Oakland New Teacher Support & Development

Teacher Leadership Opportunities: Common Core Standards

2011-12-16T17:18:00.001-08:00

Greetings teachers!

Please read the letter below to learn about ways that you can participate in our efforts to transition to the Common Core State Standards. The complete letter and application for leadership opportunities are attached. Note that the application is due Friday, December 16th.

To: OUSD preK-12 Language Arts Teachers, Secondary ELA and Core Teachers, Literacy coaches, and Instructional Leaders

Background

In order to prepare teachers and ultimately students for a successful transition to the Common Core State Standards in 2014-15, we must develop a deep understanding of the new standards and their implications for instruction, as well as begin to build a curricular guide that will support teachers in designing Common Core aligned units and lessons that consider the unique needs of Oakland students. We believe that we cannot do this work without engaging teachers who best understand the needs of our students. The literacy team at LCI would like to invite interested OUSD educators to collaborate with us in this important work.

Specific Project Goals Include:

Create a common core curriculum guide that includes course descriptions, tools and resources, and sample lessons and units that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and incorporate best practices that address the diverse needs of Oakland students.
Develop a cadre of teachers who are positioned to take leadership at their site and /or district level around the Common Core State Standards in terms of both professional development and curriculum development.

Who Should Apply?

Teachers who have interest in developing expertise in the new Common Core State Standards and connecting them to ongoing and future classroom practices and district initiatives.
Teachers who have interest in participating in quality professional development on developing Common Core aligned performance tasks and curriculum using backward design.
Teachers willing to take on leadership roles within their school and the district in order to collaborate and support colleagues as they work to understand the new Common Core State Standards.
For the development of sample units only: Teachers with at least 3 years of classroom experience and ample experience in backward design.

Menu of Opportunities and Estimated Time Commitments

Attend learning sessions to develop expertise in the CCSS and backward design	3 or 4 sessions after school and /or Saturdays beginning in January or summer PD days
Feedback on planning and co-facilitation of Second Wednesday Central PDs	2 -3 hours of planning time, 1.5 hours of co-facilitation for each PD (not necessary to commit to all PDs)
Provide consultation on the development of a Common Core Curriculum guide	Approximately 2-3 hours each meeting in February, April, and June
Collaborate with literacy specialists and other teachers to create or revise and pilot sample performance tasks, lessons, and units	Weekly planning sessions and reflection of implementation for approximately 2 months (at your site or centrally)

Benefits:

Deepen understanding of the Common Core State Standards and backward design
Leadership opportunities
Collaboration with other teachers and literacy specialists
Compensation (hourly rates for facilitation of PD, consulting, and attending learning sessions; stipend available for unit development)

Interested teachers should fill out and return the attached application form.

For more information, contact Nicole.Knight@ousd.k12.ca.us

Leadership, Curriculum, and Instruction

Oakland Unified School District

2011-12-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

A friend and fellow pre-schooler mom shared this article with me. It's about a practice called staylistening that is based in counseling. Although in our classrooms, we may not use this technique exactly as outlined in this article. There are still some really important takeaways.

All of us, not just our children, have episodes of upset, during which our logical, reasonable and cooperative powers are totally sidelined by encompassing and confusing clouds of feelings.
Children are built to let us know the instant their minds are derailed by feelings. They don’t hide their troubles.
Staylistening is not for the faint of heart. It takes work to shed our own feelings of hurt so we can keep reaching for an angry child.

We must secure our own mask. We must prioritize sleep, healthy eating, and learn ways to manage our stress or our own hurt, trauma, stress will derail our logical thinking and derail our ability to support the children in our classroom.

FREE Bullying & Social Thinking Workshop (free)

2011-12-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Berkeley Parents Network. Bullying is a huge issue and any way we can learn about how to prevent HAS to be a good thing
-------------------------------------------

Learn practical strategies for children & parents to prevent bullying.
FREE EVENT Mon. Jan. 9 from 7:30-9pm
At Communication Works: 4400 Keller Ave. Suite 200 Oakland
RSVP mandatory by Fri. Jan. 6 to 510.639.2929
Visit www.cwtherapy.com for more info.
Submitted by: Stephanie Alvarez (stephanie@cwtherapy.com)

Preparing Educators & Youth in a Racist World

2011-11-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

What a title!

Today at 4 p.m. Claude Steele, Dean of Stanford University's School of Education in partnership with Mills College School of Education will be presenting at the Castlemont High School Auditorium here in Oakland.

8610 MacArthur Blvd in Oakland.

Also mark your calendar for future events:
January 23: Bill Ayers & Rick Ayers
February 23: Gloria Ladson-Billings
April 23: Sonia Nieto

Powerhouse team! Hope to see you there.

Acupressure for Teachers

2011-11-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

How cool is that???

My friend Funmilayo is offering this workshop for teachers practically for free (sliding scale from $5 to $15).

Acupressure is an ancient healing art utilizing light to medium finger pressure to specific
points on the body. Acupressure can be very helpful in relieving stress and promoting
an overall sense of calm in many people. It has been helpful in relieving muscle tension,
headaches as well as strengthening the body’s resistance to various illnesses. In the spirit
of “Taking care of yourself”, acupressure allows you to embrace balance, calm and peace of
mind into your life.

For more information and /or to arrange your appointment . . . Call: Your Body’s Melody 510-304-5785

Space is limited to 5 teachers so hurry. She may be able to set up two sessions if there is a need but that still leaves thousands of teachers stressed out so hurry!

Chabot Space & Science Educator Open House

2011-10-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday, November 3 (4pm - 7pm)
Open House is FREE but reservations are required!

Our family is a big fan of Chabot Space & Science Center. Our 3-year-old and our 7-year-old always have a great time there. We've seen all of the movies there at least half a dozen times. The place is just . . . cool!

And Chabot Space & Science loves . . . TEACHERS. Next Thursday, November 3 from 4-7 pm is an open house for teachers. We get to learn about the various classes available for K-12 science classes in astronomy, earth, life and physical sciences.

Register here.

You definitely don't want to miss this. There's a raffle, hands-on exhibits and demos and other really cool stuff plus it's FREE.

REGISTER

New Programs, Including "Tap the Wind,” an Energy Class Where Students Design Wind Turbine Blades for Maximum Efficiency
Visit the Challenger Learning Center® to Learn About Our Simulated Space Missions for Students Grades 4–8
Hands-On Exhibits, Including the Interactive Bill Nye’s Climate Lab
Hands-On Demos with Chabot’s Dynamic Education Staff
Raffle for a Free Trip
Telescope Viewing Through Our Historic Telescopes (weather permitting)

Outstanding Educator Award--Apply today!

2011-10-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

California Teacher Corps Annual
Michael McKibbin Outstanding Educator Award
Your Opportunity to Honor an Excellent Teacher!

The California Teacher Corps is proud to announce the second annual Michael McKibbin Outstanding Educator Award. This award is designed to honor an outstanding educator in California who has completed or is currently enrolled in an Alternative Certification credentialing route.

Michael McKibbin, a retired administrator from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, has been instrumental in establishing and supporting alternative route programs in California. He has been a strong advocate for the selection of the right teacher for students in California and the California Teacher Corps Michael McKibbin Award recognizes and honors his lifetime work.

Application Process

Intern Program Directors throughout California utilize the California Teacher Corps Storytelling Guide (attached) to submit nominations.

Completed applications should be submitted electronically to the California Teacher Corps board@cateachercorps.org or in person at the statewide CCTC regional meetings no later than November 29, 2011.

Successful candidates will have attributes that align with the California Teacher Corps Vision, Mission, and Goals including but not limited to the following:
Exemplary educator who has made a positive, powerful impact on his/her classroom or school, including leadership roles

Second-career professional whose previous career will resonate with the general public

Highly-qualified and expert in his/her subject matter

Working in a high-need school, location, subject area or underserved communities.

The award winner is expected to attend the California Teacher Corps annual conference (February 9-10, 2012) in Napa Valley. It is expected that the Intern Program pay for conference and travel costs for the Intern. The nominating Director should submit a brief cover letter stating that, using program or regional funds, he/she is willing to pay for the Intern's travel and conference expenses.

To learn more about last year's winner, Baljeet Gill, go to our website. For additional information, contact the California Teacher Corps board at board@cateachercorps.org

Nominations Must be Received by November 29, 2011

National Board Certification--Take One!

2011-10-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

Learn about the Take One National Board Certification Program
When: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Where: Oakland Education Association, 272 East 12th Street, Oakland CA 94606
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
There will be subsidies provided if the teacher works in a school that is "high-need." A California indicator would be an API statewide rank of 5 or less, but NBPTS also uses the federal guidelines of 51%+ of students on free or reduced lunch or Title I status
Please register with Lisa.Spielman@ousd.k12.ca.us
Background:
The Targeted High Need Initiative (THNI) is a program designed to promote the growth in the number of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) teaching in schools with the greatest need. The Initiative is in its sixth year. In 2006, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) created THNI Take One! sites to permit teachers who are not yet ready to complete the full certification process to benefit from some of the key professional development aspects of the full certification process.

