Connecting Minds to Learning

WestEd’s SchoolsMovingUp website will feature a free webinar entitled “Reducing School Dropout Rates” on Wednesday, October 14, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. CET).

This webinar, will offer research-based recommendations for reducing school dropout rates. Marlene Darwin, Senior Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research, and Nikola Filby, Director of WestEd’s Innovation Studies Program, will showcase the recommended practices in the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide, which includes strategies for identifying and advocating for at-risk students, implementing programs to improve behavior and social skills, and keeping students engaged in the school environment. The webinar will also provide a brief introduction to the resources from the Doing What Works website illustrating how these recommendations have been carried out.

See the webinars page on SchoolsMovingUp for further information, including specific topics to be addressed by this webinar, at http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/webinars.

As a follow-on from my recent post Making Your Voice Heard, here is a terrific example of how one teacher leapt into advocacy and action.  In a letter to the editor of The Salem News, Peter Holtz discussed how he spoke to staff of two senators at Capital Hill.  He said, “Since I am a classroom teacher, I wanted my [political representatives] to hear about some of my students.  I told them about some of the kids who came into my classroom each day carrying the burden of overwhelming personal challenges…”

>click here to read this letter…

We have known for a long time that many schools are setup for students who have ‘size four feet.’  This is wonderful news for all those students who have ‘size four feet.’ But what about those students who, for one reason or another don’t fit? 

Every student learns in a different way and it is as important as ever to be creating classrooms that meet the learning needs of all students.   I have been thinking for a long time about how I can be a better advocate for this position and have some influence on education policymakers.   This is an idea that was reinforced when I read the chapter Advocate and Serve in Forces For Good  (Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, 2008).  The big question though, is how can we as educators possibly influence education policy at local, state, federal or international levels?  After all we are teachers, not professional lobbyists or activists.

The Teacher Network Leadership Institute has published a new digital book entitled Making the Case.  The book introduces educators to strategies we can use to ensure that our voices inform and influence education policymaking—so that policy best supports teaching and learning for all students. 

So, if you are keen to make your voice heard about this important issue (or any other educational issue you feel most strongly about) then this book is a great place to make a start. 

>click here to download your copy of this book…

The Strengths Movement, founded by the award winning author and speaker, Jenifer Fox, sets out to shift the focus in education away from remediation of weaknesses toward discovering the strengths in every child.

You can hear Cynthia Crenshaw interview Jenifer Fox about the impact she is having on the educational system and how her involvement with All Kinds of Minds has shaped her thinking. 

>click here to listen to the interview…