#FridayFive – Special Edition Executive Director, Andrea Messina, shares some of the top NSBA Conference takeaways Last week, I attended the 76th NSBA Annual Conference in Boston, MA with several of your executive officers and school board members from across Florida and the US. In reflecting on my experiences there, I wanted to share 5 takeaways…
1. How quickly will students find their careers? http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/education/edlife/will-you-sprint-stroll-or-stumble-into-a-career.html?_r=0 2. If you haven’t heard of Sal Khan, you should have: http://chronicle.com/article/How-Sal-Khan-Hopes-to-Remake/235895 3. Florida’s testing season has begun: http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/florida-standards-assessment-smooth-start 4. Short on teachers? You are not alone: http://aminewswire.com/stories/510704904-teacher-shortages-continue-nationwide 5. SREF could be a little more flexible: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/florida/2016/04/8595959/schools-could-get-new-flexibility-construction-laws
1. Is teaching algebra as necessary as was once thought? http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Is-algebra-an-unnecessary-stumbling-block-in-US-7209860.php 2. Schools struggle with lead in water: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/us/schools-nationwide-still-grapple-with-lead-in-water.html?_r=0 3. Sarasota’s Pineview among the 50 smartest public high schools in America: http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-public-high-schools-in-america-2016-3 4. Innovative Uses of Technology in School Districts: http://www.centerdigitaled.com/awards/digital-districts/National-Survey-Recognizes-School-Districts-for-Innovative-Uses-of-Technology.html 5. Michigan high school offers taxidermy class: http://www.usnews.com/news/offbeat/articles/2016-04-01/new-taxidermy-class-a-hit-at-michigan-high-school
1. Florida is closing the achievement gap: http://www.educationequalityindex.org/ 2. A national report card on school funding: http://schoolfundingfairness.org/ 3. Computer coding as a foreign language not a dead issue: http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/should-computer-coding-be-considered-foreign-language-school-some-say-n543656 4. Let’s do this in Florida. Youth apprenticeship pilot program launched in Maryland: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/state-launches-1st-youth-apprenticeship-pilot-program/2016/03/23/3f791a6c-f0d4-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html 5. ESSA rulemaking has begun: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2016/03/writing-rules-for-essa-213320
Education funding trial began this week: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Failing-grade-Trial-over-Florida-s-schools-6889498.php Prayer at School Board Meetings issue now in U.S. District Court of Appeals: http://www.dailybulletin.com/social-affairs/20160304/chino-valley-unified-to-appeal-ruling-on-praying Concerns raised about school mock elections this year: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/farina-worried-bullying-schools-hold-mock-election-article-1.2567081 John B. King confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Education: http://time.com/4258604/senate-confirm-education-secretary/ Teen inventors from Intel’s Science Talent Search: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/03/16/meet-the-teen-who-just-won-150000-for-inventing-a-device-to-diagnose-lung-disease/
1. Harvard’s multiyear initiative to transform K-12 education: http://edredesign.org/by-all-means 2. Increase in bomb threats? You are not alone: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/08/schools–computer-bomb-threats/81489322/ 3. Heard of the “Stop Swatting in Our Schools Act”? http://www.chron.com/news/article/Proposed-federal-bill-would-combat-swatting-in-6873330.php 4. SXSWedu takeaways: https://www.the74million.org/article/3-things-we-learned-about-the-future-of-education-at-south-by-southwest-education 5. John B. King, Jr. closer to being confirmed as Education Secretary: http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-03-09/senate-committee-votes-to-approve-new-education-secretary
1. Universal Design for Learning: https://www.noodle.com/articles/once-architectural-term-now-universal-design-is-changing-education 2. Work from home days in schools: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/23/466460375/study-in-your-pjs-what-a-high-school-work-from-home-day-looks-like?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology 3. More students passing AP tests: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/24/far-higher-share-of-students-are-passing-at-least-one-ap-test-during-high-school/ 4. Florida Standards “As Stringent” as NAEP: http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/florida-standards-stringent-naep-levels-says-report?utm_source=Constant%20Contact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News%20Alert 5. Escambia County student advances to Scripps Bee: http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2016/02/20/escambia-county-student-advances-scripps-bee/80683592/
1. Google defends use of student data: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/02/16/google-says-it-tracks-personal-student-data-but-not-for-advertising/ 2. Should Computer Education Cover More Than Coding: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/15/465467155/should-computer-education-cover-more-than-just-coding 3. Math Abilities on the Rise: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-math-revolution/426855/ 4. High Tech training in central Florida schools: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/technology/os-advanced-manufacturing-orlando-presence-20160215-story.html 5. Two new poems by J.R.R. Tolkien discovered: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-35585467
1. Online learning is here to stay: http://www.kpk12.com/wp-content/uploads/Evergreen_KeepingPace_2015.pdf 2. Education may cut dementia risk: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/132727/20160211/can-education-reduce-alzheimers-risk-study-finds-link-between-dementia-and-high-school-diploma.htm 3. Low performing students: why they fall behind and how to help them succeed:http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/Low-performers-infographic-EN.pdf 4. 2016 Florida Tax Handbook released:http://edr.state.fl.us/content/revenues/reports/tax-handbook/taxhandbook2016.pdf 5. King officially nominated as Education Secretary by Obama: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/11/obama-to-nominate-john-b-king-jr-to-officially-take-the-role-of-education-secretary/
1. What does a public health emergency due to Zika Virus mean?: https://www.yahoo.com/health/florida-zika-public-health-emergency-140738703.html 2. More rigorous tests help to close “Honesty Gap”: http://achieve.org/files/Proficient%20vs%20Prepared%202.pdf 3. Paper test takers scored higher than online test takers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/02/04/report-kids-who-took-common-core-test-online-scored-lower-than-those-who-used-paper/ 4. US elementary and secondary education revenues and expenditures reported: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015303.pdf 5. Heard about micro schools?: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/01/27/micro-schools-could-be-new-competition-for.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news1-RM