Boca Raton High Teacher Receives Fulbright Award

Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228
June 18, 2009

Hakima Mazouz of Boca Raton Community High School has been awarded a Fulbright Teacher Exchange grant to teach in France, the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently.

Ms. Mazouz is one of approximately 60 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2009-2010 academic year through the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program.

The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has provided approximately 294,000 people – 111,000 Americans who have studied, taught or researched abroad and 183,000 students, scholars and teachers from other countries who have engaged in similar activities in the United States – with the opportunity to observe each others' political, economic, educational and cultural institutions, to exchange ideas and to embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world's inhabitants. The Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Among the thousands of prominent Fulbright alumni are: Muhammad Yunus, Managing Director and Founder, Grameen Bank, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006; Javier Solana, Foreign Policy Chief, European Union; Ruth Simmons, President, Brown University; Craig Barrett, Chairman of the Board, Intel Corporation; Shamshad Akhtar, the first woman to hold the position of Governor, State Bank of Pakistan; Alejandro Jara, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization; Raoul Cantero, Justice, Florida Supreme Court; Renee Fleming, soprano; Gish Jen, Writer; Daniel Libeskind, Architect; Aneesh Raman, CNN Middle East Correspondent; and Sibusiso Sibisi, President and CEO, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa..

Fulbright recipients are among over 40,000 participants annually in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. For more than sixty years, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has supported programs that seek to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and people of other countries. The Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program is administered by the Academy for Educational Development.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit the website at http://fulbrieht.state.gov or contact James A. Lawrence, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, telephone 202-453-8531 or e-mail fulbriuht@state.gov.

For more information about Ms. Mazouz please contact Boca Raton Community High School Principal Geoff McKee at 561-338-1400

Palm Beach County School District Updates

Northboro Elementary will remain at their temporary campus (D.D. Eisenhower) for one more year until their new school is complete.



Village Academy has added another grade level--they are now K-11.



Hope-Centennial Elementary (opening Aug. 2009) brings our total number of schools to 186.



The 2009-10 Student & Family Handbook (English, Spanish, & Creole) has been updated on the Public Affairs Web page (left menu-- "New to the District" and "Education Resources").



These updates and others that may follow will, of course, be posted in their normal locations/directories on the Public Affairs website, www.palmbeachschools.org

Sunshine Medallion Awards

School District Wins Three Sunshine Medallion Awards

Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228
June 16, 2009

The Sunshine State School Public Relations Association (SUNSPRA) recently announced this year's Sunshine Medallion Award Winners. The awards are given for excellence in communications and stake holder relationships. Three School District entries received winning honors and will be recognized by the Board at the July 15, 2009 School Board meeting.

Hagen Road Elementary, Multicultural Diversity category - "Murals" - The murals created at Hagen Road Elementary make a contribution to the mental, emotional single school culture, a positive school climate, cultural diversity and social growth of students. It stimulates thought and acts as a medium for developing creative and critical thinking and expression.

Public Affairs Departments, Other Programs/Projects category - "Engaging the Community with Art History" - The Personal Treasures of Bernard & Shirley Kinsey: In The Hands of African American Collectors, was on display at the Norton Museum of Art. The collection of more than 90 rare sculptures, paintings, books, documents, manuscripts and vintage photographs tells the story of African-Americans in the Americas. The School District partnered with the Norton Museum of Art and the Kinsey family and staged three events in conjunction with the exhibit to further the School District's education programs, including African-American studies.

Supplemental Educational Services Department, Promotional Video or Radio category - "Guidance Counselors in Palm Beach County" - With the help of six school counselors, the video captures how they and their colleagues use their hearts, minds, and spirits to touch children's lives and guide them toward a successful future.

Students designed Posters Using theme “Real People, Real Needs”

Palm Beach County Recognizes Refugees’ Plight - Students designed Posters Using theme “Real People, Real Needs”
Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228
June 16, 2009

Strength. Determination. Perseverance.

Those qualities will be celebrated on Saturday, June 20, in Palm Beach County and throughout the world, as the Florida Department of Children and Families’ Office of Refugee Services joins in recognition of World Refugee Day.

DCF’s Office of Refugee Services helps refugees gain economic self-sufficiency and social adjustment within the shortest time following their arrival into the United States. For the first time, Palm Beach County will join Floridians and others around the world in the annual World Refugee Day celebration, recognizing the plight of more than 30 million refugees who have fled their home country or have been internally displaced because of fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.

