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October 22, 2015 | Sign up to receive The Teachers Edition.
In This Issue
 There are no gifted programs available in four-year-old Anyia Hall's Brooklyn neighborhood, raising questions about whether these programs are distributed fairly.
Gifted Education
In New York City, officials say there aren't enough gifted and talented students in four of the 32 geographic districts to justify creating local programs for them. In Houston, a researcher believes the city's system for identifying gifted students suffers from a "clear case of segregation," wherein students of color are less likely to be identified for gifted programs than white and Asian students (Brody, WSJ.com and Isensee, NPR).
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education recently awarded $4 million to 11 states to take on exactly this issue: increasing the number of minority and other underrepresented students in gifted and talented programs. See if your state won a grant here or review NPR's three big questions about gifted children.
VIDEO WORTH WATCHING
Actress Gabrielle Union joined late-night TV star Jimmy Fallon in parodying high-school morning announcements in a sketch that aired last week. The pair played school administrators who spice up the announcements with song: “You can’t use your Facebook at this school,cause we blocked it.” Union sang to the tune of The Weeknd's “Can’t Feel My Face.”
Diversity
Former Newark, N.J., schools superintendent Cami Anderson cites statistics showing that while women make up about 75 percent of teachers, they number less than 40 percent of principals and 15 percent of CEOs or superintendents of school systems. "We are missing out on a lot of talent because the glass ceiling is alive and well even in education. As a female CEO, I believe you are likely to experience harsh criticisms for actions and attributes that would be lauded if you were a male CEO," she says. That's one of many of her takeaways from her turbulent tenure recently chronicled in author Dale Russakoff's book,The Prize.
Salt Lake City, Utah, dad Seth King sometimes fails to get his five kids to school on time. When somebody oversleeps or takes too long getting dressed, the notes he sends are anything but orthodox: 13-year-old Carson lost track of time while rehearsing with the members of his boy band, while 15-year-old Isabella was staging a vegan-friendly sit-in at the grocery store to save frozen turkeys. See the rest of the notes on his Instagram account (TODAY.com).
Expanding the Ranks
Inspired by a meeting at ED about what works in developing outstanding educators of color, Jaime Aquino unravels the work of New Leaders and other organizations that aim to diversify the education workforce as they also seek to strengthen it (Education Post).
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 Principal Corner
Should school leaders chime in during lessons they're observing? See how leadership coach Kim Marshall answers this tricky question about whether teacher development is most effective in real time or after a lesson is over.
What Turnaround Leaders Should Know. Leading a school turnaround is
complex work, but research shows that there are specific competencies that
school leaders need for successful turnaround efforts. Learn how to use these competencies to recruit, select, and provide ongoing
support to school principals working in a turnaround context (Center on Great Teachers and Leaders).
School Leader Standards, All Over The Map. The National School
Leadership Standards Map from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and the Wallace Foundation is an interactive online map to quickly locate
information about school leadership standards in all 50 states. Leaders can explore how standards have been adopted, adapted, and used by states to support
principals, as well as how these policies change over time.
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 Getting Your Exercise
Walking to school each morning allows kids time to exercise and socialize, but far fewer kids walk to school these days than they once did. Meet the Walking School Bus, an initiative in many cities that builds community while teaching kids road safety. See the video to watch how students in Denver, New Orleans, and Berkeley, Calif. got involved in celebrating International Walk to School Month (CityLab.com).
Hour of Code
The Hour of Code movement is aiming for tens of millions of students to try a one-hour introduction to computer science during the week of December 7, 2015. There's no shortage of reasons why your class should get involved: just look at the stats on job opportunities for the tech-savvy and the current gap in computer-science course offerings for female and minority students. When you sign up, you can even request a software engineer to connect with your class: sign up now to get involved or watch a tutorial about how to host an event.
Nkoli Onye
Editor's note: The following is part of a series reporting on excellent African American educators. Educators were selected by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
 Nkoli Onye is a Chemistry teacher and
high school principal in Providence, Rhode Island. She is also the recipient of
the Professional Achievement Award by Oasis International. In addition, Onye is
the Executive Director of Performance Management for Providence Schools.
Why
and how did you decide upon a career in education?
In
my last year as an undergraduate medical technology student, I decided that I
did not want to apply to medical school. I had had a child, and didn’t feel
that I could be a good mother and a medical student. I applied for an emergency credential in chemistry and biology, and began teaching in a junior high
school in South Central Los Angeles. It made me realize how much I loved
working with young people. I have remained in education ever since.
