March 30, 2010

Tennessee Teachers Create a Co-Op

 March 30, 2010  |  Source:  ASCD SmartBrief

Three teachers from a Tennessee school district have decided to work together to keep their students fresh and give them a new experience every day. They have combined their resources and divided everything into three categories: Traditional, Group, and Technology. All other resources were discarded, and they are moving forward together to create a new kind of learning environment for their students that constantly changes. Does it really work?

Get the full story: Classroom Co-Op

March 22, 2010

Florida School Allows Teachers to Create their Own Curriculum

 March 21, 2010  |  Source:  ASCD SmartBrief

St. Mary's Episcopal Day School in Tampa, FL does not let their teachers tenure, but teachers say it is one of the best places to work. Why? St. Mary's does not participate in the state's standardized testing, so teachers are encouraged to create their own curriculum.

Read more about St. Mary's: TampaBay.com

March 15, 2010

Intel Gives AZ Teachers Tech Instruction

March 15, 2010  |  Source:  ASCD SmartBrief

A program called 'Intel Teach' is helping teachers in 66 Arizona Districts become more familiar with technology tools. Teachers are using this training to improve their skills in computer applications. Traning began in programs such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint but now has expanded to blogs, wikis, and web 2.0 tools. The intent of the program is to help teachers enhance learning through technology.

Read the full story: The Arizona Republic

March 12, 2010

Draft Released of National Academic Standards

March 10, 2010  |  Source:  ASCD SmartBrief

A draft of common national standards for English and math was released today by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers. The proposal includes specific benchmarks that students should achieve at each grade level.

Read the full story: Education Week Online

March 10, 2010

How Large Should Classes Be?

 March 10, 2010  |  Source:  ASCD SmartBrief

Although thousands of teacher in Illinois schools will be receiving pink slips this month due to budget cuts, administrators are not worried about increased class sizes. Studies only show significant benefits in small class sizes in Kindergarten and First Grade. Administrators maintain that only slight benefits in small class size were observed through 8th grade.

Read the full story in:  The Chicago Tribune

March 9, 2010

Pittsburgh Improves Teacher Effectiveness

March 9, 2010  |  Source:  Pittsburgh Post Gazette

The "Empowering Effective Teachers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools" plan has recently been announced. The plan includes seven initiatives to boost teacher effectiveness, such as expanded career opportunities, new methods for evaluating teachers and a new information-technology system for tracking and placing students and teachers.

Read the full story:  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

March 8, 2010

Everyday Mathematics Credited with Improving Scores

March 8, 2010  |  Source:  ASCD SmartBrief

Washington D.C. administrators adopted the Everyday Mathematics curriculum that was developed by the University of Chicago and aims to make math more relevant for students, who practice their skills frequently with games.

Read the full story: The Washington Post

March 5, 2010

Georiga Test Scores Under Suspicion

March 1, 2010  |  Source:  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

191 schools across the state of Georgia have shown evidence of tampering with standardized test scores, with teachers and administrators worried about keeping up with standards under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Read the full story: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

March 1, 2010

Hampton Teacher Honored

February 15, 2010  |  Source:  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Hampton Area School District teacher, Deborah Van Maele was honored on February 26 as the very first person to receive Prime State Theatre's "Inspiring Teachers Inspiring Readers" award. Deborah is currently a middle school teacher at Hampton and has been with the district for more than 25 years. Great job, Deborah!

Full story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

District of the Month: March 2010

Fox Chapel Area School District

Congratulations to Fox Chapel Area School District for being named the OnHand Schools district of the month. Please visit http://www.onhandschools.com/Profiles.html to find out more about Fox Chapel. A big thank you to Norton Grusky, Alicia Gismondi and Jill Tabis for supplying testimonials pertaining to how EdInsight is enhancing their classrooms.



Way to go, Fox Chapel!