APRIL 2003 MIDDLE GRADES NEWSLETTER
1. The Elemiddle School
2. Finding the Strength in the Middle
3. Middle Level Reform
4. Racial Identity and School Performance
5. Resources for Educators on the War
6. Moral Teachers, Moral Students
7. NCLB Myths and Realities
8. Feds Unveil Web Site to Assist Schools with Emergency Planning
9. “Promoting Online Safety”
10. Federal Influence Over Curriculum Grows
11. Data-Driven Decision Making
12. Impact of Teachers Teaching Out-Of-Field
13. Assessing School Reform Models
14. “The Civic Mission of Schools”
15. Strategies to Keep School Reform Moving
16. Analysis of NCLB Legislation on Prayer in Schools
17. “The Future of School Facilities”
18. Using a Change Model to Understand Teachers’ Concerns
19. National Science Digital Library
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1. THE ELEMIDDLE SCHOOL
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Middle Matters (Winter 2003) has published a series of articles
discussing the middle grades configuration dilemma. “The question
that has plagued educational policymakers for years is how to group
students too mature for elementary school and too immature for
secondary school to maximize their potential for success in school,”
writes author David L. Hough, Director of the Institute for School
Improvement and Dean of the College of Education at Southwest
Missouri State University. His feature, “The Case for the Elemiddle
School,” is the preface for subsequent articles discussing the same
theme.
http://www.naesp.org/comm/mmwin03.htm
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2. FINDING THE STRENGTH IN THE MIDDLE
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Middle School Principal Patti Kinney shares some innovative programs
that develop rigorous academic curriculum while meeting the needs
of adolescent learners. In the article, “Finding the Strength in the
Middle” (Principal Leadership, January 2003), author Damian Mann
writes about Kinney’s shift from “instructional leadership with a
focus on teaching to leadership of a professional community with a
focus on learning.”
http://www.principals.org/news/pl_find_strength_0103.html
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3. MIDDLE LEVEL REFORM
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The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform’s executive
director, Deborah Kasak, shares the Forum’s concept of the middle
school in the article “The Vision for Middle Level Reform: A
Conversation with Deborah Kasak” (National Association of Secondary
School Principals, Principal Leadership, March 2003). This interview
between Kasak and Principal Leadership Magazine discusses Forum’s
influence on middle grades education; its vision and support for
middle grades leaders; and the Schools to Watch program.
http://www.nassp.org/news/vision_middlelvl_reform.html
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4. RACIAL IDENTITY AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
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Harvard Professor Pedro Noguera delves into the issues connecting
Racial identity to academic ability and school performance (Harvard
Education Letter, Research Online, March 2003). Using his personal
experiences as a student, as well as his family experiences with his
son, Dr. Noguera discusses research, theories and correlations
between academic achievement and race, and outlines steps that
educators can take to support students.
http://www.edletter.org/current/index.shtml
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5. RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS ON THE WAR
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These Web sites provide resources for educators that can be
used in discussing the war with Iraq.
California Department of Education
The CDE offers links to online resources that teachers can use to
assist students in coping with the war.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/spbranch/ssp/crisis.html
Santa Clara County Office of Education
This Web site provides information for students and teachers, and
offers lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school students.
http://www.sccoe.k12.ca.us/conflict
C-SPAN in the Classroom
C-SPAN television and online resources present information about
the war with Iraq.
http://www.c-span.org/classroom/current/iraq_war.asp
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Constitutional Rights Foundation has developed "War in Iraq,"
a series of online lessons and Web links.
http://crf-usa.org/Iraqwar_html/iraqwar_home.html
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6. MORAL TEACHERS, MORAL STUDENTS
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Supporting the moral development of students by helping teachers
increase their capacity for empathy and reflection is the theme of
this article by Rick Weissbourd (Educational Leadership, March 2003).
“The moral development of students does not depend primarily on
explicit character education efforts but on the maturity and ethical
capacities of the adults with whom they interact – especially
parents, but also teachers, coaches, and other community adults.”
Weissbourd offers strategies and best practices that educators can
adopt to help develop a moral ethos in students.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/200303/weissbourd.html
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7. NCLB MYTHS AND REALITIES
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The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
(ESEA) Act through the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) legislation has
created many questions, concerns, and misconceptions, about the
requirements and expectations of the new law. The Education Trust
has published a new guide “ESEA: Myths versus Realities” to provide
answers to questions about NCLB. Highlighted are the differences
between the “old law” and the “new law” as they relate to standards
and assessments, data collection, testing, accountability, and
teacher quality.
http://www.edtrust.org/main/documents/ESEAmyth&real.pdf
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8. FEDS UNVEIL WEB SITE TO ASSIST SCHOOLS WITH EMERGENCY PLANNING
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The U.S. Office of Education has created a Web site with a number
of links into national governmental resources to assist schools plan
for emergencies including natural disasters and acts of terrorism.
There are also three examples of school districts that have developed
exemplary emergency plans.
http://www.ed.gov/emergencyplan/
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9. “PROMOTING ONLINE SAFETY”
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The Consortium for School Networking is offering an online kit
entitled “Promoting Online Safety: The Home-School Partnership: A
Toolkit for School Leaders.” This resource is designed to assist
educators take measures to promote the safe use of the Internet.
