules of 15 elementary schools using online resources and nonteachers. While some believe this initiative will help increase test scores, others are worried children will not be as engaged or excited about learning as they need to be to truly excel in class subjects.

Full Article at Chicago Tribune

Could your school benefit from online courses and longer school days?

Homework for Equity 101 Session 5

Thank you for joining the webinar last week about Building an Institutional Culture of Equity! The next webinar will be August 31st. Curtis will be speaking with best-selling author Bonnie Davis on Equitable School Culture.

Homework for Equity 101 Session 5:

Describe your Equitable School culture according to:
1. Your greatest success,
2. Your greatest challenge.

Explain in detail.

Email to: curtis.linton@schoolimprovement.com

Going Green with Back-to-School Supplies

With school starting again, it's time to grab your school supplies shoppping list and head to the nearest store. If you're looking for a safer solution for your children this school year, click the link below to see a full list of tips.

Full Article at Environmental Working Group

School Turnaround from the Right Sources

This past year the Obama administration has supplied significant amounts of money to improve education in America. With this money available, inexperienced companies are claiming to be school-turnaround experts without having the knowledge or ability to fulfill such claims.

Full Article at The New York Times

Tips to Find the Right Help for Your School

1. Do your research. Make sure if you are using any third party to help with your school-turnaround efforts that they have the years of experience to make a difference.

2. Evidence. Make sure they have past clients and/or studies to demonstrate their effectiveness.

3. Find out more. Learn more about the specifics of any products or training any company is offering.

Equity 101 Session 5

Building an Institutional Culture of Equity
Register: https://my.dimdim.com/schoolimprovement

What is the greatest obstacle for equity that all students face? The institution itself--whether a school or district--poses the greatest challenge to students from a diverse background in receiving an equitable education. As long as the educators within the institution remain unalarmed and uninformed as to why certain student groups--as defined by race, economics, and language--continue to perform below their peers, then a school site will never attain equity. Engage in this dynamic webinar which will address how to change institutional culture so that equity for all students can be achieved. Join Curtis Linton as he presents the key elements of institutional equity: Who are "we" as educators? Who are our students? And, what is the learning culture of the school? When institutional culture becomes equitable, all students succeed.

View all previous webinars by joining the Equity 101 group in PD 360.
Follow Curtis on Twitter @curtislinton
Follow the Equity 101 conversation at #equity101 on Twitter

Closing the Achievement Gap in Santa Clara County

According to test scores released today in California, the achievement gap is starting to narrow in Santa Clara County between Latino students and white students. Despite staff cuts and other adverse economic times, the achievement gap narrowed in English, Math, and Science.



Full Article at Mercury News



To learn more about closing the achievement gap see Equity 101 Session 5

D's Are Not An Option at Mount Olive High School

There will be no more D's this fall at Mount Olive High School in Mount Olive, New Jersey. Larrie Reynolds, the Mount Olive superintendent commented, "D's are simply not useful in society...It's a throwaway grade. No one wants to hire a D-anything, so why would we have D-students and give them credit for it?"

Mr. Fiedorczyk, a seventh-grade science teacher said, "I have kids who walk the boderline. They know it. They admit it. They calculate what they need to get the D." For some students this will mean a stronger effort toward getting an A, B, or C grade.

Full Article at The New York Times

Do you think taking away the D grade would help the students at your school?

$26 Billion to Save Jobs

On Tuesday, the House approved a bill that will supply $26 billion in aid to school districts and states to prevent layoffs of teachers and public employees.

"We can't stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe," Mr. Obama said early on Tuesday.

Full Article at The New York Times

How will this affect your school district?

Homework for Equity 101 Session 4

Thank you for joining the webinar last Friday with Michael Fullan. Don't forget you can view the webinar on PD 360 in the Equity 101 group under "content." Homework for the 4th session of the Equity 101 series is listed below:

After listening to the discussion with Micahel Fullan, describe the role of equity in traditional school leadership. How can an effective educational leader (administrator and/or teacher leader) use equity to drive change at the school? What strategies should be used? How should resistance be addressed?

Email responses to: curtis.linton@schoolimprovement.com

Equity 101 Session 4

Register: https://my.dimdim.com/schoolimprovement
August 6, 2010 10 a.m. (MDT)

Join the conversation as Michael Fullan and Curtis Linton discuss the critical role of leadership in building equitable schoools in the fourth webinar of the Equity 101 Series. Best-selling author Michael Fullan is one of the foremost experts in accomplishing systemic change in education. Discover Fullan's Motion Leadership principles and see how they guide educators in quickly moving change forward. Explore these effective school improvement efforts through the lens of equity. With Fullan and Linton, learn how effective leadership is central to building equity for all students.

Follow Curtis on Twitter: @curtislinton

Follow the conversation on equity at #equity101. Just search for hashtag #equity101 and start commenting or asking questions.

Homework for Equity 101 Session 3

Thank you to everyone who attended session 3 of the Equity 101 series! We look forward to seeing you on Friday, August 6, at 10 a.m. (MDT) when Curtis will interview change expert Michael Fullan about equity and leadership.

Homework for Equity 101 Session 3:

What did you learn from Sandy Nobles in terms of:

1. Equity Leadership
2. Practical equity as applied in schools. Define according to The Equity Framework: leadership, culture, and practice.

Email to: curtis.linton@schoolimprovement.com