In this issue:
Education News
- Survey Reveals That American High Schoolers Are Ethically Challenged
- Students Receiving Free and Reduced-Price Lunch on the Rise
- New Yorker Article Compares Hiring Effective Teachers to Addressing the "Quarterback Problem" in Public Education
- Utah Finds Success in Its Extended-Day Kindergarten Program
- Report Aims to Help States with International Benchmarking
- Survey Asks School Library Media Specialists to Identify Important Topics in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Resources for School Library Media Specialists
- New Digital Citizenship and Creative Content Curriculum Aligns to AASL's Standards for the 21st Century Learner
- AdLit.org Earns ALSC's 2008 Great Web Sites for Kids Seal of Approval
- New Issue of Educators' Spotlight Digest Now Available Online
- High Tech High Shares Videos, Lessons, and Projects with Educators
- Latest Issue of the P21 Newsletter Available Online
Grants & Awards
- AASL Offers More Than $45,000 through 2009 Awards
- Prestigious Opportunity Available for High School Juniors
- Elgin Heinz Award Honors Teachers Who Further Understanding between Americans and Japanese
- Middle School Students Encouraged to Compete Science and Technology Program
- Fellowships Open to K-12 Teacher Who Express Why Lincoln's Legacy Is Important Today
- YALSA Offers Mini Grants for Teen Tech Week
Professional Development
Education News
Survey Reveals That American High Schoolers Are Ethically Challenged
The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics group, anonymously surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected public and private high schools nationwide and has concluded that America's youth are unconcerned about ethical standards. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth of the students surveyed said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative. As it relates to school, the survey found that 64 percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey; 36 percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004.
Students Receiving Free and Reduced-Price Lunch on the Rise
A report by the School Nutrition Association shows that 425,000 more students are participating in free and reduced school lunch programs as a result of the economic downturn. The study, entitled "Saved by the Lunch Bell: As Economy Sinks, School Nutrition Program Participation Rises" surveyed more than 130 school nutrition directors from 38 states and found that 79 percent of districts saw an increase in the number of free lunches served, while nearly 65 percent saw an increase in the number of reduced-price lunches served over last year. Participation by students paying the full price for school lunch decreased in 48 percent of districts. Because the school-based child nutrition programs are entitlement programs, federal reimbursements will be provided to schools for each meal served; however, the amount of reimbursement provided continues to fall short of the actual costs associated with producing each school meal.
In his article "Most likely to succeed: How do we hire when we can't tell who's right for the job?", Malcolm Gladwell contemplates the issue of teacher performance, which he characterizes as "a quarterback problem." That is, in the same way you can't predict which college athlete will become a star quarterback in the NFL until that athlete is actually in the NFL, you can't predict who will become a star teacher until that person is actually teaching in the field. No other situation replicates the blend of demands, skills, and intuitions of either job. According to research that Gladwell cites, students in the class of a bad teacher will learn, on average, half a year's material. Students in the class of a very good teacher will learn a year and a half's material—putting them an entire year ahead of their poorly taught peers.
Utah Finds Success in Its Extended-Day Kindergarten Program
According to a first-year report on Utah's $30 million Optional Extended-Day Kindergarten program, the effort was a major success, with extended-day kindergartners advancing faster than their half-day peers. The program is designed to help disadvantaged students catch up with their peers and is intended for schools with the neediest students. At some schools, only students who score poorly on kindergarten pre-tests are eligible, while at other schools, higher-scoring students may also be considered. The results of a scientific study on the program's first year by WestEd, a nonprofit research, development, and service agency, are expected by the end of this year.
Report Aims to Help States with International Benchmarking
The National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Achieve, Inc., have released a report offering recommendations to internationally benchmark educational performance. This report, entitled "Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education," is intended to help states identify the characteristics of education systems that best prepare students for success in the global marketplace. It includes five steps state policymakers should take toward ensuring that American students receive the type of education that positions them to compete and innovate in the 21st century.
What topics in science, engineering, and medicine matter most to you? The National Academies are interested in developing useful and engaging print and Web-based educational materials on the topics that the public would like to learn more about. In the two-minute survey, participants will be presented with a list of topics and asked to select the five that matter most to them. At the end, you can see how your answers compare with the results so far. Participants can also enter a drawing to receive a National Academies tote bag! The survey will close on January, 16, 2009.
Resources for School Library Media Specialists
Students interact with music, movies, software, and other digital content daily. Do they understand the rules surrounding the appropriate useof these digital properties, and why these issues are relevant?
The Digital Citizenship and Creative Content curriculum is a turnkey instructional program made available for free through Microsoft sponsorship. It was designed to raise awareness and foster better understanding of the rights connected with creative content. In addition, it helps instill in students a personal respect for creative materials in a way that changes their behaviors and perceptions about digitally delivered content. Only through education can students gain an understanding of the relevance of and a personal respect for creative rights and grow to become good digital citizens.
The curriculum resources offer a comprehensive set of cross-curricular classroom activities that are divided into four separate thematic units. Each unit consists of 4-6 standalone yet complementary lesson plans that provide a variety of ways to engage students in the learning experience. It is not necessary to implement all of a unit’s activities to achieve a meaningful learning experience. This program was designed for grades 8-10, but easily adapts for use in grades 6-12. It aligns with AASL Standards for 21st Century Learner and covers subject areas that include Civics, Computer Science, Debate, Economics, Fine Arts, Government, Journalism, Language Arts, Drama, and Video Production.
Learn more about the Digital Citizenship and Creative Content program and download the free curriculum.
AdLit.org Earns ALSC's 2008 Great Web Sites for Kids Seal of Approval
AdLit.org, ReadingRockets.org's sister site, offers resources for parents and educators of struggling readers and writers in grades 4-12. The site has researched classroom strategies to help instructors and students and articles that provide research-based and best-practice information for educators and parents. Visitors will also find a section with author interviews, booklists for tweens and teens, and plot synopses, discussion questions, and related titles for further reading.
New Issue of Educators' Spotlight Digest Now Available Online
Educators' Spotlight Digest is a free, online publication of "S.O.S. for Information Literacy," the dynamic Web-based multimedia resource for librarians and teachers. S.O.S. is funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum & Library Services and endorsed by AASL and ACRL. A recent article by MariRae Dopke-Wilson shines the spotlight on two school library media specialists who discovered a creative way to motivate high school students to read with video book trailers.
Visit S.O.S.; explore the more than 1,000 lesson plans, handouts, presentations, videos, and other resources for enhancing the teaching of information literacy skills to K-16 students; and perhaps share a favorite lesson plan or teaching idea with your colleagues nationwide.
High Tech High Shares Videos, Lessons, and Projects with Educators
High Tech High, a charter-school-development organization that runs eight schools in and around the San Diego area, has won accolades for its project-learning approach and the way it connects the classroom with the real world. Its K-12 schools also strive to integrate subjects. An eighteen-page planning guide is available for educators interested in creating cross-disciplinary teaching units. High Tech High has made available many other resources that have made its programming award winning.
Latest Issue of the P21 Newsletter Available Online
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), AASL's partner in the effort to make 21st-century skills a priority of every U.S. state, has released its Winter 2008 newsletter. The newsletter features links to its Presidential transition brief, 21st Century Skills and English Map, and information regarding upcoming events and P21 news, including the announcement of partnerships recently established with New Jersey and Arizona.
Grants & Awards
AASL Offers More Than $45,000 through 2009 Awards
In 2009 AASL will offer more than $45,000 in awards to AASL members. AASL's nine awards recognize excellence and showcase best practices in the school library media field in categories that include research, collaboration, leadership, and innovation. The awards include the AASL Collaborative School Library Media Award, the AASL Research Grant, the ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant, the Distinguished Service Award, the Distinguished School Administrator Award, the Frances Henne Award, the Information Technology Pathfinder Award, the Innovative Reading Grant, and the Intellectual Freedom Award. The deadline for the NSLMPY Award was January 2, 2009.
Prestigious Opportunity Available for High School Juniors
The Bezos Scholars Program is seeking twelve public high school (including charter and magnet schools) juniors with a GPA of 3.5 or higher to receive seven-day, all-expense-paid scholarships to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival, June 30-July 6, 2009. Independent thinkers, demonstrated leaders, and engaged community members are encouraged to submit an application before the February 15, 2009, deadline.
An educator from each school also will be awarded a full scholarship to the festival, thus offering students and educators a unique leadership development opportunity. Following attendance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Student Scholar/Educator Scholar teams will return home to create local Ideas Festivals in their schools. School and student scholar criteria, as well as the application, can be found on the Bezos Family Foundation Web site.
Elgin Heinz Award Honors Teachers Who Further Understanding between Americans and Japanese
The United States-Japan Foundation Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. The award is presented annually to two pre-college teachers in two categories, humanities and Japanese language. The maximum award is $7,500 ($2,500 monetary award, $5,000 in project funds), and current full-time K-12 classroom teachers of any relevant subject in the United States who have been teaching for at least five years are eligible. The deadline to apply is February 2, 2009.
Middle School Students Encouraged to Compete Science and Technology Program
The Christopher Columbus Awards is a national, community-based science and technology program for middle school students. The program challenges the students to work in teams of three to four, with an adult coach, to identify a problem in their community and apply the scientific method to create an innovative solution to that problem. Eight finalist teams and their coaches will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World® to attend National Championship Week and compete for valuable U.S. Savings Bonds and the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant, plus a $200 development grant to further refine their idea. Entries must be postmarked by February 9, 2009, or the entry will be ineligible for the competition.
Fellowships Open to K-12 Teacher Who Express Why Lincoln's Legacy Is Important Today
Horace Mann and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) are offering fellowships of $1,000 to full-time K-12 teachers at U.S. public or private schools to study the life and legacy of our 16th president. Winners will attend a five-day institute in June or July 2009 at the ALPLM in Springfield, Illinois. Teachers must submit their application and resume and answer two essay questions (maximum of 250 words) online before the February 12, 2009, deadline.
YALSA Offers Mini Grants for Teen Tech Week
Through funding from Verizon Communications, Inc., the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will award up to twenty mini grants, consisting of $450 in cash and a Teen Tech Week prize pack, to YALSA members offering inventive activities, resources, and programming for Teen Tech Week, March 8-14, 2009.
Visit the Teen Tech Week pages to read the official rules and download the application form. This contest is open only to YALSA members. Applicants for the TTW Mini Grants must submit the official application form to the YALSA office by January 19, 2009. Winners will be notified the week of February 9, 2008. In addition to $450 cash for the winners' TTW plans, they'll receive a prize pack featuring Teen Tech Week items.
Professional Development
Graduate Credit Available for Attending the AASL School Library Advocacy Premidwinter Institute
The University of Colorado Denver School Library and Instructional Leadership Program will offer low-cost .5 graduate credits for attending the AASL School Library Advocacy Premidwinter Institute. The Institute will take place Friday, January 23, 2009, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at the ALA 2009 Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
American Association of School Librarians
aasl@ala.org
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
800.545.2433, ext. 4382
312.280.4382
fax 312.280.5276