Take One! is a product in which an educator completes one of the four portfolio entries included in the full certification assessment. Scores can be banked and applied later to eligible teachers who pursue National Board Certification. This program supports learning communities in schools, provides exposure to the National Board Certification process in a way that is less intense and more manageable.

Approximately 40 percent of teachers completing THNI Take One! continue to pursue National Board Certification. Even those who do not continue gain valuable professional development and insight into the reflective teaching focus of National Board Certification.

The teachers who participate in the Take One! process will be encouraged to complete National Board Certification as soon as they are eligible.

Teacher must be "high-need." A California indicator would be an API statewide rank of 5 or less, but NBPTS also uses the federal guidelines of 51%+ of students on free or reduced lunch or Title I status.

The THNI Participants can be accepted through the end of a calendar year which is the end of the NBPTS registration cycle. The Take One! portfolio entry for 2011 participants must be submitted to NBPTS by April 15, 2012.

SMSHBX Gallery Open House for Educators

2011-10-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

You're invited to the Educators' Open House at SMSHBX Gallery

FREE! Educators' Open House

Please join us for a special educators' viewing, director's introduction and walk through of the exhibit. Learn how SMSHBX Gallery can be a resource for the educational community, connect with other educators and share your ideas. Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited.

Day: Friday October 14, 2011
Time: 5:30 -7:30 pm
Location: 1804 Telegraph Avenue
RSVP for the SMSHBX Educators' Open House Here.

Current Exhibit: Works from the 5th Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle + International Water Writes Mural Project

For more info contact Anyka Barber, Gallery Director at 510.473.6303 or smshbx@gmail.com

New Teacher in Oakland Virginia Velasquez-Cruz on TV!

2011-09-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to new teacher, Virginia Velasquez-Cruz from Reach Academy in Oakland. She is a local teacher recruited through the Teach Tomorrow in Oakland program. Please click the link to see the story! http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=8334395

We just never know where our students will end up . . .

2011-09-20T20:39:00.001-07:00

I loved this video of author and presenter, Michael Grinder. We always have that ONE kid and Michael was that kid but look at him now. =)

Teacher Organization--Using FlyLady techniques

2011-09-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of Flylady.com for keeping my house from turning into a giant disaster of toys and papers and chaos . . . I saw this post this morning and wanted to share with others who may find it useful . . . especially if you're feeling overwhelmed right now.

Teachers who are FLYing!
flylady, 9/16/2011 2:36 am

Dear FlyLady,

I sent you a testimonial recently about adapting the Office in a Bag for teachers. I've been FLYing at home for years, but still struggle sometimes at work, because I feel so "busy." I have learned how to work around this "feeling-busy" problem. I thought I'd share some more tips that I have adapted for teachers (and didn't even realize until I wrote that other testimonial) but that may apply to other Payroll SHEs:

Another use for the FlyLady cling: I glued a magnet to it and stuck it on my filing cabinet at school.

I use the calendar and kid stickers at school.
I use the Office in a Bag for my school papers.
I use the lanyard for my school keys.

The timer is used in so many ways I can't even begin. I mainly use it for children with attention issues. It helps keep them focused on a task, and they try to beat the timer. It also helps me clean off my desk at the end of the day when I want to go see my babies. I'm anxious to go and am tempted to leave the mess for tomorrow, but then I see my cling magnet and remember to just give it 15 minutes. I always finish in less time.

My clean desk is my shiny sink. I also happen to have an actual sink in my classroom, and I've taught the kids how to keep it clean and water-spot free.

We do 5-minute rescues of desks every day and thoroughly clean desks every Friday, which takes less than 5 minutes!

I adapted my morning and evening routines to fit school.

CHECK YOUR MORNING SCHOOL FLY LIST

1. Do you have your exercise clothes, water bottle, lunch, and snack?
2. Have you checked your Hot Spots and put out any fires?
3. Fill your coffee mug.
4. Unpack your school bag.
5. Did you have any breakfast?
6. Fulfill your to-do list before the bell rings.
7. Have you taken a break this morning? Have you had any water?

CHECK YOUR AFTERNOON SCHOOL FLY LIST

1. Did you have any lunch/water?
2. Are you prepared to exercised today?
3. Go do a 5 Minute Desk/Closet Rescue!
4. Have you taken a break this afternoon to just sit and be good to yourself?
5. Are you caught up on grading/filing?
6. Make copies/lessons for tomorrow, including necessary supplies.

CHECK YOUR EVENING SCHOOL FLY LIST

Check your "Before You Leave" List

1. Lay out your lessons for tomorrow. Are the copies made?
2. Is your DESK CLEAN?
3. Go Put out Your Hot Spots!
4. Leave at a decent hour! (5:30 for me)
5. EXERCISE!

START YOUR BEFORE BED ROUTINE AFTER DINNER

We need our beauty sleep as well as rest for our bodies and minds.

1. Pack exercise clothes and water bottle.
2. Lay out your clothes for tomorrow.
3. Pack your school bag.
4. Make your lunch and snack.
5. Make a to-do list.
6. Go to bed by 10:00.

I also use FlyLady zones in my room: there's art, writing, library, their desks (including other centers), and my desk (including cubbies, since I use them, and shelves). Every week I declutter and detail clean each zone (but the kids bear the brunt of the responsibility here - never do for a child what he can do himself!). However, my desk still has to be clean each day before leaving. Five minutes at the beginning of the day our "community helpers" help me keep our classroom tidy and running efficiently. I use the Librarian, Custodian, Botanist, Secretary, Reporter, and Meteorologist. My plants never die, library books are never overdue, attendance gets taken, the room is always clean, and the Reporter and Meteorologist help me remember to do calendar and weather, and they lead it instead of me (I'm still a SHE and forget things). I carry very little of the mundane load in the mornings. I can start teaching at 9:00 sharp instead of 9:30 - WITH a CLEAN room.

*Librarian (returns all library books in book crate, passes out overdue notices, straightens books, arranges pillows in the Reading Corner)

*Custodian (erases boards and claps the erasers outside, keeps floor clean, carries heavy stuff like lunches and recess equipment, washes tables, makes sure desks are organized)

*Secretary (Files worksheets to go home into each student's file, stuffs Friday packets, takes attendance, answers the phone and intercom, runs errands, replaces lunch tickets.)

*Botanist (waters, fertilizes, and prunes plants)

*Meteorologist (keeps track of weather charts on bulletin board, calls Time and Temp, leads class in morning weather routine)

*Reporter (keeps track of and performs calendar duties, leads class in pattern predicting, reports class news)

I hope these tips help other teachers, and that some tips help other Payroll SHEs. The best way to learn is to teach, and writing this testimonial reminds me of things I do well. I will focus on them in the fall and teach them to my student teacher to remind me to use the tools that that I know work.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Teaching myself while teaching kids to FLY

*******************************
FlyLady here; We have a Teacher Control Journal on our website. Check out our FlyShop for our FlyLady Teacher Tools.

http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop.asp

http://www.flylady.net/pages/teacher_cj.asp

Oh and don't forget your water bottle. Our teachers love their water bottle to keep them hydrated.

http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_swb.asp

--------
You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?

Let's Go for Seven in 2011!

Get your FREE Cozi Calendar http://www.flylady.net/pages/cozi.asp

Copyright 2001-2011 FlyLady and Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved, No reprint to other email lists or websites without FlyLady's permission. You have permission to forward to a friend.

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The Film You WANT To See . . .

2011-09-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

UC Berkeley’s Graduate Schools of Education, Journalism, Public Health, and Social Welfare are co-sponsoring an important panel and film screening. The public forum is entitled Interrupting Lives: Curbing Violence in Our Communities. Is There Hope? It features Alex Kotlowitz, producer of the film The Interrupters; Jabari Mahiri from UCB Graduate School of Education; Emily Ozer from UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health; Ron Smith, principal of our OUSD's own West Oakland Middle School; and Susan Stone from UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare, along with some community youth speakers (TBD).

The film, The Interrupters, is a powerful film. Juwen Lam of RAD saw this Chicago-based film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and says it is highly relevant to the Oakland context and our joint efforts to curb gun violence in our city. The Chicago “violence interrupters” (their job description) use methods informed by public health and epidemiology, employing public health strategies that parallel those used to reverse any epidemic of infectious disease.

The event will be held on Tuesday, September 6, from 7-8:30 p.m., at the David Brower Center Goldman Theater at 2150 Allston Way in Berkeley (near the downtown Berkeley BART station).

Please go to the following website to read more about this event, and please pass the word to whomever you believe would be interested in attending.

http://gse.berkeley.edu/admin/events/interruptinglives.html

If you are unable to attend the public forum, you can see The Interrupters film from September 2-7. See website for details.