The World Refugee Day Work Group invites everyone to Forest Hill High School’s cafeteria on Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a celebration that will include a Girl Scout flag ceremony, local proclamations, children performing cultural dances, musicians of varied heritage sharing their traditions and keynote speaker, Boynton Beach City Commissioner and former refugee Jose Rodriguez. A Venezuelan refugee also will display his paintings, and local students who competed in the UNHCR World Refugee Day Poster Contest will be recognized. The students – elementary, middle and high school – designed posters on the theme, “Real People, Real Needs.” The school is located at 6901 Parker Ave., West Palm Beach.

Throughout the month of June, the Palm Beach County Library System will display books about refugees, post a bibliography of such stories on its Web site, and host relevant storytelling and other activities for children and adults. The West Palm Beach Public Library also will host storytelling focused on refugees, and the Barnes & Noble book store at CityPlace is showcasing books about refugees.

Florida’s Refugee Services Program partners with several agencies and organizations to provide adult education, case management, child care, youth and family services, job skills training, employment, health services, legal services, interpretation and integration assistance. The Community Liaison (Miriam Bracero-Rosario in Palm Beach County, (561- 837-5022) collaborates with community-based organizations, the school district, the community college, libraries, adult literacy programs, government agencies, law enforcement and others addressing the needs of refugees.

For more information, please call Lesline Alexander-Gregory, Project Transition-Adult & Community Education, at (561) 687-6370.

No Longer Letting Scores Separate Pupils

STAMFORD, Conn. — Sixth graders at Cloonan Middle School here are assigned numbers based on their previous year’s standardized test scores — zeros indicate the highest performers, ones the middle, twos the lowest — that determine their academic classes for the next three years.

Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Aidan Bracken, left, and Evenson Andre in class.
But this longstanding system for tracking children by academic ability for more effective teaching evolved into an uncomfortable caste system in which students were largely segregated by race and socioeconomic background, both inside and outside classrooms. Black and Hispanic students, for example, make up 46 percent of this year’s sixth grade, but are 78 percent of the twos and 7 percent of the zeros.

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/education/15stamford.html?_r=1

Allamanda Elementary Student Wins Writing Competition

Allamanda Elementary Student Wins Writing Competition

Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228
June 9, 2009

Allamanda Elementary School’s Lindsay Lonano, 4th grade, won first place in WLRN Radio Station’s “Write Under the Sun” elementary school writing competition. Allamanda runners-up include 4th grade students, Alex Woodward and Connor Voorhees.

Lindsay, in Ms. Connie Howe’s class, wrote the winning entry, entitled “The Swamp.”
Alex, in Ms. Deborah Long’s fourth grade class, wrote a piece called, “The Vicious, Ferocious, Terrifying Killer Monster in Palm Beach County.”
Connor, from Mrs. Nicole Wilson’s class, wrote an essay called “South Florida.”
Lindsay will record her winning entry, to be broadcast on WLRN. She will also participate in events WLRN is having with local authors, poets and literary figures in South Florida. All three entries, along with student biographies, will be posted on WLRN’s “Under the Sun” Web page. The students are also invited to read their essays at WLRN’s “Write Under the Sun” live event June 21 at the Hollywood, Florida, library.

For more information, please contact Marilu Garcia, Principal, at (561) 803-7200.

Artist’s Work To Hang In The Capitol For One Year

Dreyfoos Students Win Congressional Arts Competition - Artist’s Work To Hang In The Capitol For One Year

Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228
June 10, 2009

Dreyfoos School of the Arts visual art students Vinh Pham, a graduating senior from Royal Palm Beach, and Jessica Kleinman, a Dreyfoos junior from Boca Raton, were recently announced as the first place winner and runner up winner, respectively, of the Congressional Arts Competition. The other runner up winner was Danielle Zfat of Donna Klein Jewish Academy.

Congressman Ron Klein (D-FL) made the announcement at a reception May 29 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. As the first place winner, Pham and his parents were presented with three roundtrip tickets to Washington, D.C., courtesy of Southwest Airlines, where they will join Congressman Klein on June 24 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception honoring the young artists. He also received a year pass to the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

The 28th Annual Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery, provides Members of Congress with the unique opportunity to showcase the talents of their creative, dynamic high school constituents. Since the competition’s inception in 1982, thousands of students have participated. This year the theme was left up to the artist’s imagination.

