What Teachers Are Talking About This Week
March 3, 2017 | Sign up to receive The Teachers Edition.
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On a quarterly basis, classroom and Washington Fellows have the opportunity to meet in-person as a cohort for learning, planning, and teaching. During their most recent quarterly meeting, Fellows had the opportunity to share with Secretary DeVos their expertise and receive a call of action from her. Two Fellows were interviewed about the meeting and Fellowship experience. |
 Connecting Lessons to Cultural Relevance
What does a typical 6th grader talk about and how
do they typically spend their time? The answer probably fits how Jalen Kennedy
spends some of his time, but the rest of his time is dedicated to learning
about his community and asking questions. In a recent social studies
project, Kennedy explored the school to prison pipeline. Learn more about Kennedy’s research and why
it has gone viral (Blackboot).
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Collaboration Fosters Empowered Students
Minnesota teachers Carrie Bakken of Avalon School and Julene Oxton of Impact Academy—and Ambassadors for the Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative—write
on the common purpose shared by charter and district teacher-powered schools.
“Teachers, no matter what type of school they work in, are becoming unified in
how to build a public school system… where ALL students own their learning”(Center for Teaching Quality).
 Dependable school- or parent-provided transportation is a necessity for students' access to school. The report reviews the available research on student transportation and profiles transportation options in five choice-rich cities: Denver, Detroit, New Orleans, New York City, and Washington, DC. The cities vary widely in terms of providing publicly funded transportation for students, prompting new questions on how student transportation can be an enabler of, rather than a barrier to, equitable access to high-quality education in urban areas (Chingos, Blagg, Urban Institute).
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 Educator and writer Valencia Clay teaches 8th grade
English in Baltimore, Maryland with love and power. Ms. Clay has fostered
strong relationships with and between her students. Her culturally conscious
and responsive approach to teaching has resulted in a classroom that
supports and empowers students to tackle not just academic coursework, but
the challenges they face as students of color. She has also published a
book titled, "Soundless Cries Don't Lead to Healing: A Critical Thinking
Guide to Cultural Consciousness."
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A new free online curriculum helps teachers break out of the "cages" they experience when confronted by "an endless stream of top-down policies, frustrations with administrators, and a lack of funding." This curriculum, developed by Frederick Hess, author of The Cage-Busting Teacher, was released Thursday with a panel discussion. Panelist Wendy Uptain said, "I would say teachers don't ask, just do. You have a lot of power" (Will, Education Week).
 Artifacts Bring Washington Back to Life
These Rockland Woods Elementary School, Md., students learn what George Washington was like as a regular guy: farmer, inventor, and scientist. And they learn through artifacts shared by the Washington County Historical Society. "It's a lot of fun, and it gives them an idea of George Washington as a person," said curator Anna Cueto. "It helps bring him back to life" (Lovelace, HeraldMailMedia).
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Submit to Kenan Fellows Program for
Teacher Leadership. The Journal for Interdisciplinary
Teacher Leadership is accepting articles and literary reviews. The peer-reviewed publication features original work
on K–12 educational topics, especially works on STEM and science
literacy; project and inquiry based learning; teacher leadership and research
experiences for educators; and data literacy and digital learning. Submissions accepted
through Friday, March 31, 2017, and guidelines at kenanfellows.org/journals or contact Amneris Solano, at asolano@ncsu.edu.
- Principals: Recognize Your Students. The President's Education Awards Program (PEAP) bestows recognition from the President
on students whose outstanding efforts have enabled them to meet challenging
standards of excellence. School principals determine the number of
qualifying students based on selection
criteria and verify orders
for awards.
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New NCES Reports. Check out these new
reports from the agency’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): “Instructional
Time for Third- and Eighth-Graders in Public and Private Schools,” “Revenues
and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts,” and
“Enrollment,
Employees, Financial Statistics, and Academic Libraries in Postsecondary
Institutions.”
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5. "I teach because kids deserve a positive light EVERY day!" Teacher, Kentucky
4. "Connecting with other like-minded educators fans my flame! We have SO much power over the future!" Teacher, Kentucky
3. "We must bring more diverse candidates into teaching and keep them in the classroom." Teacher, New York
2. "Principals are critical for setting the conditions for teachers to be able to thrive." Principal, Maryland
1. "My heart is in the classroom, but I want to be able to advocate with advocacy groups and policy-makers." Teacher, Michigan
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