Settlement reached

A settlement was reached with the district this week, for a two-year agreement that will allow teachers to count on salary schedule movement this year and next year. Click here to read opened articles, with commentary on the changes.

Never Give Up

Tuesday night was a hard one. This message from Lily Eskelsen Garcia, NEA President, reminds us that no matter what happened on election day, we will continue to fight for kids! They are why we worked hard during the elections and why we will work hard every day in the classroom! We'll never give up on our kids!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeSAsHsPIvk

Online Panel for Achievement Level Setting

As you probably know, Kansas is not using the Smarter Balanced assessments as it had originally planned to do. Instead it is developing its own tests through CETE at KU. I expect our tests to be similar, however, so being a reviewer for the Smarter Balanced assessments could give you valuable insight into the kinds of things your students will be expected to do, and it will give you a chance to give feedback on the level of rigor and fairness of the questions. It is a short-term commitment of under three hours over a three-day window (and you choose which three days). If this is something you might be interested in doing, visit the Online Panel registration page.

NEA grant money could fund your great idea!

If our own Foundation's Prize Patrol didn't bring you a big check this week, you have another option! The next deadline for an NEA Student Achievement grant or a Learning and Leadership grant is October 15.

At both of these sites, you can see examples of the kinds of projects that have been funded in the past. On the Grants to Educators tab, there is a Featured Grantees link as well as a Grantee Archive which is searchable by subject or keyword. The grants are for $2000 or $5000.

Student Achievement grants: This program provides grants to improve the academic achievement of students in U.S. public schools and public higher education institutions in any subject area(s). The proposed work should engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection.

Grant funds may be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, technology, or scholars-in-residence. Although some funds may be used to support the professional development necessary to implement the project, the majority of grant funds must be spent on materials or educational experiences for students: http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/nea-student-achievement-grants/.

Learning and Leadership grants: Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; or grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.

All professional development must improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement. "One-shot" professional growth experiences, such as attending a national conference or engaging a professional speaker, are discouraged. Decisions regarding the content of the professional growth activities must be based upon an assessment of student work undertaken with colleagues, and must be integrated into the institutional planning process. Grant funds may be used for fees, travel expenses, books, or other materials that enable applicants to learn subject matter, instructional approaches, and skills. Recipients are required to exercise professional leadership by sharing their new learning with their colleagues. http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/learning-leadership-grants/.