Pham’s winning piece, representing the 22nd Florida Congressional District, will be showcased at the Capitol in Washington, DC, along with the pieces created by the winning artists from Congressional Districts across the country.

For more information about the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, call the School of the Arts Foundation at 561-805-6298 or visit www.soafi.org.

Media Contact: Margie Yansura, Wordsmith Communications, 561-313-5028; mywordsmith@bellsouth.net

SmartBrief: State leaders agree to draft common curriculum standards

SmartBrief: State leaders agree to draft common curriculum standards
source: ASCD Smart Brief


View wireless version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/pZeQzCrayDfCmQCiceivCicNRhyj

June 1, 2009 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise

News for the Education Profession
Eye on Curriculum

* State leaders agree to draft common curriculum standards
A single set of benchmarks could soon shape what students in 46 states and the District of Columbia learn, under an agreement between the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. "This is the beginning of a new day for education in our country," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas are the only states not on board. The Washington Post (6/1) , Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (6/1) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* Portland schools' focus on freshmen helps some Ore. students succeed
Three struggling ninth-graders in Portland, Ore., are enrolled in special programs for freshmen who are at risk of dropping out. Two are making progress toward earning enough credits to stay on track for graduation in four years. But one continues to do poorly in algebra, English and science. The Oregonian (Portland) (5/29) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* Other News

* Early college classes improve student achievement at N.C. school
The Charlotte Observer (N.C.) (5/29)

Professional Leadership


* N.C. students scramble to support teachers facing layoffs
High-school students in the Charlotte, N.C., area are fighting to save the jobs of several popular teachers who have received layoff notices. The students are sending letters to decision makers and rallying support on Facebook pages. "We all know that we have about a .001% chance of winning the fight, but these teachers taught us to take a stand in the face of difficulty," wrote senior Bethany Pico in an e-mail. The Charlotte Observer (N.C.) (5/31) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* Deputy state superintendent is picked to lead Utah schools
Utah Deputy State Superintendent Larry Shumway, 55, will replace retiring state Superintendent Patti Harrington, the state education board announced Friday after a unanimous vote. Shumway will begin July 1 with a 2009-10 departmental budget that was cut by 20.5% from this year's level. The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) (5/29) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* Other News

* Appointment of creationist as chairman of Texas state education board rejected
San Antonio Express-News (5/29)

New from The Sisters! The CAFE Book shows you how to implement a system for remembering and selecting reading strategies, including a notebook-based approach to daily assessment that goes beyond leveling. Click here to preview the entire book online!
Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by ASCD SmartBrief readers in the past week.

* Latest generation of NYC principals have more autonomy, but struggle (The New York Times)

* Report: School satisfaction does not equal learning (The Charlotte Observer (N.C.))

* Superintendent: School leadership is not a popularity contest (The Sun (Baltimore))

* Some state tests could be eliminated under N.C. budget proposal (The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.))

* Doctors: Too much texting may reshape adolescent development (The New York Times)

* Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

How do you keep your students motivated? Learn why industry expert Quality Quinn recommends the strategic use of technology to capture students' attention and inspire them to excel in school. Click here to download a free white paper from CompassLearning®.
Technology Solutions

* Soldier's blog teaches Kentucky sixth-graders about Afghanistan
Aaron Connor is serving near Ghazni City, Afghanistan, with the Illinois National Guard. He corresponds with social studies students at one Kentucky school through a blog on which the students can ask him questions. "I make mention about our little shootouts not to scare folks, but because I want people to know that this is a dangerous country," Connor wrote. The New York Times/The Associated Press (5/30) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

Policy Watch

* Florida educators struggle with restrictions on stimulus funds
Restrictions on some education stimulus funds are frustrating Florida educators, who say they are being forced to lay off teachers at the same time they are adding programs for low-income and special-education students. Some are calling for more flexibility for Title I and special-education stimulus funds, while others are adding Title I designations to more schools within their districts. Orlando Sentinel (Fla.) (6/1) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* Find out more: Have questions about the stimulus money available for education? Check out ASCD SmartBrief's "Making the stimulus money work for school improvement" special report Part I and Part II .

