BUFFALO TEACHERS: Since last spring, district recruiting and training efforts have reduced the number of uncertified teachers. Now, fewer than 150 of the New York system’s 4,000 teachers lack proper certification -- down from more than 220 a year ago. The teachers all hold temporary, non-tenure track positions. A state deadline requires that all teachers become certified by next year. The district is working with individual teachers and plans to offer new teachers up to $3,000 for three years to pursue their degrees.
(The Buffalo News, 10/14)

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20021014/1049365.asp

AFTER-SCHOOL: Homework clubs for at-risk high school students is one of the many offerings under a Philadelphia school district plan to close achievement gaps. Students performing below grade level in grades 3-8 will have to attend after-school programs. And for students who fail to show for the mandatory after-school sessions, there’s always summer school, said schools chief Paul Vallas.
(The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/11)

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/2002/10/11/news/local/4257704.htm

STATES

ALL IN THE NUMBERS: California state leaders announced that 84 percent of the state’s first-year teachers were still on the job after four years, compared to national figures that say 67 percent of first-year teachers remain in the classroom after four years. State leaders credited increased teacher salaries and increased teacher training and support, particularly through the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program. Wayne Johnson, president of the California Teachers Association, and others expressed concern that the study’s results did not include teachers with emergency credentials. State officials said that future studies will be more inclusive and the current data will be disaggregated to show precisely which schools and districts teachers are leaving and what subjects they taught.

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/

TEACHERS’ CHALLENGE: Schools are recruiting former fighter pilots, business people, and computer programmers to ease critical teacher shortages. But these career switchers are learning hard lessons about the demands of the teaching profession. Night and weekend activities, lesson planning, grading papers, and disciplining students are among the reality checks they get when they enter a classroom. Some key researchers are saying the recruitment programs are the wrong response to the teacher shortage. They suggest ways school systems can focus on retaining current candidates from teacher-preparation programs, for example, give such teachers better salaries, more support, help with discipline, and more say in decisions that affect their work.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/education/bal-te.md.changers13oct13,0,5645555.story?coll=bal%2Deducation%2Dk12

THE NATION

COPYRIGHTS: Senate lawmakers voted to give educators teaching distance education courses the same protections as other educators who use copyrighted materials in the classroom. The legislation, S. 487, would protect distance education teachers against copyright infringement claims for using copyrighted materials through digital media. A similar bill is awaiting a House vote.

http://www.nea.org/lac/overview/copyright.html

FAMILY READING: The National Urban League plans to take the message of literacy to families in Cleveland, Houston, Miami, and Washington, D.C. The organization will use a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Education Department to create Reading Information Centers. The centers will advise parents on how to help their children meet state and local standards on reading and language arts.

http://www.gwul.org/

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES

SHOW ME THE BOOKS: Teachers are faced with a shortage of books, making assigning homework no easy task, says a joint study by the National Education Association (NEA) and the Association of American Publishers, Inc. (AAP). One out of six elementary and secondary school teachers who use textbooks in their classes say they do not have enough books for every child in the class. Nearly one in three teachers report they do not have enough textbooks for all students to take one home; one in three teachers report that the oldest textbook they use is 10 years or older. Many of them reported the likelihood of having to do more work to update the textbook, having students lose interest in class or be exposed to incorrect information.

http://www.publishers.org/press/releases.cfm?PressReleaseArticleID=101

WEEKLY FEATURE

ARTHUR’S CHALLENGE: Television and literary character ARTHUR and his friends are inviting the nation’s students to read, read, and read. Teachers and parents are encouraged to support children as their classrooms take on the commitment to read 100 books between October 14 and January 3.

Classroom projects start with an entry form, available on the Public Broadcasting System’s website. Teachers can also get tips for running the challenge. They include throwing a kick-off party, choosing a weekly book theme, and celebrating milestones such as 25 books read. Once a class has reached the 100-book goal, students get an achievement certificate and are eligible for prize drawings featuring ARTHUR.

Partners on the 100 Book Challenge with PBS include the National Education Association, Reading Is Fundamental, and the American Association of School Librarians.

www.pbskids.org/arthur/grownups/events/hundred_books.html

-- Barbara Pape, Editor

***FACT OF THE WEEK***

Alaska: Teachers mastering standards
The number of Alaska teachers being honored with certification from the prestigious National Board of Professional Teaching Standards has more than doubled since 1999. NBPTS, State-by-State Listing, November 2001.

http://www.nea.org/goodnews/ak01.html

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