New National Board Certified Teachers Announced

For the fourth consecutive year, Washington state has placed second in the country in new National Board Certified teachers.  View article 

Quality Counts: Involving Students in School Climate

FREE WEBINAR:  This event takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, 2 to 3 p.m. ET.

Student behavior and attitudes are critical to a school's climate and academic success, but often students aren't involved in school improvement planning.  Emerging research shows that getting students to buy in to their school can improve trust between students and staff, reduce behavior problems, and increase academic engagement.  Yet it can seem a daunting task for educators, particularly with older students. 

Presenters:

Bennett Lieberman, principal, Central Park East High School, New York

Megan O'Malley, research associate, middle school climate initiative, WestEd

Click here to register. 

A Teacher's New Year's Resolution: Brag More

Last month, I joined a friend for dinner and drinks after her Chamber of Commerce "Wednesday Friendsday." Sitting at the martini bar a midst real estate agents and financial advisors, all of whom were strangers to me prior to that evening, I found myself continually excluded from the conversation. When they found out I was a high school English teacher, they realized I had nothing to offer them—no contacts, no business, no money. All they had for me were sympathetic shakes of their heads and a few patronizing quips...Read more

K-12 Aid Faces Uncertain Future, Despite 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

Education programs will be spared the prospect of the largest across-the-board cuts in history, but only temporarily, under a bill to avert much of the so-called "fiscal cliff," overwhelmingly approved by Congress on Tuesday. Find out more here

Four Auburn Schools Named “2012 Schools of Distinction” by the Center for Educational Effectiveness

Alpac, Gildo Rey, Lake View and Pioneer Elementary Schools in the Auburn School District have all been named 2012 School of Distinction Award Winners from The Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE), the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD), the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), Phi Delta Kappa-Washington Chapter (PDK-WA), Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA), Washington State ASCD and Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA).

The award recognizes the top 5% highest improving schools in the state of Washington for increased reading and mathematics achievement over the past five years. This represents the 6th annual School of Distinction award recognition in Washington State.

Alpac, Gildo Rey, Lake View and Pioneer will be recognized at the 2012 Schools of Distinction Awards Ceremony on Thursday, January 24, 2013, at Puget Sound ESD in Renton.

For more information contact Amy Spence, public information officer, at (253) 931-4713.

PD opportunity with Seattle University

Seattle University is gearing up for its 2013 Supporting New Faculty Success cohort, but there are still a couple of open seats!

“For the first time in its 100-year history, the community college is seeing a new learner. Students are ethnically and linguistically more diverse, have more varied levels of skills and experience, often have many competing demands for their time, and have complex aspirations and goals.

These new learners want to succeed, and their success is helped by instructors' abilities to respond to their changing needs. Instructors are now required to be equipped not only with expertise in their subject area, but armed with teaching skills, resources and support networks to train today's new community college students.

Seattle University’s year-long Supporting New Faculty Success (SNFS) program supports community college faculty success, helping new instructors hone the skills required to teach these new learners. SNFS is open to all community college instructors with 3 years of full-time teaching experience or less. No need to be in the Seattle area; we’ll meet via Collaborate so that faculty statewide can participate!

The 2013 cohort will begin on January 3, but it’s not too late to register! Find more details on our webpage at https://www.seattleu.edu/coe/snfs/  or email Lindsey at kaferl@seattleu.edu with questions.”

Washington college instructors are 'flipping' the way they teach

For years, Scott Freeman taught Biology 180 - a gateway class - by standing in front of his students at the University of Washington and lecturing about biological systems, evolution and the chromosome theory of inheritance. Read more here