Teachers 4 Social Justice Annual Conference with Gloria Ladson-Billings

2011-09-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor at University of Wisconsin and author of The Dream Keepers and Education Research in the Public Interest: Social Justice, Action and Policy as well as Patrick Camangian, assistant professor at USF and co-director and teacher at East Oakland Step to College and Mandela High School will be the Keynote speakers at Teachers 4 Social Justice's annual conference.

The conference is FREE and will be held at Mission High School in SF on Sunday, October 9th. Online registration and conference details are available at the link below.

http://www.t4sj.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=39669&PID=551700

Free professional development for World Language Teachers in Napa

2011-08-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

World language teachers interested in TPRS, amazing teacher (and my buddy) Diane Grieman is hosting a coaching session at her house in Napa for free. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity to practice your TPRS skills with other effective teachers.

Contact me for more information at kafi.payne@ousd.k12.ca.us.

AAMA New Teacher Induction Workshop @ Madison Middle 8/9/11

2011-08-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

Click Here for the PowerPoint from the office of African-American Male Achievement (AAMA). Great presentation for New Teacher Induction Week!

http://thrivingstudents.org/5/aama-new-teacher-workshop-madison-middle-8911

Job Opportunity

2011-07-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is pleased to announce the opportunity to contract with three Educators in Residence to assist the Council in its work with states in their transformation from a highly qualified workforce to a highly effective workforce. A statement of work is attached.

These consultant positions will start work in latesummer and will be available for up to three years. The Educators in Residences will work in the region of the country where they live and serve the states in that area. There will be considerable travel with at least quarterly trips to Washington, DC. The compensation for this work is $80,000 per year. Travel costs will be covered by CCSSO.

Please share this search for consultants with your colleagues who might be interested in this type of role. The deadline for submitting resumes is August 5, 2011. Please send your materials to Janice Poda at janicep@ccsso.org. Questions may be directed to 202-336-7057 or 202-336-7058.

Humanizing Education

2011-06-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

What does that mean???

Folks attending an institute in El Cerrito will soon find out.

August 4-6 at Prospect Sierra School in El Cerrito is a training called 100% Engagement: Humanizing the Educational Process (with an optional advanced training August 1-3 held at the Buck Institute of Education)

According to the flier:

Engaging 100% of learners is possible; it's time to initiate a new framework for education by creating equitable and engaging classrooms that draw upon lived experiences and the skills required to achieve academically. This is the essence of what you will learn and experience at our institute.

For more information and application packet contact Juliet Schiller of Teacher Training and Program Development admin@e3ed.org or 415-578-2154.

5th & 6th Grade Science Survey for LHS

2011-06-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Saw this on Berkeley Parents Network . . .

The Science Learning Activation Lab at the Lawrence Hall of Science is looking for entering 5th and 6th grade students to take an online science survey. The science survey can be completed at home, and may take up to 1 hour to complete. To thank you for your time, families will receive a $10 Peet's Coffee card. To learn more, contact Yael at ygalinson@berkeley.edu or 510-689-1228.

Sounds fun.

School Supply Extravaganza

2011-06-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Piedmont's Beach Elementary School is hosting a School Supplies Extravaganza for Oakland Teachers

Beach Elementary is relocating for a seismic retrofit and teachers are cleaning out years of Art Supplies, Classroom Instructional Materials, Gently Used Texts, and many classroom treasures. This is a one time chance to come stock up on supplies for your classroom before they are given away to other education organizations.

When: This Monday June 6th 3:10 - 4:30 Room 21
(Kindergarten class supplies only)

Friday June 17th 1PM-4:30 in the Auditorium
Kinder - 5th grade supplies

Beach School
100 Lake (corner with Linda Ave. between Piedmont Ave and Grand Ave)
Piedmont, CA 94611
office 594-2666

The Oakland Museum Loves us!

2010-04-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 21, 2010 from 4-8 pm, the Oakland Museum of California will be celebrating educators and its newly transformed museum!

Come with friends and family for a memorable evening of art, history, and entertainment.

Explore the new galleries of California Art and History.

Dig deeper into California art and history with tours by museum staff, gallery talks and demonstrations as well as hands-on activities for adults and families.

Enjoy live music, a no-host bar, and complimentary refreshments.

Stop by the membership table to learn how you can receive unlimited free admission every time you visit the museum.

RSVP to 510-238-6942 or mcordero@museumca.org

For more information visit museumca.org

Mrs. Madden from South Carolina

2010-04-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

There are so many teachers doing very cool things. Check out Mrs. Madden from South Carolina. Her class looks like tons of fun! From her S.T.A.R. binders to her 2nd grade data analysis tools . . . you are definitely going to get some great ideas from this website.

Space Math--Real World Application for High School Math

2010-04-20T09:14:00.001-07:00

Math teachers are always thinking about real world applications to math. Check out NASA's website for Space Math at http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/. The goal of these problems is to teach students about astronomy and space science by using mathematics and real-world problems. The current batch is for January-April, 2010. As new NASA press releases are posted, a small number of additional math problems will appear. For email announcements about Space Math, join the E-Teachers Listserve.

Problem 328 caught my attention. It deals with domain and range and graphing. Students use satellite data to study a practical application of the product of two functions by graphing them individually, and their product. How cool is that?!?!

Earth Day Coloring Pages

2010-04-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Who wouldn't want to color the earth picking up garbage? Check out Colormegood.com for a few earth day themed coloring pages.

Future Football players and cheerleaders???

2010-04-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

ALAMEDA PIRATE
FREE CONDITIONING CLINIC!!!!!!

STARTING SATURDAY 4/17/10

12:00PM - 2:00PM

WOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL

420 GRAND ST. ALAMEDA , CA

(BEHIND SCHOOL )

THESE CLINICS ARE OPEN TO ALL CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

CLINICS WILL BE EVERY SAT. STARTING 4/17 AND ENDING 7/24

This is the tenth season of the Alameda Pirates. They started by cutting our registration fee's in half (which is always a nice surprise) so this season the registration fee for football and cheer is $100.00.

If your students need something to do for the summer, this is an option for their families.

Free Math Games

2010-04-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

EZSchool.com has tons of math games on their site as well as tons of other resources. It's a little cheesy but it does the trick. I liked the Lucky Integer Balls and the Measuring Angles game where you drag and drop the protractor to measure angles . . . okay. so I'm a nerd . . .

TeacherZone--Free math videos

2010-04-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon TeacherZone - a free math video site - with thousands of 3-5
minute math videos - perfect for sharing with kids and parents.

They seem to have videos for all math topics for K-12...
check it out at - http://teacher. tenmarks. com

Free Technology Guide for Teachers

2010-03-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

There are so many ways to use Google in education (how did I ever lesson plan before Google???). Obviously the most popular ones are search, docs, and maps but there are so many other applications available to us now: Google docs for collaborative writing, publishing an online quiz using Google docs, embedding books into blogs . . .

Free4Teachers.com offers this great 33 page guide about google for teachers. Enjoy!

Scholarships for California School Teachers

2010-03-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Center for Ecoliteracy is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships for California public school teachers to attend the Center's summer seminar, Schooling for Sustainability: Strategies That Make Teaching and Learning Come Alive.

The seminar will be held June 23-25, 2010 at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, California. It will offer ideas, resources, and inspiration to make sustainability education more engaging, effective, and memorable.

During this time of budget cutbacks for California public schools, we offer these scholarships as a gesture of our heartfelt respect for California educators who are doing so much to advance sustainability education, says Zenobia Barlow, executive director and cofounder of the Center for Ecoliteracy.

The seminar will build on the Center for Ecoliteracy's acclaimed book, Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability, and includes presentations by sustainability education leaders, exposure to inspiring projects, hands-on practice with techniques that work, and reflective conversations with seminar faculty and fellow educators.

Faculty include the Center for Ecoliteracys cofounder and board chair Fritjof Capra; cofounder and executive director Zenobia Barlow; and education program director Carolie Sly. It will also include Kirk Bergstrom, founder and executive director of WorldLink, which produced the upcoming PBS special, Nourish.

Available scholarships include:

* Full tuition scholarships for California educators who have demonstrated leadership in sustainability education or food systems change. Donated by Nourish California, a project of Worldlink, these scholarships include a travel and lodging stipend.
* Partial scholarships for educators from low- and middle-income communities in San Francisco, Oakland, Albany, and Napa. Made possible through the generous contribution of private donors, they cover $375 of the $425 tuition fee.

Preference will be given to educators who apply as part of a team.

Deadline: Friday, April 30, 2010.

apply!

Why have you come?

2010-02-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

Quote of the Day:

"If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

-- Aboriginal Activists Group, Queensland, 1970s. Often attributed to Lila Watson, who has said she was "not comfortable taking credit for something that had been born of a collective process" - the attribution here is the one she accepts.

Response to Intervention Workshop--March 19th in Sacramento

2010-02-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

I just got an email about this workshop. For those of you who may be interested in Respone to Intervention strategies/special education it sounds really interesting. Wish I had $300.