It also provides suggestions on how to talk to parents and community
members about the safety measures that the school is using to protect
students while using online resources.
http://www.safewiredschools.org/toolkit/
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10. FEDERAL INFLUENCE OVER CURRICULUM GROWS
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Kathleen Kennedy Manzo and David J. Hoff, (Education Week,
February 5, 2003) note that while "No Child Left Behind" legislation
specifically states that although federal authority over schools is
to be limited, there are sections of the legislation that many
curriculum and assessment decisions move to the federal
level.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=21curric.h22
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11. DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
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The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Online Version of “Focus: ENC
Online” magazine features a number of articles on how the use of data
can support decision making at the classroom, department and school
level.
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/
“Data Decisions are Just a Click Away” by Cynthia Lim describes the
work done by the Los Angeles Unified School District to use the
Internet to build a database for key curricular decisions.
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/document.shtm?input=FOC-003110-index
“Adding Students' Voices to the Data Mix” by Annette Thorson
describes a self-study kit developed by the Regional Educational
Laboratories that can be used by educators to gather and analyze data
gathered from student input.
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/document.shtm?input=FOC-003113-index
“Uses and Abuses of Data” by author Nancy Love describes the
conditions under which data should be used to make decisions about
curriculum and instruction
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/document.shtm?input=FOC-003004-index
“'Cooking with Data' to Reduce the Achievement Gap” by Craig Jerald
offers specific strategies for looking at data and developing
strategies for identifying underperforming students.
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/document.shtm?input=FOC-003007-index
“Creating A New Course Based on Student Need” by Joe Greco explains
the process of inquiry that brought one high school teacher to
propose a new science course offering at his school.
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/document.shtm?input=FOC-003019-index
“Action Research with Impact” by Deborah Bainer Jenkins describes the
process that teachers can use in their own classrooms to gather
information about the impact of their own teaching strategies.
http://www.enc.org/focus/data/document.shtm?input=FOC-003015-index
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12. IMPACT OF TEACHERS TEACHING OUT-OF-FIELD
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“Teaching Out of Field: An Overlooked Factor in Underqualified
Teaching,” (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development
March 5, 2003) reports findings from the National Center for
Education Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The report
states “that while most teachers were generally qualified (as indicated by
certification status) a significant number of teachers, especially in
disadvantaged schools, were assigned to teach classes outside of
their expertise. Additionally, this out-of-field teaching was not
the result of teacher shortages…" The study concluded that the
“use of out-of-field teaching may have a significant impact on the
quality of instruction that students, particularly minority and
high-poverty students, receive.”
http://www.ascd.org/cms/objectlib/ascdframeset/index.cfm?publication=http://www.ascd.org/publications/researchbrief/volume1/v1n5.html
---- For those who could not open this link, copy the entire URL and
paste it into your browser address window.
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13. ASSESSING SCHOOL REFORM MODELS
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“Examining School Reform Models” by authors Jennifer Alexander and
Steve Fleischman, of the Education Quality Institute, (National
Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform, March 2003) looks
at criteria for selecting school reform models. The authors also
provide links to government and technical assistance agencies and
research on evaluating school reform models.
http://www.goodschools.gwu.edu/pubs/book/mar03.html#2
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14. “THE CIVIC MISSION OF THE SCHOOLS”
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“The Civic Mission of Schools” (Carnegie Corporation of New York,
February 13, 2003) summarizes the evidence in favor of civic
education in K-12 schools; analyzes trends in political and civic
engagement; identifies promising approaches to civic education; and
offers recommendations to educators, policymakers, funders,
researchers, and others.”
http://www.civicmissionofschools.org/
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15. STRATEGIES TO KEEP SCHOOL REFORM MOVING
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The article, “Leading Edge: Procrastination Can Sink
Even the Best School Improvement Plan,” (Journal of Staff
Development, Winter 2003) provides strategies to keep schools
reform projects moving forward.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/jsd/dufour241.html
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16. ANALYSIS OF NCLB LEGISLATION ON PRAYER IN SCHOOLS
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“Legal Lowdown: Prayer in School: Mandated Guidelines Pursuant to
'No Child Left Behind' Act of 2001” (National Association of
Secondary School Principals, February 20, 2003) reviews the general
principles regarding school prayer and offers guidelines for the
implementation of the new law.
http://www.principals.org/services/lowdown022003.html
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17. “THE FUTURE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES”
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The Center on Reinventing Public Education report “The Future of
School Facilities: Getting Ahead of the Curve,” (May 2002) by authors
Michael DeArmond, Sara Taggart and Paul Hill describes five trends
that schools will face in the future and the types of facilities that
will best accommodate those trends.
http://www.crpe.org/pubs/introFacilities.shtml
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18. USING A CHANGE MODEL TO UNDERSTAND TEACHERS’ CONCERNS
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"A Measure of Concern" by Karen Holloway (National Staff Development
Council, February 2003), reminds educators of the research-based
CBAM model developed by the University of Texas in the 1970s.
It remains an excellent tool to diagnose the stages of implementation
of any school reform.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/tools/tools2-03holl.html
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19. NATIONAL SCIENCE DIGITAL LIBRARY
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The National Digital Library from the National Science Foundation
is a comprehensive source of materials for science, technology,
mathematics and engineering education.
http://nsdl.org/render.userLayoutRootNode.uP
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This electronic newsletter is sponsored by the Region 8 California Professional Development Consortium (CPDC) administered by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office.
To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, or to subscribe to our other our free electronic Newsletters for High School or Professional Development, email call or fax Christina Doyle: email - cdoyle@kern.org, phone (661) 636-4331 or fax (661) 636-4135.
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