Former Seattle School Board president, 8 others named to state charter school commission

Officials announced the nine members of the state's new charter-school commission on Wednesday, taking the next step in setting up a structure for the just-approved independent, but public schools.

The members, three each appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and state House speaker, will manager and oversee the state's first 40 charters, which were approved in November.  The members will serve four-year terms.  Find out more here

K-5 Teacher Overload: Too Many Trained, Not Enough Jobs

But Shortages remain in math, science and special education

The nation is training twice as many K-5 elementary school teachers as needed each year, while teacher shortages remain in the content specific areas of math, science and special education.  Read more here. 

Obama Urges Big Preschool Expansion in State of the Union Speech

President Barack Obama called on Congress in his State of the Union address to significantly expand access to preschool to all 4-year-olds from moderate- and low-income families, and to create a new spin-off of his Race to the Top program aimed at pushing high schools to adopt curricula that better prepare students for the jobs of the future. Read more here

How Community Colleges Are Serving Skilled Immigrant Students

FREE WEBINAR
Promising Practices:

How Community Colleges Are Serving Skilled Immigrant Students

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

3-4 p.m. Eastern Time

In this free webinar, experienced practitioners from the Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education will share examples of innovative models being used by community colleges to respond to adult immigrants' learning needs. You will hear about the most common barriers faced by skilled immigrants and how community colleges can help by addressing gaps in their education and enhancing job skills. The presentation will include a case study from Miami Dade College featuring two exemplary programs:

Project ACE, a fast-track English for Academic Purposes program, uses content-based instruction to teach English as a Second Language and helps students continue with their education or advance in the workforce.

REVEST provides adult refugees of various nationalities with English language training, vocational courses, referrals to other service agencies, transportation and childcare subsidies, and help with evaluation of foreign-earned credentials.

Each example will include the specific program model, evaluation results to date, staffing and financing details.

Presenters:

Teresita Wisell, Executive Director, Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education

Michelle Thomas, Ph.D.
Chairperson, Department of
ESL/Foreign Languages
Miami Dade College

Registration link

$2.75 million WaKIDS program helping early learning

Becky Bennion has been wiping runny noses and teaching kids to read for 30 years.  The Renton kindergarten teacher says the children haven't changed much but that society's expectations about what a 5-year-old should know has evolved dramatically. Read more here

P-3 Symposium offers STARS credit, clock hours

The Department of Early Learning—in collaboration with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Educational Research Association—is pleased to present an upcoming event featuring Dr. Robert C. Pianta, dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and creator of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS).

The P-3 Symposium will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Hilton Seattle Airport Hotel and Conference Center. STARS credits and clock hours are available. A limited number of scholarships are available for early learning participants.

For more information and to register, please visit this link 

The DEL Communications Team

Kids' Potential, Our Purpose

www.del.wa.gov<http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/www.del.wa.gov>

Colleges Overproducing Elementary Teachers, Data Find

Data, while imprecise, suggest that some states are producing far more new teachers at the elementary level than will be able to find jobs in their respective states—even as districts struggle to find enough recruits in other certification fields. Read more