For many of us the first day of school is right around the corner. Students and educators across the country are gearing up for another year and this year the issue of bullying and cyber-bullying is not only on the student’s minds but educators as well. This year, 160,000 students will skip school each day in fear of getting bullied. With these numbers as high as they are, it's not a big surprise that academic achievement is an increasing challenge in most schools. If you want take part in making a change in your schools academic achievement and pinpointing where exactly this begins, then you can't miss the first National Conference on School Engagement.
National Center for School Engagement Presents: The National Conference on School Success
Date: October 26-28, 2011
Location: Denver, Colorado
With regestration all conference participants will be given one year free membership to the School Climate Resource Center –Operated by the National School Climate Center
Urgent Call to Action: Your Opportunity to Provide Input into the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Democratic and Republican members of Congress have starting working on a bipartisan reform of the nation's primary federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - currently known as "No Child Left Behind." Please note: This call for action targets the same legislation detailed in our previous notice to House members, but is now directed to the Senate. Please view the call for action from the Senate to learn more.
This is your opportunity to provide input on the reauthorization of this important legislation! Please send your email comments directly to: ESEAcomments@harkin.senate.gov. You may also send them to ESEAcomments@help.senate.gov. Address your comments to: Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee.
Important: The deadline for providing input is Friday, May 7th!
If you want to help ensure the new Federal legislation includes language pertaining to school climate and the character education/social emotional learning of students, please provide your email comments to the committee. This is very time sensitive, and your quick input will help ensure school climate gets the priority it deserves.
National advocate for character development and school climate in schools, Ms. Linda McKay, has attended initial hearings in both the House and Senate. She believes the best strategy for success is to encourage Congressional leaders to include language that supports measuring and improving school climate as a strategy that supports the whole child, character education/ social emotional learning and the whole school community.
She adds that it will also be important to show examples of why support is important for students, teachers, school district staffs, parents and communities. Providing examples of positive results will strengthen your input!
CSEE thanks you in advance for your advocacy and civic engagement in this important matter.
Take Action Now to Secure Necessary Funds for School Climate Improvement and Character Education
Below is a letter that will be sent to Senators from Senator Dodd and Senator Bond asking for continued support in the FY2011 Appropriations Bill for “Improving School Culture & Climate”. Currently this is the only source of support for those interested in federal funding supporting character education, social and emotional learning, and school climate strategies.
Please contact your Senator’s offices today and ask them to support signing onto this letter, by doing the following.
1. Call and ask to speak to the Senator’s legislative assistant or education staff person. You can find your Senator’s contact information here. Ask for their fax number and then fax a copy of the letter with a short memo (see below).
2. Follow up to see if they received your fax and try to find out if the Senator will support signing onto the letter.
It is important to maintain support for what has been approved as we work to expand future funds and specifically support for the Safe, Successful Healthy Students Program which has been proposed in the Administration’s Blueprint for Education Reform.
Senators need to agree to sign by Friday, April 16th, so please contact your Senate office today! CSEE thanks you for your continued advocacy in this matter.
DRAFT MEMO:
Senators Name
Title
Recently your office should have received a copy of the attached letter from Senator (Bond –if your Senator is a Republican, Dodd if your Senator is a Democrat) which sends support of "maintaining the funding" for the Improving School Culture and Climate Program as this is the only program left in the Department of Education budget that supports character education.
I am asking for your support in signing this letter.
2nd Paragraph—State in three sentences why it is important in your community or for the country to maintain support for this funding.
3rd Paragraph—Please note this request is NOT asking for more money but to maintain the support that was approved last year. The investment we make by supporting the initiatives to improve our nation's school culture and climate is minimal compared to the price we pay for not promoting these essential life skills.
Urgent Call to Action: Your Opportunity to Provide Input into the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Democratic and Republican members of Congress have starting working on a bipartisan reform of the nation's primary federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - currently known as "No Child Left Behind."
This is your opportunity to provide input on the reauthorization of this important legislation! Send your comments directly to: eseacomments@mail.house.gov. Please address your comments to: The Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the House Education & Labor Committee.
Important: The deadline for providing input, at this stage, is Friday, March 26th!
If you want to help ensure the new Federal legislation includes language pertaining to school climate and the character education/social emotional learning students, please provide your email comments to the committee. This is very time sensitive, and your quick input will help ensure school climate gets the priority it deserves.
National advocate for character development and school climate in schools, Ms. Linda McKay, has attended initial hearings in both the House and Senate. She believes the best strategy for success is to encourage Congressional leaders to include language that supports measuring and improving school climate as a strategy that supports the whole child, character education/ social emotional learning and the whole school community.
She adds that it will also be important to show examples of why support is important for students, teachers, school district staffs, parents and communities. Providing examples of positive results will strengthen your input!
CSEE thanks you for your advocacy and civic engagement in this important matter.
The national statistics about teacher retention are still troubling: one-third of all new teachers leave after three years, while 46% are gone within five years. Attrition has grown by 50% over the past 15 years.
What will keep teachers in our schools? The question is not new. Research and insight from experts in the field have long offered a variety of explanations for teacher to-and-fro, such as: salaries and compensation models; level of education, training and mentoring; NCLB mandates; low funding; perceived level of success in the classroom; and working conditions and support, etc. CSEE's own work with schools nationwide underscores that social support, professional relationships, and leadership are all integral to whether educators stay or go (as well as, more generally, to perceptions of school success).
This week marked a bevy of fresh insight from the frontlines. On Wednesday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Scholastic introduced Primary Sources: America's Teachers on America's Schools, a report containing findings from more than 40,000 public school teachers across the country. According to the report, supportive leadership is the factor that's most likely to keep apt educators in the classroom -- and it's more integral to retention than higher salaries or performance pay. While 45% of teachers said that higher salaries are absolutely essential for retaining good teachers, 68% said that it's absolutely essential to have supportive leadership and 54% said it's essential to have time to collaborate.
In addition to reflections on the link between retention and leadership are more findings about the needs and effects of teacher climate: