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OPPORTUNITIES
1. Fresh Powder. Fresh Ideas. Visit
Colorado this Winter
This February, McREL is offering teaching and learning academies designed to
provide teachers, principals, professional development coordinators, and
other district personnel with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to
create more effective classrooms, schools, and districts. All classes are
led by highly qualified instructors at McREL's training facilities in
Aurora, Colorado. We are offering academies on the following topics this
February:
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Assessment, Grading and Record Keeping
in a Standards-Based System, |
| 2.
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Classroom Instruction that Works
Advanced, |
| 3.
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Classroom Instruction that Works Basic, |
| 4.
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Dimensions of Learning Advanced, |
| 5.
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Dimensions of Learning Basic, |
| 6.
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Scaffolding Early Literacy, |
| 7.
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School Leadership that Works, and |
| 8.
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Teaching Reading in the Content Areas. |
Space is limited, so sign up to
today. For more information, go to
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/academies.asp.
2. Rural Reception at AASA National Conference on
Education
The American Association of School Administrators will hold its 2nd Annual
Rural Networking Reception at their National Conference on Education on
Friday, February 20, 2004, in San Francisco. The reception, sponsored by
Philips Electronics, is designed to give attendees an opportunity to meet
with friends and colleagues from rural districts around the country in a
relaxed setting. For more information about the conference, go to
http://www.aasa.org/nce/.
3. Video Networking to Share Resources Among Rural
Schools
The Rural School Network (RSN) would like to know if there is sufficient
interest in creating a rural school network using IP web-based video
technology to communicate and share resources among schools. If there is a
sufficient number of interested schools, RSN will seek funding to create the
web-based infrastructure and to provide each particpating school with an IP
video system. For more information, go to
http://www.ruralschools.net/sitepages/pid148.php.
4. NREA Call for Workshop and Research Forum
Presentations
The National Rural Education Association has issued its call for
presentations for workshop presentations and research forum papers for the
96th Annual NREA Conference." This year's them is "Rural School: Crossroads
to Our Future - Charging a New Direction. The conference will be held
October 19-22, 2004, in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Sheraton Keystone
Crossing. Deadline for proposals is April 15, 2004. For more information
about the call for presentations or the conference, go to
http://www.nrea.net/2004NreaConvention.htm.
RESEARCH & REPORTS
5. The Effect of Gender on Reading
Achievement in a Poor Rural School District
A recent study published in the Education Policy Analysis Archives examines
the influence of social context and the place of socially ascribed traits,
such as social class, race, and gender, in determining student achievement.
Researchers Robert Bickel and A. Stan Maynard conducted a multilevel,
repeated measures analysis of reading achievement in a poor, rural school
district located in the southern coalfields of Appalachian West Virginia.
Their results suggest that as the percentage of students who are male
increases, school mean scores in reading achievement decline for three
reasons: individual males do less well than females; the greater the
percentage of males, the lower the scores for all students; added to that,
the greater the percentage of males, the lower the scores for males
specifically. The conclude that gender effects in reading achievement are
complex, easily overlooked, and have no obvious remedy. To access html and
pdf versions of "Group and Interaction Effects with 'No Child Left Behind':
Gender and Reading in a Poor Appalachian District," go to
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n4/.
6. Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers in
Rural Areas
In attempts to attract and keep highly qualified teachers, rural school
districts face unique challenges such as geographic and cultural isolation,
salaries that are generally lower than those offered elsewhere, and multiple
certification requirements in smaller schools where teachers must teach
multiple grades or subjects. No Child Left Behind may exacerbate the problem
by increasing the competition for highly qualified teachers. A new policy
brief from AEL examines the issue from a policy perspective, suggests
strategies school districts can use to address the problem, and recommends
actions for policymakers. To download a pdf version of "Recruiting and
Retaining High-Quality Teachers in Rural Areas," go to
http://www.ael.org/page.htm?&index=764&pd=1.
7. Culturally Based Math Education in Alaska
A new working paper from the Appalachian Center for Learning, Assessment and
Instruction in Mathematics investigates the effectiveness of a culturally
based math curriculum on student achievement among sixth grade Yup'ik
students. Researchers Jerry Likpka and Barbara Adams found that students who
were given instruction from "Building a Fish Rack: Investigations into
Proof, Properties, Perimeter, and Area" had significantly higher test
results than students in control groups. To download a pdf version of
"Culturally Based Math Education as a Way to Improve Alaska Native Students'
Math Performance," and other ACCLAIM working papers, go to
http://acclaim.coe.ohiou.edu/rc/rc_sub/pub/3_wp/list.asp.
8. Devil in the Details: NCLB Implementation in Rural
Schools
States have some flexibility in how they implement the specific provisions
of the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act. The way states write their
implementation plans can make all the difference to rural schools and the
kids who attend them. In a new report from the Rural School and Community
Trust, policy analyst Lorna Jimerson evaluates how 15 different states are
implementing NCLB, and highlights the most "rural sensitive" practices. To
download a pdf version of "Rural Sensitive Best Practices for Accountability
Under No Child Left Behind," go to
http://www.ruraledu.org/docs/devildetails.htm.
PEOPLE, INFORMATION & RESOURCES
9. Genesis Classrooms, Sample
Return, and Upcoming Conferences
As the sample return grows near for NASA's Genesis mission
http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/, teachers will have multiple
opportunities for training on education materials. Teachers who attend the
Genesis workshop at the Utah State Science Teachers' Annual Conference on
February 6, 2004 will model the collection process used by the Genesis
mission to gather solar wind particles. Through a series of hands-on
activities, participants will discover how different materials are necessary
to collect the various elements in solar wind particles, which is described
at
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule.... For more information
about the conference, go to
http://www.uen.org/News/article.cgi....
10. Rural Schools Network Electronic Newsletter
The Rural Schools Network (RSN) Newsletter is e-mailed to subscribers on the
first Monday of each month and is also available from the RSN website in
portable document format (pdf). Contributions of articles and event
information are welcome. The use of contributed material is at the sole
discretion of the Rural Schools Network, which may also edit it for length.
The RSN website is a "open source" effort. They will be happy to post your
contributions to any of the page topic areas on our web site, as well as in
the newsletter. If you wish to have an item submitted for the newsletter
also posted on the web site, please indicate to which page the posting
should be made. Subscriptions are free and can be obtained at
http://www.ruralschools.net/sitepages/pid143.php.
11. School Information Partnership Provides NCLB Data
A new website for the School Information Partnership offers parents,
educators and policymakers No Child Left Behind (NCLB) data to help them
make informed decisions and improve school results. Standard & Poor's
created the website which includes a suite of interactive analytical tools
from Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services and the National Center
for Educational Accountability's Just for the Kids. For schools, districts
and states across the nation, the website will display available data
required to be publicly reported under NCLB. Users can access the site at
http://www.schoolresults.org/.
12. Crises Response in Schools
The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress offers a number of
resources for schools to help them with crises response. Several reports are
available for downloading in pdf format including teacher and parent
guidelines for crises response. Visitors can also order a copy of the new
edition of "A Practical Guide for Crises Response in Our Schools." To access
these resources, go to
http://www.schoolcrisisresponse.com/.
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