What is the one thing you most celebrate
about your students?
I celebrate their diversity-diversity of
race, culture, thought, and experience. ... I have tried to teach them to be tolerant of everyone, to open their minds and
hearts, especially with those who are most different from them.
What do you want to see change within
education to better support the learning and development of African American
students?
I am particularly concerned about African American
males. They are the group with the
highest suspensions and attendance issues. They are most likely to be referred
for Special Education and most likely drop out of high school and be
incarcerated. I want to see a renewed focus to improve conditions for this
group of young people.
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What He Has Learned
John Merrow, the prominent PBS journalist who started as a teacher himself and went on to cover education's top stories over the past four decades, is retiring. Among his takeaways: "We have to get away from regurgitation" of facts in schools," he says. "If we repeatedly fill in bubbles, that is not much of a preparation for the future." Merrow memorably covered a year in the life of first-year teachers and Michelle Rhee's turbulent reign as chancellor in Washington D.C., where she fired a principal on his broadcast. Merrow says there has been lots of reform, but some hasn't had much impact. "We have the potential to transform education in this country. Whether we do it is an open question," he says.
 Intersection of Gaming and Literature
Media scholar Dr. Henry Jenkins has called the video game the art form of the 21st century. Game-themed works of literature are not only culturally relevant but they can also engage students by centering on subject matter that speaks to them. Read high school English teacher Paul Darvasi's recommendations for novels where games feature prominently (Edutopia).
More School Choices, More Problems
Many school districts have adopted models that have a menu of school options for students - neighborhood schools, magnet schools, charter schools, and more. A new research study published by the American Psychological Association shows that students can wind up worse off with the more choices they have. Frequently changing schools can lead to behavioral challenges and achievement drops, according to the study's authors (CityLab.com).
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 October is Connected Educator Month (CEM)! originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education and its partners as
part of the Connected Educators initiative. CEM offers highly distributed,
diverse, and engaging activities to educators at all levels. Learn more.
You can also check out The
Center on Great Teachers and Leaders' upcoming event: Periscope Event: “Recruit,
Select, and Support: School Leader Turnaround Competencies”— today at 2 p.m. ET.
Powerful Ideas
Two untraditional education leaders were awarded fellowships, commonly referred to as Genius Grants, from the MacArthur Foundation recently. The prize includes $625,000 and a whole lot of attention to their creative ideas. Read more about Patrick Awuah, who founded a university in Ghana emphasizing critical thinking and problem solving instead of the rote learning that has been the focus there for a long time, and Juan Salgado, who created an educational program designed to help Chicago immigrants develop the skills needed to attain higher-paying jobs (MacArthur Foundation).
Cooking Up Controversy
Resources for Educators
Arts Integration for English Learners with Special Needs
See
the power of arts integration by going inside Lindsay Young’s high school
English Language Development class (Verdugo Hills Senior High, Tujunga, Calif.) for students with mild to moderate
disabilities. In this engaging video, Ms. Young scaffolds key reading skills by having her students look
closely at artwork, make inferences, and use evidence to support their
reasoning. After practicing using these skills with artwork, students are able
to apply these same skills when working with texts (Teaching Channel).
Social and Emotional Competence
The 2015 CASEL Guide: Effective
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs—Middle and High School Edition is a user-friendly review that rates well-designed, evidence-based social and emotional learning
programs used in middle and high schools. Nine programs took top honors,
earning a spot on the Guide's "SELect" list.
Teaching Black Lives Matter
A new textbook is being released next month covering the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The book is stirring both curiosity and controversy, according to American Radio Works. Listen to an interview and decide if you want to order one (Pekow, American RadioWorks).
 Visualize Your Water Challenge. Students in states around the Great Lakes Basin and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed are encouraged to bring attention to their local water quality. This challenge will equip your students with new technology skills and broaden their understanding of their environment. The Grand Prize winner will have an opportunity to attend the 2016 Esri Education Conference in San Diego, Calif., and will be published in Esri’s Mapping the Nation book.
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 Wisdom from educators heard by ED
5. "When we feel safe, we are unstoppable.'” (Teacher, Iowa)
4. "Kids don't get to be kids twice." (Teacher, South Carolina)
3. "When I see a student having trouble, I don't look at him and say, 'I'm going to suspend him.' I say, 'How can we help him?'" (Principal, Missouri)
2. "Teachers are in the classroom. They know best. They build the curriculum." (Administrator, Iowa)
1. "You don't solve anything top-down. You do it collaboratively." (Principal, Nebraska)
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