Call 309-662-5016
Response to Intervention “In the Trenches!”
Featuring Pat Quinn – “The RTI Guy!”

Sacramento, CA
March 19, 2010

If you want to see how RTI looks in real classrooms...this is the seminar for you!

A one-day seminar that shows how to implement RTI in real classrooms with real students! Designed by teachers for teachers and any other educational personnel involved in implementing RTI.

Guaranteed to answer these questions:
• Where do I find Interventions?
• Where do I find the time to do interventions?
• How do I handle the paperwork and recordkeeping?
• How do I do Progress Monitoring for all of these students?

This seminar is appropriate for all grade levels K-12 and will cover the use of RTI for both academic and behavioral purposes.

About the Presenter:
Pat Quinn is known nationally as “The RTI Guy”. He is the author of the nation’s most popular RTI newsletter with over 5,000 subscribers. Mr. Quinn’s latest book, Ultimate RTI: Everything a Teacher Needs to Know to Implement RTI, is filled with concrete strategies and techniques that can be implemented the next day. Mr. Quinn has taught at the elementary, middle and high school level.

Each year educators around the country improve their teaching, renew their passion, and lengthen their careers as they hear Pat Quinn speak about closing the achievement gap and meeting the needs of all students. Mr. Quinn is the author of twelve books on meeting the individual needs of students including Designing an Alternative Curriculum and the bestselling Changing Lives. He has taught undergraduate courses for Lakeland College and graduate courses at Alverno College . He is the former editor of the educational newsletter The Unconventional Teacher.

Special Bonus!
All attendees will receive seven special bonuses:
- Special Report#1: Quickstart Guide - How to Implement RTI FAST at your School
Stop talking and start implementing: Concrete steps every teacher can take NOW!
- Special Report #2: A Professional Development Plan for implementing RTI
Step-by-step plan for professional development at your school
- Special Report #3: Implementing RTI at a High School
Specific information for high school teachers
- Special Report #4: Implementing RTI at a Middle School
Specific information for middle school teachers
- Special Report #5: Pat Quinn's Simple Explanation of RTI
Making RTI Simple for Teachers, Not Scary
- Bonus Gift #6:Academic Intervention Handbook
Over 150 Interventions for the 16 most common academic student deficiencies!
- Bonus Gift #7: Behavior Intervention Handbook
Over 150 Behavior Interventions for the 15 most common student behaviors!

A note from Presenter Pat Quinn…
Greetings Fellow Educators…
Like many of you I quickly became frustrated with the lack of concrete strategies and techniques available for teachers who are trying to implement Response to Intervention in their classrooms. One weekend I read three books about RTI and I STILL didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I don’t think we need more theory – I think we need real answers to tough questions about time, resources and most importantly: where do I find good interventions?
This seminar is designed for real teachers in real classrooms. You know, the classroom with 35 kids of varying abilities. The classroom where you are expected to do it all – there is not help on the way. How does RTI look in that classroom? I will not only answer that question, but dozens of others I get every week from my newsletter readers. Questions about time management, handling paperwork, using RTI for eligibility purposes and many, many more.
Please join me for this day of sharing and learning!
-Pat Quinn
“The RTI Guy”

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Conference Schedule

Designed for Classroom Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Counselors,
Title I Staff Members, Instructional Assistants and Administrators serving Grades K-12

8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Breakfast

9:00 – 10:15 Session 1: An RTI Model that Works
Implementing Response to Intervention at your school does not have to be difficult and painful. Schools have many choices to make during the implementation process that can make the use of RTI easy, effective and realistic. This session describes an RTI process that teachers will love, parents will appreciate, and students will benefit from.
NOTE: This session will not spend time discussing the history of RTI, the theory behind RTI, the legislation that mentions RTI or the reasons you should use RTI. This seminar is a practical, hands-on seminar filled with concrete steps you can take the next day to help students.

10:30 – 12:00 Interventions Techniques that Work (even with BIG Class Sizes!)
So how are we supposed to implement these interventions and teach our class at the same time? Great question – and this session will answer it! It will also show you where to find great interventions.

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch (on your own)

1:00 – 2:00 Session 3: Using RTI to Change Behaviors and Motivate Students
Along with providing a series of academic interventions for students, Response to Intervention is also effective at changing student behaviors. This session is filled with the most effective interventions and simple strategies any teacher can use to improve student attitudes, effort and motivation.

2:00 – 2:45 Session 4: Ten Characteristics of Successful RTI Schools
Pat Quinn is the author of 12 books on designing learning environments that maximize the learning potential of all students. Learn from one of the nation’s leading experts on educational design how you can make small changes to your school to help students become successful. Like every session in this seminar, this presentation is filled with steps any teacher can take the very next day.

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The cost of this seminar is $199. Call (309) 662-5016 for group pricing.
Click here to see sample videos of Pat Quinn – www.PatQuinn.info

Free Fraction Worksheets

2010-02-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Again from Deb Russell's math blog . . . Tons of worksheets on fractions for student practice--whether they're in grade 1 or they're working to pass CAHSEE.

Teacher Grants up to $30,000

2010-02-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

Pacific Coast Teacher Innovation (PacTIN) is awarding grants of up to $30,000 each to 24 teams of K-12 teachers. The grants will allow teachers to design their own professional development and to translate that experience into a classroom or school project.

Apply online at http://teachergrants.ucdavis.edu/

Projects are unspecified as to grade level. Projects may be discipline/content specific or cross-disciplinary in nature; they may also focus on specific student populations or on practice and pedagogy. Projects that engage parents and families, business and industry, and the use of technology are encouraged, as are projects focused on providing youth with a voice in their own education.

Anxious female math teachers???

2010-02-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Deb Russell's Math blog on about.com . . . According to a research study at the Univesrity of Chicago, female elementary school teachers who are anxious about math may undermine girls' confidence and unwittingly encourage them to believe that boys are better at math than girls.

We need to work more diligently to hook our girls on math and help them understand that those positive attitudes go a long way to seeing success in math!

If you learned it, then you should have got a A on it . . .

2010-01-16T22:20:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist. This video was too cute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zGFqSji420

Math and Science Teachers! Need some classroom supplies???

2009-12-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

I just got an email from the intern for the West Region of DonorsChoose.org letting me know about a funding opportunity specifically for teachers in Oakland Unified School District for Math and Science related projects.

DonorsChoose.org is an online nonprofit that connects public school teachers who need supplies for their classroom with donors who want to help. They are partnering with Chevron to 50% fund classroom projects that are posted by Oakland teachers on their website.

Projects should explain how the requested resources will help students with Math or Science. Visit www.donorschoose.org/teacher to post a project!

See below for her contact information if you have additional questions:

________________________________

Isabel Guenette

West Region Intern, DonorsChoose.org

323 Geary Street, Suite 419 | San Francisco, CA 94102

415.391.1192 | westintern@donorschoose.org

For Spanish Teachers

2009-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

Keep up with Latin American politics (there is a lot of it!), art, music, print movie posters in Spanish (impress middle schoolers with the "nueva luna" poster from the twilight series . . . even a Sponge Bob crossword puzzle . . . It's all right here at Sr. Jones' blog Actualidades

Even if you don't teach Spanish, you will impress your friends and learn something from this cool blog.

Summer Classroom Management PD

2009-10-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

Check out pics from our Summer Classroom Management Workshops created by Margaret Dunlap, director of Oakland Unified's Classroom Management Program.

Math Tricks

2009-09-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

A kindergarten teacher sent this to me. I wish I knew these tricks in 5th grade! Check out some Math Tricks!
http://minionlinecourses.com/designslinks/math.htm

August 8, 2009: Back to School Event at Arroyo Viejo Park in Oakland

2009-08-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

Arroyo Viejo Park in Oakland is collaborating with the Oakland Mayor's Office, in hosting a Back to School event for the community. The community serviced by the Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center has a high truancy rate, especially amongst elementary school students. In an attempt to get students excited with anticipation about returning to school, this collaborative effort will take place this Saturday August 8, 2009. The day includes speakers, jumpers, face painting, art, food, and backpacks (600 - 800).

Arroyo Viejo Park
7701 Krause Avenue
Oakland, CA

Teacher Appreciation Day at Office Max

2009-08-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.officemax.com/home/custom.jsp?id=m3610272
Get a free reusable shopping bag and a 15% discount on everything that you can fit inside.

Low-Cost Dental Services

2009-06-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Although as teachers in Oakland Unified School District, we have great health care/benefits, many of our students and their families do not. Have you ever tried to pay attention when you have a toothache???

