Many resources (Papers, Articles, and Research)

"This 18-month Initiative celebrated the work of public school teachers across the country. By recording, sharing, and preserving these stories, we called attention to the invaluable contributions teachers have made to this nation, honored those who have embraced the profession as their calling, encouraged teaching as a career choice, and helped to unify the country behind its teachers."

"It's time for Digital-Storytime.com's 3rd annual Best Books List for 2013! We've combed the iTunes AppStore and selected the following titles for special recognition. These are the most exceptional, innovative and well-crafted storybook apps for kids on the iPad* that we've discovered over the past year. We salute the authors, illustrators and talented development teams that created these great apps for young readers."

"Let's start by agreeing that scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things. Scaffolding is breaking up the learning into chunks and then providing a tool, or structure, with each chunk. When scaffolding reading, for example, you might preview the text and discuss key vocabulary, or chunk the text and read and discuss as you go. With differentiation, you may give a child an entirely different piece of text to read, you might shorten the text or alter it, and you may modify the writing assignment that follows."

Begins as a slightly humorous take on how a parent doesn't get "new" math and needs to be tutored and then somewhere along the middle takes a turn that will punch you in the gut. Absolutely should be shared with educators and non-educators alike.

Jacksonville newspaper The Florida Times-Union wins the battle with FLDOE over the release of state's teacher evaluation scores which use the value-added model (VAM) to determine teacher effectiveness. Link to an approx. 12 minute radio broadcast of a public radio show - First Coast Connect - on WJCT Stereo 90.

National Public Radio / All Things Considered transcript and audio for a story on teacher certification requirements and a proposal by AFT for a teacher "bar exam." "The system for preparing and licensing teachers in the U.S. is in such disarray that the American Federation of Teachers is proposing a "bar exam" similar to the one lawyers have to pass before they can practice."

National Public Radio / All Things Considered transcript and audio for a story on teacher certification requirements and a proposal by AFT for a teacher "bar exam."

data, presentation, visualization, Google, graphs, charts

data, visualization, video, TED

Visualizing data. Includes downloadable tools.

Excerpt: "I'm not sure if we can successfully connect with our students without dabbling in their after school activities. I'm not saying you have to sing along with Justin Bieber (I like to rile up my girls by calling him "Justin Beaver") or even enjoy SpongeBob's silly antics. But you absolutely have to acknowledge the fact that your students value this, love it even. It gets them up in the morning, pulls them through the day. It's their life. And if you don't care about it, they know. And it definitely influences the culture of the classroom."

Learn how to use Wordle Advanced with a spreadsheet to make Wordle more powerful and flexible.

Parents of reluctant readers complain that boys are forced to stick to stuffy required school lists that exclude nonfiction or silly subjects, or have teachers who cater to higher achievers and girls. They're hoping books that exploit boys' love of bodily functions and gross-out humor can close the gap.

2nd in an NPR series on School Improvement. Transcript and link to audio. "Long before the Obama administration started talking about turning around failing schools, Annapolis High School in Maryland embarked on a radical transformation. It went to a 12-month school year. Teachers and administrators had to re-apply for their jobs, and those who were rehired vowed to never again let a single student fall through the cracks."

First in a series of NPR reports on School Makeovers. Transcript and link to audio of broadcast. "If a school is consistently failing and kids aren't learning, shut it down. Start over with new teachers and administrators willing to do something dramatically different. Closing failing schools and turning them around has been in vogue since No Child Left Behind, and now the Obama Administration is embracing the idea. It's even offering millions of dollars to school districts to help them do it."

One of the joys of retirement is having the time to reflect on our profession. Looking back over the 37 years I spent as an educator-20 of them as a teacher and 17 as an administrator-and reflecting on my own schooling as well, I think of the many highly effective teachers I've known. Spanning all grade levels, they engaged students in learning to the point of excitement and kindled the desire to keep on learning. So what did these teachers have in common?

Learn about the Title I School Improvement Grant Program and how the communities of Mobile, Alabama; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Chattanooga, Tennessee were successful in implementing turnaround, restart and transformation models to revitalize and transform their lowest performing schools.