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"If we teach our children to think then they will do better on the test and they will do better in life. This was one of the clear messages delivered by the presenters at the International Conference on Thinking (ICOT) in Bilbao, Spain held during the week beginning 29th June. The conference was a celebration of thinking and brought together many of the leaders in educational thinking including the teams behind 'Habits of Mind', 'Teaching for Understanding' and 'Making Thinking Visible'."

This Brief highlights federal policies for family engagement; describes examples of policy actions by the state of Massachusetts; and illustrates local policies and practices at the Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion Elementary School in Dorchester, MA, a SWIFT knowledge development site. To guide SWIFT Center technical assistance on the Family and Community Engagement Domain in participating states and districts, we suggest four ways to weave family engagement policies and practices into the SWIFT framework.

"the research, which involved tracking nearly 800 students for two decades, suggests that specific social-emotional skills among young children can be powerful predictors for success later in life."

"An official publication of the International Dyslexia Association, Perspectives on Language and Literacy is published quarterly and features practical articles for educators and other professionals dedicated to the identification and intervention of dyslexia and other related learning disorders."

"Too Small to Fail worked with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) on a suite of resources that can help enrich children's early language experiences beginning from birth. There are tip sheets for families, preschool teachers, and infant/toddler teachers and caregivers, as well as a fact sheet that highlights the evidence behind the benefits of being bilingual and embracing children's home languages."

"Shared reading is a collaborative learning activity that emulates and builds on the bedtime book experiences that many children and parents have together. The focus during shared reading is on the interaction. Shared reading is appropriate for any emergent reader, no matter their age and can be done individually or in small groups."

Free preview online "Building on the ideas developed in Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary, Brenda J. Overturf has updated and energized the recommended practices for middle grades students. Vocabularians is for any educator who wants to help young adolescents increase knowledge and competency with word study while bringing interest, motivation, and even joy to their learning."

Free preview online ""Who am I?" This is the question that many adolescents ask during the turbulent middle and high school years. In Worth Writing About: Exploring Memoir with Adolescents, Jake Wizner addresses how searching for the answer to this question leads his students to reflection, to reading, and ultimately to deeper, more meaningful writing."

"A 20-year retrospective study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and published in the July 2015 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, suggests that kindergarten students who are more inclined to exhibit "social competence" traits-such sharing, cooperating, or helping other kids-may be more likely to attain higher education and well-paying jobs. In contrast, students who exhibit weaker social competency skills may be more likely to drop out of high school, abuse drugs and alcohol, and need government assistance. This brief provides an overview and major findings from this study and implications for further action."

" This suite of videos was created to give examples of what UDL looks like in a classroom. Examples range from Grade 1 to Grade 6. "

"VISIBLE LEARNING: WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT GROUPING STUDENTS?"

"Each snapshot also has initial ideas for how families, educators, and communities can make targeted and innovative improvements to support the whole child and help students become productive adults and engaged citizens. ASCD is developing the snapshots annually to feature the most recently available data and to permit year-over-year comparisons."

"The report, Accountability for College and Career Readiness: Developing a New Paradigm, draws on research, actual practice of states and nations, and input from leading policymakers, researchers, administrators, and practitioners (see list of advisors, below) to develop a vision of this new accountability, which is portrayed in an imagined "51st state." The report was released jointly by the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education at Stanford University and the National Center for Innovation in Education (NCIE) at the University of Kentucky. It was authored by Darling-Hammond, NCIE Executive Director Gene Wilhoit, and NCIE staff member, Linda Pittenger."

"To work with the students directly, we rely on the energy and dedication of our corps members-a diverse group of educated, young adults who serve full-time for 10 months in City Year's partner schools to provide extra support for students, teachers, and the school. "

My son, Derek, did a year of service work with City Year after he graduated and then some additional work with Freedom Schools program - both out of Columbus. Now he continues to help inner city youth. He loves the kids.....he is working with 3rd graders and they call him Mr. Derek!