These publications, authored by David T. Conley, all look at issues relating to college and career readiness. CEPR is located at the University of Oregon.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the administrative unit for primary and secondary public education. Agency responsibilities include: managing the textbook adoption process; overseeing development of the statewide curriculum; administering the statewide assessment program; administering a data collection system on public school students, staff, and finances; rating school districts under the statewide accountability system; operating research and information programs; monitoring for compliance with federal guidelines; and serving as a fiscal agent for the distribution of state and federal funds.
Formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, ASCD is an international educational leadership organization. Members are professional educators from all levels and subject areas--superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and school board members.
Two key publications include: SmartBriefs, a free subscription with daily information on top stories in K-12 education and
Educational Leadership, a monthly publication for ASCD members.
From their home page, "Connecticut Voices for Children promotes the well-being of all Connecticut's young people and their families by advocating for strategic public investments and wise public policies."
Research & Reports page. Available resources include: research reports, tools, newsletters and policy briefs related to education reform and workforce development at local, state and federal levels.
In pre-Jam materials, participants recommended these specific publications:
Nodine, T. (2009). Innovations in college readiness: How early colleges are preparing students underrepresented in higher education for college success. Washington, D.C.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education & Jobs for the Future and Hoffman, N., & Vargas, J. (2010). A policymaker's guide to early college designs: Expanding a strategy for achieving college readiness for all.
The Career and Technical Education section of the site was also mentioned. http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/cte/. All programs and departments can be accessed from the pull down menus on the home page.
Early College High School Initiative "partner organizations...have started or redesigned more than 230 schools in 28 states and the District of Columbia." Their Publications tab offers resources on creating an early college high school, as well as policy issues.
Research studies and other resources. Pathways To College Network is an "alliance of national organizations that advances college opportunity for underserved students by raising public awareness, supporting innovative research and promoting evidence-based policies and practices across the K-12 and higher education sectors."
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of how to live. The narrator's relationship
Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas--business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others--struggle to make their ideas "stick." Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? Educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and
This excerpt from an interview with Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, PLP founder, captures critical points for PD online.
"Will and I agreed that we would only work with teams of school-based educators because the research made it clear that it was collaborative teams within in a school, working together, that really brought about sustainable improvement. That would give us what we needed to anchor the virtual experience in a local context. We also wanted participants to experience a global community of practice-to be able to have conversations with people very different than themselves, with fresh perspectives.
Our thinking was that if we put teams of educators who had different ideologies, different geography, different purposes and challenges, all together in the same space, then they could each bring what they did well to the table and people could learn from that. Ultimately that would mean public, private, Catholic, and other kinds of schools; educators teaching well-to-do, middle-class, and poor kids; educators in different states and nations, at different grade levels, and in different content areas and roles.
What ultimately grew out of our brainstorming was a three-pronged model of professional development that emphasizes (1) local learning communities at the school/district level; (2) an online community of practice that's both global and deep; and (3) a third prong that is more personal-the idea of a personal learning network that each educator develops as a mega-resource for ideas and information about their particular interests and areas of practice. (These three prongs are described in depth in a new book, The Connected Educator, where PLP community leader Lani Ritter Hall and I tell the story of the evolution of our model and the very solid research base behind it.)
Five South Carolina public schools are among the 300 schools nationwide named 2010 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon winners today by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Official award ceremonies take place in November in Washington, DC.
Michelle Rhee is the founder and CEO. StudentsFirst is an advocacy movement that aims to defend the interests of children in public education and pursue transformative reform.