A Box of Books Grant Application

I just hit the "submit" button to an online application for "A Box of Books" Project hoping that the grant application will be approved. This will have a tremendous positive impact in the lives of the children in a small barrio in the Philippines at the same time will give our student leaders at Jefferson MS a chance to demonstrate their ability to work collaboratively as they investigate issues and resolutions to real world problems.

“A Box of Books” Team and the participating students will present a documentary of this noble experience and present it to the community members in their school district when they come back in August 2011 during open houses and recruitment sessions for Jefferson MS.
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I'm crossing my fingers. Wish us luck!!!

"Duck Attack" ;-)

Harvard group to evaluate IMPACT

George Parker's Response if he signed off on Roland Fryer to conduct the IMPACT review:

FYI. Bill Turque's article on January 20th indicating that I signed -off on a mutually agreed group/person to conduct the independent evaluation of IMPACT is incorrect. I did not sign -off of any such group and please spread the word. I spoke with Turque and he has agreed to post a correction. In addition to speaking with him tonight, I carrfollowed up with the email below.
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Thanks,

GP

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Bill,

Your article on January 20th contained incorrect information regarding my signing off on a mutually agreeable person/group to conduct the independent evaluation of IMPACT prior to leaving office. When I left office, the WTU and DCPS had not yet signed off on any person/group to conduct the independent evaluation. I request that you correct this misinformation immediately as no such sign-off occurred. Please feel free to contact me on my cell if you need to discuss further.

Your immediate action is requested.

Thanks,
George Parker

Former, WTU President

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Harvard group to evaluate IMPACT
By Bill Turque

The Harvard think tank that experimented with paying D.C. middle schoolers for good grades and behavior will also study the IMPACT teacher evaluation system. DCPS confirmed late Wednesday that the Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University, aka EdLabs, is the mutual selection of the District and the Washington Teachers' Union to conduct an independent evaluation of the evaluation. EdLabs is headed by Roland G. Fryer Jr., the economics professor who has been studying the effects of cash awards on students in D.C., Chicago, Dallas and New York. Read DC School's Insider blog

The Teacher Leaders Network

I received an email this afternoon from John Norton, the co-founder and moderator of the Teacher Leaders Network, about my January 13 post. Nope, I am not in trouble!

He introduced himself to me and shared some more great NBCT bloggers in this professional learning community of teacher leaders, the Teacher Leaders Network (TLN) . It is a network of active communities populated by highly accomplished teacher leaders from across the nation who are dedicated to student success and the transformation of teaching into a true profession. Hundreds of expert educators at the heart of TLN are:
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• Engaging in daily discussions around practice and policy,

• Collaborating on action research and other projects for improved student learning,

• Sharing their content and pedagogical expertise with pre-service and in-service teachers, and

• Refining their policy insights and contributing their voices to the decisions that affect the students and communities they serve.

Within this great professional learning community is a group of impressive teacher bloggers who are connecting, engaging, sharing their voice with researchers, reformers, administrators and union leaders in an effort to grow and project their voices on matters of teaching policy and expert teaching practice. Here are some of my favorites, who are also NBCTs:

- Bill Ferriter, The Tempered Radical
-  Susan Graham, A Place at the Table (at Teacher Magazine)

- Nancy Flanagan, Teacher in a Strange Land (at Teacher Magazine)
- teacherken at Daily Kos
- John Holland at Emergent Learner
- Marsha Ratzel at Reflections of a Techie
- Cindi Rigsbee at The Dream Teacher
- Dayle Timmons at Timmons Times
- Mary Tedrow at Walking to School
- Mike Fisher at Digigogy

D.C. mayor: Teacher-evaluation system is unfair

I had an interview last Friday and I pretty much was able to share my thoughts and experiences about the IMPACT. One of the essential questions that bothers me is: why was this implemented without a pilot?
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Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent C. Gray says the district's current teacher evaluation system -- known as IMPACT -- is an improvement from its predecessor, but he admits it is an unfair measure of teacher effectiveness. Gray said his primary concern is that the system doesn't factor in differences in student populations at individual schools and it could encourage "teachers to teach in one part of the city and not in the other parts." The Washington Post/D.C. Schools Insider blog

MLK Message

NBCT bloggers

This blog is currently featured on the NBCTLink (many thanks!):

Active NBCTs on the Blogosphere

Across the country, National Board Certified Teachers are getting their voices heard by becoming education bloggers. These dedicated teachers come from various pockets of the country (from both urban and rural backgrounds) and work hard to make sure accomplished teachers are recognized.

Here are a few NBCT bloggers:

• Patrick Ledesma is a Virginia school based technology specialist and Special Education Department Chair. He has an Education Week blog that discusses policy issues.

• David Cohen blogs for the Accomplished California Teachers Web site. David teaches 9th and 10th grade English, and also serves as an academic advisor.

• Anthony Cody is an active member of the Teacher Leaders Network, and he works with a team of experienced science teacher-coaches who support the many novice teachers in his school district. He blogs on Education Week.

• Renee Moore was the 2001 Mississippi Teacher of the Year. She teachers at Mississippi Delta Community College. She blogs for NationalJournal.

• Maria Angala is an NBCT from Washington, D.C. View her blog here.

• Roxanna Elden, author of See Me After Class, recently wrote a guest post on an Education Week blog. View the post “Five Words and Phrases that Sound Different to Teachers.”