McRel Rural E-News, November 2008

1. Kids' eye problems often emerge in homework battle
Google/Associated Press
Vision problems not caught by traditional screenings may contribute to reading problems in as many as one in 20 students, eye doctors say. Twelve weeks of specialized eye-muscle training can help such students focus better on images at close range, such as words in books or on worksheets.

2. Beware of the easy school fix
The Washington Post
Total Student Load (TSL) may have a profound impact on student achievement, according to management expert William Ouchi. When TSL in a school is lowered, student proficiency climbs. TSL measures the total number of students a teacher is responsible for and provides more useful information than class size alone. For example, a teacher with six different classes of 30 students each has a TSL of 180 students although the class size is 30 students.

3. Math skills suffer in United States, study finds
The New York Times
A new study from the American Mathematical Society has found that American culture is preventing many students from reaching their potential in mathematics. Many of the most successful mathematics students in the United States are immigrants or children of immigrants from countries that place a higher value on mathematics achievement.

4. Trend of the Month (October 2008): 20-20 Foresight
Higher education is beginning to experience the influence of trends already making their way though the K-12 system, and if members of higher education will take a long, thoughtful look at these forces, they will get a 20-20 glimpse into their own futures. But can the same be said of K-12 education? Could it be that some trends in higher education are harbingers of change in K-12's own future? To answer these questions, we only have to look as far as the development and rise of online learning opportunities in higher education.

REPORT ROUNDUP

5. Engage and Excite All Learners Through a Visual Literacy Curriculum
Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)
This paper discusses a study involving two groups of teacher candidates' implementations of a visual literacy curriculum in their preclinical field experience. The purpose was to explore whether the curriculum provided a viable way for them to implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in teaching their diverse learners, including students with disabilities and English as a second language learners. Findings indicated that the visual literacy curriculum promoted universal access to learning and UDL principles provided valuable guidelines for creating lessons that maximize the effectiveness of the visual literacy tools.

6. Comparing Job Content: Teachers and Similar Occupations
Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER)
Researchers have often attempted to compare K-12 teacher salaries with those of other related professions. But identifying related professions can be difficult. New research from WCER has identified several occupations that resemble teaching: counselors, psychologists, social workers, and health care professionals.

7. Funding Student Learning: How to Align Education Resources with Student Learning Goals
Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE)
A new report from CRPE found that many school reform efforts fail because of problems with the underlying education finance system, particularly in how available funds are allocated. A five-year examination of K-12 financing found that the only way to improve student performance is to re-invent the way schools are financed. Among other things, the new system should be open to continuous improvement and adaptation, be transparent and flexible, convert resources into results, and create accountability.

Events & Opportunities

8. Teachers in Space
Teachers in Space is now accepting applications for the Pathfinders program. Applicants should be knowledgeable in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Pathfinders will be the first astronaut teachers to fly in space and return to the classroom. These Pathfinders will not only fly in space, they will also help design the three-week training course for teachers who follow.
Application Deadline: December 4, 2008

McREL in the News

9. A climate for success
The School Administrator
October, 2008
Managing change is critical for Loudon County Public School District in Virginia. This successful district is one of the fastest-growing school districts in the United States. Despite their success, the district felt they could do better, and contracted McREL to help them lead change efforts in their school.

10. School district to learn from public feedback
Waverly Democrat (Waverly, Iowa)
October 2, 2008
McREL Principal Consultant Dr. Sammye Wheeler-Clouse is helping Waverly-Shell Rock schools in Waverly, Iowa, plan for their future. Overcrowding, frequent flood damage, and limited land for expansion have created a serious problem for the schools in the district. Wheeler-Clouse is helping bring educators and the public together to discuss options for the district's school.

11. Preschool program focused on executive-function skills provokes scholarly debate
Education Week
October 10, 2008
Tools of the Mind, an early-childhood curriculum co-developed by McREL Senior Researcher Elena Bodrova has been getting attention in the research world of late. But researchers aren't coming to the same conclusions about the effectiveness of the program, which aims to help youngsters control their impulses, recall and use what they've learned, and adjust when circumstances change-skills known as executive function.

12. Summit School District to address achievement gap with assistance from McREL
McREL
October 16, 2008
McREL has been chosen by Summit School District, in Frisco, Colo., as its professional development provider in a three-year state initiative to close the district's achievement gap. McREL is providing Summit teachers and administrators with a comprehensive range of services, including professional development for teachers, helping them improve their instruction of English-language learners (ELLs), and to school leaders, helping them effectively guide school-wide improvement efforts. McREL will also provide technical assistance to help the district ensure uniform adoption of a rigorous curriculum.

13. McREL and Gesell Institute study will update popular developmental assessment
McREL
November 5, 2008
McREL and the Gesell Institute for Human Development have begun a year-long effort to update the widely-used Gesell Developmental Observation (GDO), a tool for assessing the development of children entering kindergarten or preschool.