Diablo Valley College has low cost, high quality dental cleanings.
Call 925-685-1230 Ext. 2534

Clinic Services Include:
Teeth Cleanings for Adults--$25
Teeth Cleanings for Children--$10
Deep Root Cleanings--$25-$55*
X-rays--$5-$25
Whitening (for those who qualify)--$99
Sealants--$5 per tooth
Fluoride Treatments *FREE w/ cleaning

Call today to Schedule an Oral Exam

*Patients must sit for multiple 3-hour sessions in the clinic classroom

Do you have a high school student that needs a job?

2009-06-15T08:54:00.001-07:00

There is a summer employment opportunity for teens at MoAD but they need to commit year-round. Go to www.moadsf.org and click on jobs@moad at the bottom of the homepage. It's the teen position. Apps deadline extended to June 22 @5PM. Must be 16.

Classroom Management Tips for High School

2009-04-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

Students who understand what you are saying tend to behave better. Make yourself comprehensible. Slow down. A lot. It may seem easy to you but that's because you already know the material. If you convince your kids that you care that they understand, that it's their job to show when they do and don't understand, you'll win over a bunch of students.
Students behave better if they have roles: ask your students to help by slowing you down when you go to fast, answering frequent checks for meaning.
Students who believe you are sincerely interested in them will behave better. Talk to them like actual people, especially before/between classes. One, it's a nice thing to do. Two, you can build their lives into examples. One way many teachers accomplish this is by having kids fill out interest surveys at the beginning of the year: our job is then of course to read them and put that knowledge to use, relationship building.
If you put your students and their learning ahead of an imposed curriculum, they will tend to behave better. If you are obeying a curriculum, make sure you always tie it to the kids' perceived needs somehow. If you are slogging through a text-book chapter by chapter, please reconsider.
Keep your "rules" simple, and don't set up too many pre-established consequences. Every misbehavior is its own weird animal and deserves its own response. Your response doesn't have to be immediate, and the remedy shouldn't tax your resources or energy. Put the responsibility for the rectification of any misbehavior on the student. If a kid caused the trouble, the kid should fix it, on his/her own time. (Straight out of Fay and Funk's "Teaching With Love and Logic")

Need a Ride Home from Work?

2009-04-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Alameda County Guaranteed Ride Home Program

If you walk, bicycle, carpool, vanpool, or take the ferry, bus or train to work . . . this is a really great resource. It's great for parents that take public transportation. If an emergency comes up, we can get home quickly and efficiently.

You can use it if

You or an immediate family member suffers from an illness or severe crisis.
You must work unscheduled overtime (supervisor authorization is required).
Your ridesharing vehicle breaks down or the driver has to stay late or leave early.

Graphic Organizers and Power Point Lessons

2009-03-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this website which categorizes the graphic organizers by thinking skill.

This website provides PowerPoint templates that you can use in order to create your own review activities in the style of Jeopardy, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Hollywood Squares.

Home Visits

2009-03-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

On the flteach listserv for language teachers, the subject of home visits came off and I shared my experiences with visiting the homes of my students in West Oakland. Names have been changed.

I just knocked on doors--I started with the "hardest" kids first but I also made sure to visit as many students as possible that represented all of my students. I wanted to let my families know I appreciated them. I went to introduce myself: "Hi, I'm your child's Spanish teacher. I care about your child doing well in my class. Here is my number and email if you need to contact me." I did not go to be a social worker and pass judgment on living conditions. I had no expectations really about what I would see. I did not go to complain about how bad their child was--I would try to be as positive as possible (at least on the first visit). I just wanted to meet my families, introduce myself, and make sure they knew that I wanted the best for their child.

For most of the visits, parents/caregivers would make sure to show me how well taken care of their child was--here is where he can study, here is how much food he has to eat. Parents want teachers to know their child is not just anybody. I got that. Word spread fast "Ms. Payne came to my house!"

Every visit was not joyous. There was Anthony. His mom and I started out having a great conversation. She shared that there had been several deaths of close friends and family lately and that she felt he was taking it very hard. Then Anthony walked in and whatever the look on his face "what the hell is SHE doing here?" his mother started blowing up at him. "I'm tired of this! Get out! Get out before I call the police!" It was crazy. Outside, he yelled at me "it's your fault." I yelled back "wait a minute! don't blame me. we were having a great conversation until you walked in." He calmed down. He said she does that every night when he comes home. Then he just walks the streets until she calms down or gets drunk. The next day (and from then on) he was my biggest ally in class--all 6'4 almost 300 lbs (comes in handy if you're a new teacher).

Then there was Keisha who every day in class glared at me and would repeatedly sneer "you think you're so cute." I went to her house and as soon as I introduced myself her mother got ready to punch her in her face. The house was filthy beyond belief. I quickly let her know that I was just there to introduce myself. There were no dramatic changes. Her looks never became friendly but the open hostility went away. I would sometimes catch her looking at me with a puzzled expression like "who are you?" She dropped out of school not long after and moved from that house (I went back). I don't know what ever happened to her.

Then there was Isaiah. When I knocked on the door, he opened the door and slammed it shut again. I rang the doorbell again. His mom answered. I'll never forget her. She said "Isaiah, I will put my hands and feet on you if you ever do that again." She talked about how she had just gotten out of jail and wanted to do right by her kids. She showed me their computers and talked about how when her kids went to college, their uncle would pay for their education. Peeking from the bedroom, was his little sister. Fast forward a few years: his mom was in and out of jail repeatedly, he was in and out of jail repeatedly (he's now in for a very long time) and his sister was my student. Months went by before she told me who her brother was (they had different last names). She remembered that home visit. After graduating from continuation school, she took a trip to China (graduation present from uncle) and was enrolled in community college.

I truly believe that as teachers we have to humble ourselves enough to serve families and we can't serve families if we don't know them or want to know them without assumptions and biases. I am thankful for the information that I received from every one of those home visits.

Edusoft Training for Teachers: Learn How to Work with Data in Your Class

2009-03-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Target Audience: OUSD Teachers who want to learn how to access free OUSD resources to promote student learning.

Learn How to . . .

Access Edusoft to create reports based on benchmark exams.
Use online resources to identify student academic needs AND plan targeted intervention based on these needs.

Elementary Teachers: March 12 or March 18 4-5 PM at Oakland High School
Contact: Mical Caldwell for information at 510-879-8195 or mical.caldwell@ousd.k12.ca.us
Secondary Teachers: March 10 or March 16 4-5 PM at Skyline High School
Contact: Jonathon Stewart at 510-238-9156 or jonathonb.stewart@ousd.k12.ca..us

TESA Training--I've heard really good things . . .

2009-03-05T14:38:00.001-08:00

I've heard incredible things about this TESA training. I'll be there. Hope to see you there also.

New Teacher Support and Development presents:

Teacher Expectations/Student Achievement (TESA)

Grades K-12

Learn Equitable Teaching Strategies
Create a Positive Climate in your Classroom

Presented by: Jennifer Abrams

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sankofa Elementary
581 61st Street, Oakland, CA 94609
9:00-3:00 PM
Light Breakfast, Lunch on your own.

Participants will learn 15 interactions designed to encourage equitable interaction with all students. TESA interactions improve student academic performance, gender and diversity awareness, attendance, classroom climate, and reduces student discipline problems.

Presenter Jennifer Abrams is a professional developer for Palo Alto Unified School District and an international educational consultant for public and private schools, charter schools, universities, and non-profits. Jennifer now trains and coaches teachers and administrators on successful teaching practices, new teacher support, and effective collaboration skills.

Registration: Email Margaret Dunlap at Margaret.dunlap@ousd.k12.ca.us with your name, school site, and grade level. An email confirmation will be sent to you.

Questions? Call 879-8911.

Credits: Teachers can earn credit for advancing on the salary scale through OUSD professional growth/equivalency units, 15 hours = 1 unit.

OR

Teachers can earn units through UOP; teacher pays for the units based on how many classroom management hours teacher has attended.

More Resources (courtesy of Oakland Teaching Fellows)

2009-02-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

I just got the February newsletter from Oakland Teaching Fellows and they had a ton of resources listed (thanks Jessica!). See below:

Win a Student-Run Bookstore Grant from Schoolwide, Inc.
Schoolwide, Inc. will be donating up to 200 Student-Run Bookstores across the country qualified entries. Their package includes:
• Gift certificate for $50 in books
• Working cash register and paid stamp
• Eight book displays
• Sales signs and sign holders
• Children's work aprons
• Posters
• Thank you bags
• Instruction manual with reproducible materials

To apply, visit http://www.schoolwide.com

Geography knowledge website
National Geographic is on a campaign to improve the geography literacy of American students and their My Wonderful World website has online maps and games, an atlas, a global I.Q. test, a geography career guide, a newsletter, and links to global organizations like the Peace Corps.

Hot Math
Hot Math’s award-winning website has free services, including training for using graphic calculators, “hint-step” explanations of odd-numbered homework problems in more than 200 math textbooks used in middle and high schools, and ways for students to instant-message with each other while working through teacher-prepared problem explanations together. Note: there are charges for parts of this website but there is a ton of free stuff too.

Attention Science Teachers: Summer Institute on Environmental Education
This summer, Headlands Institute offers educators the unique opportunity to spend 5 days in the beautiful Marin Headlands learning and exploring new ways to make California Science Standards come alive. For more information email Jessica at jadler@oaklandteachingfellows.org for the opportunity flyer.

All About Adolescent Literacy
This website supports grade four through twelve literacy instruction with free instructional materials, articles, classroom strategies, book lists with guided discussion questions, and author interviews.

Money Management for Middle Schoolers
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education at the University of Missouri, St. Louis has developed Money Math: Lessons for Life, a teacher’s guide for helping middle-school students manage their money, stay out of debt, and think about saving for retirement. Quite timely in these economic times!

Attention High School Teachers: Climate science program offered at no cost to your school! Alliance for Climate Education offers high school students around the Bay Area fun, inspiring, and meaningful ways to engage in the fight against the global climate crisis. They present current climate science to students through brief, age-appropriate, and interactive presentations. The program imparts a deep understanding of climate change and explains the powerful tools young people have to help create a cleaner, cooler future for our country and the world. Email Jessica for more information.

Math teaching videos
This website has six fifteen-minute films from Annenberg Media of middle-school math teachers modeling effective classroom strategies, with lesson extensions and resources. This is a must-see for all secondary math teachers.

Resources for Math Teachers . . . Oakland/East Bay Math Circle

2009-02-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

Tina Garcia, math teacher in Oakland shared some great information for math teachers that I wanted to share . . .

Mathematical Sciences Research Institute sponsors Circle for Teachers: A Mathematical Problem Solving and Professional Development Program for Secondary Mathematics Teachers in the Bay Area. There is a summer workshop between June 28 and July 2, 2009 and follow up Math Circle meetings to "equip educators with an effective problem-solving approach to teaching mathematics . . . Participants will come away with a variety of resources, lesson modules, and a renewed sense of appreciation for the fascinating world of mathematics."

The Oakland/East Bay Math Circle meets on Thursdays from 4:15-5:30 at Laney College (Bldg G) in Oakland. Teachers can attend with their students (grades 6-12). These are weekly enrichment programs "centered on intriguing and challenging mathematical problems."

The Greatest Black History Month Ever . . .

2009-02-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is the greatest Black History Month ever!! If you know anything about me you know that I love Jet magazine. I read it every week and I read every page. I love the section on "This week in Black History" . . . I love the "love and happiness" section with pictures of newlyweds and the couple married for 50+ years . . . I love the "week's best photos." I even love the Jet beauty of the week. In what other publication can you find out where black entertainers will be on television that week? And now . . . drumroll please . . . Jet and its sister magazine Ebony are online! We can now read everything from the May 1968 Ebony after Martin Luther King's murder to the July 3, 1975 cover with little Janet Jackson. What an incredible resource for the classroom!

Johnson Publishing Company has partnered with Google to digitize its magazine archives.

Ebony

Jet

Black World/Negro Digest

Pipeline to Prison?

2009-02-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

"Many of the young men and women in the juvenile justice system never were in the pipeline to college. They were not derailed from the right track; they never got on it." --Children's Defense Fund

How can we firmly place our children in the pipeline to college and far away from the pipeline to prison?

Is Education a Right or a Privilege??

2009-02-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Interesting question . . . What do you think?

The Friedman Education Project of the ACLU-NC presents the 2009 Youth Rights Conference--

Is Education a Right or a Privilege? Exploring Educational Equity and Racial Justice

What: A FREE, fun-filled, information-packed conference by and for high school students and their teachers/mentors on issues related to educational equity and racial justice in schools

When: Thursday, March 19th, 2009. Check-in begins at 8:30am and the conference is slated to wrap up at 2:30pm

Where: San Francisco State University in San Francisco

Who: We expect great interest and have limited space this year so we are asking teachers to help us encourage the attendance of students of color, LGBTQQI students, low-income students, students with disabilities, and students who dont generally have access to this kind of opportunity.

How: To pre-register contact Perla Pasayes at ppasayes@aclunc.org or 415.621.2493 X333
For more information on the Friedman Education Project, see www.aclunc.org/youth

Mindfulness as an educator

2009-02-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

New Teacher Support and Development Presents:

MINDFULNESS

Tuesdays:
February 24, March 3, March 10, and March 24, 2009
4:15-6:30 PM
Light refreshments will be provided.

Park Day School
370 43rd Street
Oakland, CA 04609

Presenter: Megan Cowan

This 4 week workshop will provide teachers with the tools and knowledge to successfully introduce mindfulness into the classroom. Mindfulness teaches children to pay attention, to learn how to calm and settle themselves, and to be more self aware.

Specifically, mindfulness teaches students to:

Listen and focus their attention – stay present.
Be aware of their feelings.
Have better impulse control so they can choose how to react to a particular situation.
Bring mindfulness to their everyday activities.
Cultivate a sense of caring and kindness toward themselves and others.

Join fellow OUSD teachers to learn the practice of mindfulness and how to teach it to children in challenging situations. Presenters will provide information on the importance of embodying mindfulness, the science behind mindfulness and how to utilize mindfulness in the classroom. The workshop will include lecture, practice and interactive exercises.

To Register: Email margaret.dunlap@ousd.k12.ca.us with name and school site. A confirmation email will be sent.

Underestimating the Impact of Poverty

2009-01-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

A coach sent this to me and I thought this was interesting food for thought.

The red is Krashen and Yvonne Siu-Runyan’s response to the article about school reconstitution in Columbine.

I suggest reading the article first and then the response.

Subject: Underestimating the impact of poverty

Sent to the Daily Camera, Dec 16, 2008

Underestimating the Impact of Poverty

The Colorado Department of Education and Boulder Valley School
Officials think that re-organizing Columbine Elementary Schools is going solve the problem
of low test-scores. It won't.

A large proportion of students who attend Columbine Elementary come
from financially needy families-88.1% of the children are on free or
reduced price lunch.

There isn't a single convincing case in educational research of this
kind of reform producing significant effects when poverty is that high. We have
underestimated the impact of poverty: Children of poverty suffer from
malnutrition, stressful home situations, toxic environments, and have
far less access to books at home, in their communities and in school.
They don't need their teachers fired and re-hired. They need more and
better food, cleaner air and water, more encouragement and nurturing,
and more access to books through improved libraries.

Re-organizing the school is like re-organizing the deck chairs on the
Titantic: It neglects the major cause of the low test scores.

Yvonne Siu-Runyan and Stephen Krashen

Yvonne Siu-Runyan is the Vice-President of the National Council of
Teachers of English.

Columbine Elementary School teachers must reapply for jobs

Daily Camera, Boulder, CO
By Laura Snider

The faculty members at Columbine Elementary School in Boulder went to
a staff meeting this week to greet their new principal. They left not
sure if they still had jobs.

The Boulder Valley School District has decided on a virtual do-over
for Columbine — which has been consistently under-performing on
standardized tests — giving the school a new building, a new
curriculum, a new principal and, now, a new staff.

Teachers were told this week that they will have to reapply for their
jobs if they want to continue working at the school in the fall.

“We really are saying that we want Columbine to be a new school,”
said district spokesman Briggs Gamblin. “The challenges to academic
achievement at Columbine are well-known and are of great concern to
the existing faculty as well as everyone else in the district.”

The district was notified by the Colorado Department of Education
this year that it had to take “corrective action” against Columbine because the school
had failed to meet “adequate yearly progress” — a metric based
on the state-mandated standardized tests — for the third year in a row.

Corrective action, which meets requirements set by the federal No
Child Left Behind program, must include one of the following: creating
an entirely new curriculum, decreasing management authority at the
school level, appointing an outside expert to advise the school,
extending the school day, or replacing the staff who are relevant to
the school’s failure.

“We would not have been required to take this far-reaching of an
action, but this was the right action for this school,” Gamblin said. “We know some people
won’t agree with that, but it is not meant to be negative toward the
current staff in terms of their passion for the kids and their passion for the program.”

But it’s hard for some not to see it that way.

“This is a slap in the face to the dedicated, highly trained and
talented teachers who go the extra mile in a difficult environment,”
parent David Heath wrote in a letter to the Camera. “... They deal
day in and day out with immigrant children that can barely speak English.”

More than 50 percent of the students who are assigned Columbine as
their neighborhood school choose to open-enroll at a different school,
leaving a population of students that is not representative of the
neighborhood demographics. More than 80 percent of the students who
attend Columbine qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, and the majority speak Spanish as their
first language.

The teachers are well-trained, with 100 percent meeting the state’s
guidelines for “highly qualified.” Teachers at Columbine have an average of nine years of
teaching experience, and 23 of the 43 full- and part-time teachers at the school have
master’s or doctoral degrees, according to state data.

“Please explain to our son, who has thrived at Columbine in his
first two years there, why his teacher might not be there when he
returns to school in the fall,” Bryan and Kori Jew asked in an open
letter to the superintendent.

The visioning process for Columbine, which had to be restructured
after racially charged comments marred the process earlier this fall, is meant to engage the
entire community, according to district officials, including people who chose not to
put their children at Columbine.

At Boulder Valley schools, teachers who have taught for more than
three years have a sort of tenure, called non-probationary status. If
the 30 teachers who are tenured at Columbine now do not get re-hired,
the school district “owes them a job,” according to Superintendent
Chris King, and officials will find a place for those teachers
elsewhere.

King sees the re-application process as a chance to have teachers
recommit themselves to a new school and a new curriculum.

Lynn Widger, the current principal, announced her retirement last
week, and she is being replaced by Cindy Kaier, now Kohl Elementary
School’s principal in Broomfield.

“I’ve watched the school for a lot of years,” King said. “And
I don’t think the current model is serving kids. Doing nothing is
not an option, so we’re choosing to do the hard thing because we
think it’s right for the kids.”

2008-12-12

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/12/columbine-teachers-must-reapply/

2008-2009 Classroom Management Professional Development

2009-01-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

You can NEVER have too much classroom management professional development . . . which is why we are offering you an incredible menu of courses for the new year.

New Teacher Support and Development
Classroom Management Professional Development
2008-2009 Course Series
Building Positive Relationships with Students

Phone: 510-879-8911 Email: Margaret.Dunlap@ousd.k12.ca.us

Purpose for Classroom Management Professional Development: This series of classes is designed to help new teachers learn specific strategies and techniques to build relationships with students. Specifically, concentration will be placed upon increasing knowledge of the urban classroom setting, the diversity of student population in Oakland, and principles of classroom teaching and management. Through numerous activities, readings, discussions, and guest speakers, participants will learn how to create positive, supportive and respectful learning environments, and deal with a range of challenges in the K-12 classroom.

Goals:
• To gain an understanding of key concepts associated with school culture and classroom management, and the relationship of these concepts to students’ basic personal and psychological needs.

• To understand the importance of fostering interpersonal relationships in the classroom, and on the interaction between teacher and student as key factors influencing student achievement and behavior.

• To become familiar with research-supported practical strategies for improving classroom climate, organization and management.

• To gain knowledge with regard to creating a positive, nurturing classroom and school environment for students from all ability levels; socioeconomic classes; ethnic groups; and with varied personal, social, developmental and intellectual backgrounds.

Professional Growth/Equivalency Units:
Option 1: A teacher may earn OUSD Professional Growth Units for attending these courses. These units may be applied towards the OUSD salary through Human Resources. Paperwork will be available at all workshops.
Option 2: A teacher may earn Graduate Units from the University of the Pacific (UOP). The teacher attends the workshops, accrues the hours (15 hours = 1 unit) and is responsible for paying the cost of a semester unit. (1 unit costs $50).
For additional information please email pat.attri@ousd.k12.ca.us or call 510-879-8905.

Classroom Management Course List
Location: Sankofa Elementary School
581 61st Street, Oakland, CA 94606

Social Foundations
Grades 3-12 – Wednesdays, January 21, February 4, February 11, 2009, 4:00-6:00
Develop an understanding of the relationship between school and society. Issues discussed include: history of urban schools, relationship between wealth and test scores, tracking, social foundations of early childhood education, impact of immigration on California students, and political and cultural factors affecting second language acquisition.
Presenter: Dr. Kitty Epstein

Tribes TLC Middle School Overview
Grades 6-8 – Saturday, February 28, 2009, 9:00-3:00 PM
Using the new Tribes manual, “Developing Gifts in Middle School,” learn to create classroom norms and group collaboration strategies aligned with adolescent development that engage students in academics and promote resiliency.
Presenter: Jackie Shonerd

Positive Discipline
Grades K-12 – Date To Be Determined
Learn concrete strategies for building community in the classroom and gaining student cooperation based on creating mutually respectful relationships. Participants will practice how to set boundaries and expectations in a caring environment, and learn problem solving processes that involve students and colleagues in solutions.
Presenter: Kate Ortolano

Challenging Assumptions: Considering Children’s Behavior with Learning Differences in Mind
K-5 – February 2009
Explore how learning differences present in children and play out in classroom behaviors. Participate in a learning differences simulation to begin to understand the experience of children with learning differences. Examine ways to address learning differences and create a classroom community in which children with learning differences and their families feel supported.
Presenter: Ilya Pratt

Creating A Successful K-1 Learning Community: Systems and Materials that Work for Students and Teachers
K/1 only – March 2009
Learn how to develop a class community in K and 1st grade. Turn classroom space into an effective learning environment. Select and organize materials so that students can find them, use them, and clean them up. Learn how to initiate and keep good connections with parents.
Presenter: Harriet Cohen, Park Day School, Founder

Mindfulness
K-8 – Dates to be determined
Learn the practice of mindfulness and how to teach it to children in challenging situations. Presenters will provide information on the importance of embodying mindfulness, the science behind mindfulness and how to utilize mindfulness in the classroom. The workshop will include lecture, practice and interactive exercises.
Presenters: Megan Cowan and Laurie Grossman

Multicultural Education is for All Students
Grades K-6 –Dates to be determined
Help students develop an understanding and empathy for people different from themselves. Equip students with the ability and desire to positively interact with each other. Practice fun exercises and lessons to expand students’ knowledge of others and their worlds.
Presenter: Michelle McAfee

Teacher Resource Zone in Oakland

2009-01-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

Every cool teacher in the district knows about the East Bay Depot for Creative ReUse. I call it the "teacher store" because only teachers would find a box of old manila folders and think of it as a gold mine!

Now East Bay Depot has a new Teacher Resource Zone

Join monthly re-use art demonstrations
Work with staff for teachers, Mondays 3-5PM
Discover new ways to use salvaged materials
Explore curriculum & resources
Obtain activity handouts
See examples of easy projects
Educators enjoy these services for FREE

The East Bay Depot is located at 4695 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA. Visit them online at http://www.creativereuse.org

Observe Veteran Teachers in Your Pajamas!

2009-01-17T16:57:00.000-08:00

Here’s a great link. Can’t get out of your classroom enough to observe veteran teachers? Here’s where you can view Videos of exemplary teaching: http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/insideteaching/

What Teachers Make--Spoken Word

2009-01-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

Free Spanish Resource

2009-01-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

A FREE sixty-three page resource to answer all of those pesky questions about the Spanish alphabet, spelling, accent rules and use of capitalization and punctuation. It is a free pdf download from the www.rae.es website. It would be an invaluable reference to students of Spanish linguistics as well. The text is filled with interesting "observaciones históricas" which give interesting tidbits on why things are the way they are in modern Spanish.

It is found at:
http://www.rae.es/rae/gestores/gespub000018.nsf/voTodosporId/651DD2E435FC3039C12571F8003AAE85?OpenDocument

Click on the left hand side "Ortografía de la lengua española" and the pdf file will download.

If the lengthy click above doesn't work, try:

http://www.rae.es/RAE/Noticias.nsf/Home?ReadForm

Click on the left on "Consultas linguísticas"

Then, you will have the page on which appears the .pdf file on the left hand side.

How to watch youtube (when it's blocked)

2009-01-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

I'm not saying that you should try to circumvent the security blocks that prevent students (and teachers) from going to sites such as youtube, myspace, facebook or any other site deemed inappropriate by OUSD . . . I'm just saying that there are mamy great resources on youtube that are not only appropriate for the classroom but assets to aid in engaging students . . .

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1410038141.html?nid=3714

Essential Guide Time-Saving Guide for Business People

2008-12-18T05:01:00.000-08:00

What teacher in Oakland isn't busy beyond belief? Check out this time-saving guide for tips on how to manage your time.

http://zenhabits.net/2008/12/the-essential-time-saving-guide-for-busy-people/

Teaching Secrets: Take Charge of Your Classroom

2008-12-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

In the August issue of Teacher Magazine, I read an article with advice for new teachers on taking charge of your classroom. I thought it was an interesting article but I wanted to share my own insight (for whatever it's worth).

The first piece of advice is what happens on the first day will happen on the last day. I would like to humbly add that what happens on the first day DOES NOT have to happen on the last day. If your classroom has already gone awry, it is not too late. Someone once told me that changing your classroom management system is like turning a boat around: if it’s a little problem, it’s like turning around a little boat—it takes some maneuvering but it can change pretty quickly. On the other hand, if students are throwing things at you and walking out of the class whenever they feel like it, it’s like trying to turn around a cruise ship—it is a very slow process. Don’t expect things to change overnight but know that with consistency and patience, things will change.
You are the king or queen of your room. This is especially important in urban schools. If you can’t maintain safety (physical as well as emotional) in your classroom, the students must set up their own vigilante control system to protect themselves and it will NOT be one that you like. This is where leadership skills come into play. Particularly for upper levels, students can be involved in setting the tone for the classroom—it’s their classroom too.

Dress the part; act the part; speak the part. The sooner they recognize that you are a competent professional, the faster you will be able to teach them. Even if the veteran teacher next door is wearing flip-flops and a bathrobe . . . in that respect, it will not lead you to success.
Act the part, Part II & Realize that you are a public figure. They will find you on Facebook, MySpace, YahooPersonals, wherever . . . if it’s google-able, they will find you so be careful. Do you really want your 7th graders (and their parents!) to know what you look like drunk? (the answer is no) Living in Oakland as well as teaching in Oakland, I basically have to live like paparazzi (my students) are around ever corner. Thong showing in pilates class? Don’t be surprised if the video is on youtube by Monday morning.

Let go of your need to be liked. If Oakland students tell you that you are “doing too much” take it as a compliment. If they tell their friends that you are “hella cool,” you might be getting a pink slip at the end of the year. Like the article says, the best compliment is “she’s tough, but she’s fair.”

To see the article, visit: http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2008/08/20/44tln_tillery.h19.html?tmp=1907921975

Are We Born Racists?

2008-12-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

The reality of teaching in Oakland is that race, racism, prejudice, and historical inequities must be put on the table, must be discussed, must be thought about. Selia Melero, who works in our office and has done an incredible amount of work on both equity as well as supporting English Language Learners forwarded to me these great articles about race from researching coming from UC Berkeley. What do you think?
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/

Lesson Planning Resource . . . templates and more

2008-12-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

Good teaching has a lot to do with good planning and good planning comes from taking time to do your lesson plans. My good friend and mentor Afriye Quamina shared this website for lesson planning that I think is great: http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/curriculum%20mapping/index.htm
He told me, “I can remember using this method 10,000 years ago and it works. Now the technology has really been upgraded.” . . . . Let me know what you think!

Free and Almost Free Resources

2008-12-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you to new teacher Catherine Kuhn (and Gautam Jagannath) for putting together a fabulous list of free and almost free resources around the bay area.

East Bay Center for Creative Reuse: Paper, Ink, Stamps, cheap prizes, fabric, large paper, stickers, paint, Any and all art and craft supplies. 10% teacher discount
4695 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
510.547.6470
open 11-6 EVERYDAY

Urban Ore: Salvage place with building supplies, tables, desks, lamps, tools, mirrors,
900 Murray St (San Pablo and Ashby)
Berkeley, CA 94710
Mon-Sat 8:30am- 7:00pm,
Sun 10:00am- 7:00pm

Children's Book Project: Free children's books! Up to 25 per person per day.
530 Lake Park Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
(510) 238-2301 Ext. 1
Tuesday and Thursday 3-6 PM
Bring your own bag

Oakland or Berkeley freecycle: Will flood your inbox with emails but useful stuff is posted constantly (classroom plants, office supplies, other random stuff (like mini microscopes!). I got 100 binders from the Berkeley Alumni Association through freecycle. You can also post Wanted ads with mixed luck.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Berkeley_CA_Freecycle/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oaklandfreecycle/

Craigslist Free Stuff: Another site you have to cruise for gems, but you can hit the occasional jackpot.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/zip/

Tool Lending Library: Works with an Oakland public library card. 2700 tools for loan along with instructional materials + classes. Very cool -great place to get tools to build your giant classroom tree or any other zany idea you might have. Close to East Bay Center for Creative Reuse.

Temescal Tool Lending Library
http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/temtll.htm#programs
5205 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA 94609
Monday: 12:30-8
Tuesday: 10-5:30
Friday 12-5:30
Saturday: 10-5:30

other random stuff (like mini microscopes!). I got 100 binders from the Berkeley Alumni Association through freecycle. You can also post Wanted ads with mixed luck.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Berkeley_CA_Freecycle/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oaklandfreecycle/

Craigslist Free Stuff: Another site you have to cruise for gems, but you can hit the occasional jackpot.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/zip/

Tool Lending Library: Works with an Oakland public library card. 2700 tools for loan along with instructional materials + classes. Very cool -great place to get tools to build your giant classroom tree or any other zany idea you might have. Close to East Bay Center for Creative Reuse.

Temescal Tool Lending Library
http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/temtll.htm#programs
5205 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA 94609
Monday: 12:30-8
Tuesday: 10-5:30
Friday 12-5:30
Saturady: 10-5:30

Large reams of newsprint can sometimes be obtained from newspapers, who sometimes have the ends of rolls laying around.
http://freebies.about.com/od/teacherfreebies/Teacher_Freebies.htm
http://www.freakyfreddies.com/teacher.htm

Chain Discounts
Apple offers great teacher discounts on Mac products.
Rumor has it: Target, Verizon, Office Max, climbing gym on Ashby and San Pablo, and many other places offer Teacher Discounts

Free Fieldtrips
Save the Bay sponsors paddling field trips for low-income students; kids get to explore local rivers and learn about habitats, ecology, etc.
People's Grocery sometimes allows small groups of older kids to work on their farm at Sunol (nutrition, biology, careers, foodwebs, business); they have a great (paid!) internship program for West Oakland youth called Harvesting for Justice

Free Professional Development
Teach for Social Justice: Free conference in SF in October focused on community building, resource sharing, leadership, and effecting meaningful change.
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2008
Time: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Location: San Francisco, CA

If you haven’t visited Annenberg Media, you’re missing out. Check out http://learner.org/ for on-line professional development.

Apply for grants for your classroom! http://www.donorschoose.org/

Make sure to let your students know that they are ALL entitled to a free computer and a printer if the do not already have one. The program in Oakland that sponsors this is OTX-West, affiliated with the Marcus Foster Institute. Students must attend a single class, but it's well worth it and they'll get a fairly decent desktop computer.

http://www.otxwest.org/thcp.html

CSET fee reimbursement(s) through New Teacher Support!

http://ntsd.ousd.k12.ca.us/HQTcompl.html

Finally, I wanted to remind you that OUSD has a Google Calendar entitled "Oakland Unified School District Calendar 2008-2009." If you use Google Calendar then this is a real boon, since you don't have to add the events in yourself.

www.teachertube.com -- great resource!

2008-12-15T21:08:00.001-08:00

Okay. I’m a dorky teacher. I know this. I’m comfortable with this. I make up rap songs to conjugate verbs. I dance to corny songs like “no tengo dinero” and “vamos a la playa.” I make up silly mnemonic devices like “llora cry baby”

When I subbed for math, I told the students that “a cute” angle was a tiny one smaller than 90 degrees and the obtuse angle was the obese one.

Anyway, I found a website that feeds into my corny teacher-dom. It’s very cool! If you’re a Spanish teacher, check out “conjugationsback” (no space in between), “cry me a verb” and “reflex your verby” and my favorite “one semester of spanish – love song”

Math teachers: check out “Mrs. Burk Perimeter Rap”, “9 Multiplication Tables HipHop Music video”; “Mr Duey-Fractions Official Video”

There are serious videos too . . . it is such a great resource. I wanted to share . . .

Go to www.teachertube.com

I’m going to add some videos so keep posted.

Teacher Resources

2008-12-15T21:04:00.001-08:00

Intern Coach (who was an intern teacher) graciously passed on some great resources that I wanted to share:

1) USF TEAMS, Americorps program, gives roughly $10,000 over two years. Apply in the Spring/Summer to enter in the Fall.
2) APLE Scholarship: teach in an Urban community, in low performing, in special education, etc, maximum amount $19,000
3) Homebuying, great loans for teachers: 510-238-7486 (First time home buyer's program); Upcoming meetings: 1/21 & 1/22, last day to register for this one 1/15; next meeting afterwards: 2/18 & 2/19. Must attend both Wed/Thurs to get a certificate.

Take Advantage!

Lessons from my friend Pat

2008-12-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

My friend Pat sent this to me and I thought it made sense so I want to share . . .

I work now in a Catholic prep school and we got some in-service at the diocesan level (believe me, this is all new to me). And they had some handouts that I liked. Here's one thing I'll share with everybody.
(I teach Latin)
The questions are deceptively simple but I realized that it was constantly asking myself these sort of questions that pushed me to do what the circular dynamic below asks of us.
1. What are you teaching?
2. Why are you teaching it?
3. How are you teaching it?
4. Why are you teaching it that way?
5. How do you know the students are getting it?
6. What did you learn in the process of teaching it?

In a circle, each segment leading to the other, are:
Define philosophy, underlying curriculum;
Create learning climate.
Delineate intended learning outcomes.
Design instruction.
Deliver instruction.
Assess intended outcomes.
Improve instructional design.

In the middle is, "Integrate faith and values". Even for a totally secular person like myself, there are faith and values in whatever I do and it pays to examine those closely, too.

Anyone on all the lists I've sent this to who would like to discuss these in detail is welcome to reply directly to me or, better, to my blog, where I will enter this immediately.
Pat Barrett pbarrett@cox.net
http://ideas.lang-learn.us/barrett.php