By Hayes Mizell
Guest Blogger

For educators, "back-to-school" means slipping into familiar routines. There will be new students, new colleagues, and perhaps a new principal, but most teachers and administrators yearn for as little change as possible from the previous school year. Change, after all, requires new accommodation, new learning, or new practice, each of which increases possibilities for discomfort, mistakes, or embarrassment. There is security in the familiar, even if it is the handmaiden of the status quo.

Educators also return to school with unspoken hope.

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• PARCA unveils new school data tool;
• School Board: Jobs bill;
• Obama stands firm on education agenda;
• Torchbearers prove demographics aren't destiny;
• RESEARCH: Recovering economy needs more people with post-high school education;
• BLOG: 9 things every AP science teacher should know;
• BLOG: Rigor for leaders;
• A+ News.

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By Jim Williams
Guest Blogger

On Aug. 2, the Alabama Department of Education released information showing the Alabama public schools and school systems that made, and didn’t make, “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) in 2010. These lists receive a lot of attention every year, in part because measuring AYP is required by federal law, and consistent failure brings penalties for schools with large amounts of federal funding.

However, AYP calculations are complicated, and sometimes they mask rather than expose performance differences. Read More...

By Ryan Reardon

There really is no end to the conversations we can have about effectively teaching Advanced Placement (AP) Science classes. This list is not intended to be the end of the dialogue. Quite the contrary, I am getting my thoughts on paper so we have a shared understanding of what effective science education looks like. These are my ideas, most of which were stolen from teachers I admire and learned from. I would love to see this list expand. Perhaps by August 2011, we will have a collaborative page of 100 things AP Science teachers should know ...
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Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way 

by Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn
(Eye on Education, 2010)

Reviewed by Renee Moore, NBCT
Guest Blogger

“Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way” is a follow-up to Barbara Blackburn’s 2008 book, “Rigor is Not a Four-Letter Word” (see Karen Molter’s review here), and the books should be studied together. Both authors are former teachers (Williamson is also a former principal) whose educational careers extend from classroom teachers to respected university researchers.

While Blackburn’s first book was aimed at teachers, this book shows school leaders how to navigate an entire school toward a more rigorous culture and ...
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Education News in Alabama -- Aug. 4, 2010

• 75% of Alabama schools make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
• RESEARCH FINDING: Benefits of effective teaching last into adulthood
• New A+ website
• BLOG: Summer sources

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By John Norton

TEACHING THE iGENERATION

"Digitally Speaking", a great PD-oriented wiki by sixth-grade teacher Bill Ferriter, is regularly nominated for national awards. Bill, who blogs as “The Tempered Radical,” has a brand-new book out from Solution Tree titled “Teaching the iGeneration: 5 Easy Ways to Introduce Essential Skills With Web 2.0 Tools,” and knows his stuff.  Read More...

By John Norton

I think the English Companion NING (ECN) is among the best virtual teacher communities in the world. And about 18,000 teacher members agree with me! ECN was launched by English teacher-author Jim Burke only 18 months ago with a few hundred members. A year later, the site (built on the commercial NING platform) was a mass phenomenon and winner of the 2009 Edublog Award for best educational use of a social networking site.
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Education News in Alabama - July 13, 2010

• Alabama launches mentoring for first-time principals;
• From our blog: Summer sources;
• Survey: Tell us what you think;
• Common core more rigorous;
• State not using data strategically;
• From our blog: Socratic 21st Century teaching

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By Wes George

Socrates was the first 21st century teacher.

Now before you tell me to go drink some hemlock for making such an absurd claim, allow me to explain myself. Through thoughtful questioning, Socrates challenged his students to think critically and to examine subjects from all perspectives. This is precisely what today’s students need given the demands of the modern workforce. They need to know how to think.
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By John Norton

THE NSDL SCIENCE PORTAL

The National Science Digital Library portals for math and science originate at the Ohio State University, where a sprightly team of educators stays busy putting together intriguing in-depth resources for teachers in grades 4-9 (and beyond). The science collection has some great themes, including a concise guide to helping students develop science vocabulary ...
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By John Norton

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)

The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) website has long been a terrific repository of teacher resources and tools on many topics, and none more so than history and social studies. Recently FREE has added a Twitter feed with regular tweets highlighting new content ...
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By John Norton

Editor's note: When he’s not writing and editing for education non-profits, our consultant John Norton likes to work on his favorite personal project: spotting and sharing web-based teacher resources through vehicles like his MiddleWeb site and biweekly newsletter. As a summer treat, John has agreed to compile 5 blog posts highlighting some of what he thinks are the best resources... Read More...

By Cathy Gassenheimer

I attended a wonderful and eclectic wedding this weekend. The invitation and the ceremony were nontraditional, tailored by the bride and groom to make their day special. This morning I was reflecting on the wedding and showing some colleagues the invitation and program. As I did so, I began to see some parallels to the teaching profession. Read More...

Education News in Alabama for June 14, 2010

• RESEARCH FINDING: SREB hails work of Ala. Governor's Congress on School Leadership;
• State will bill BP for oil-spill related revenue losses;
• BLOG: Share your views;
• BLOG: Investing in teaching effectiveness to raise student achievement;
• A+ College Ready launches partnership with Impact Alabama.

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