* Other News

* Florida students pray at graduation in defiance of a court order
Pensacola News Journal (Fla.) (5/30)



The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)

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Interested in learning more about advertising in ASCD SmartBrief? Contact Joe Riddle at (202) 737-5500 x228 or jriddle@smartbrief.com.



In the Field

* 13 years and many obstacles later, most in class receive diploma
Twenty-two of the 28 students who began kindergarten with San Francisco teacher Kanikah LeMon 13 years ago received diplomas this spring despite facing difficulties including imprisoned parents, homelessness and poverty. Two others passed their courses but not the state's exit exams. San Francisco Chronicle (5/31) LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* Involved mom helped teen stick with high school: Four years after the St. Petersburg Times profiled four Florida students as they started ninth grade, just one is finishing school on time. Alex Wert, who will graduate with a 4.34 GPA and received scholarships to attend the University of South Florida, had one thing her classmates who dropped out did not: an involved parent. St. Petersburg Times (Fla.) (6/1)

* Other News

* Column: Helicopter parenting may be on the way out
The New York Times (5/29)

Association News

* ASCD Communications Tool Kit: Using Stimulus Dollars for Lasting Impact
ASCD has created a stimulus plan communications tool kit to help educators advocate for the best use of their stimulus funds, highlight the importance of capacity-building professional development and communicate transparent messages about their fund allocations. This kit contains a variety of tools including backgrounders, key messages, a customizable op-ed and a PowerPoint presentation to help educators communicate with the media and public about how allocations of the stimulus funds will support student achievement. The tool kit aligns with ASCD's Planning the Possible report about the stimulus package and is free. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email this Story

* A Cyber Chance for 21st Century Learning
An ASCD blog post explains how to get involved in the Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills , which runs from today through June 12. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is sponsoring free online discussions and live webinars leading up to its physical gathering of influential leaders in Washington, D.C., on June 11 and 12 to develop a national action agenda for 21st-century education. ASCD has been actively involved in the partnership and especially in the creation of the 21st Century Implementation Guides available to Cyber Summit participants. More Cyber Summit features include videos from ASCD, including portions of the best-selling video 21st Century Skills: Promoting Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom .



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From Seminole Ridge High to Saturn

From Seminole Ridge High to Saturn: Student Semi-Finalists in NASA Contest

Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228
June 2, 2009

Seminole Ridge High School Science teacher Erich Landstrom received out-of-this-world congratulations in May. NASA emailed to say that his physics students in a national contest for an interplanetary mission were semi-finalists. At least one of his students’ essays passed the first round of selection in the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest, and they were invited in June to teleconference with scientists studying the planet Saturn remotely by robotic spacecraft.

The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenges students to become NASA scientists studying the planet Saturn. Participants examine three target images taken by Cassini and choose the one they think will yield the best science. This choice must then be supported in a 500-word essay.

Mr. Landstrom used it as teaching opportunity for his students to practice their FCAT Writes persuasive essay skills, and encourage excellence in FCAT Science. Juniors Anthony Bass, Alex Cohen, Kris Hansen, and Jessie Twigger are now invited to teleconference with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Using the Distance Learning Classroom in Seminole Ridge’s Biotechology Academy, they can participate in a scientific debate by deciding which imaging target brings the most scientifically interesting results.

Jessie Twigger in his essay wrote, “Not every satellite we launch or every telescope we point towards the sky is searching for another Earth but if the chance to learn more about Earth-like planets presents itself, why not seize this opportunity? That is the reason we should be photographing Dione. No – that that is the reason we should be exploring space. Dione is worth all its scientific merit just for the smallest chance that we will discover something that we never even dreamed possible, just for the shear enjoyment of discovering that a distant moon is similar to Earth, and most importantly just for the challenge it presents in understanding such a mystery.”

All semi-finalists’ essays are now being judged to determine the overall contest winners. Winners will be announced in mid June, after the end of the school year for Seminole Ridge. Please visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov to see the winners list online when it becomes available

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The cameras on NASA Cassini-Huygens Mission have been taking stunning images of Saturn and its rings and moons for the past five years. These images have helped planetary scientists learn more about this amazing planet Saturn. For most of its tour, Cassini has a chance to point its cameras at various targets, but only one image can be taken at a time. Before each imaging opportunity, Cassini scientists have to decide which image they think would yield the best science. They make a case for specific images, and debate why one image would be better than another. Finally, they agree on which image will be taken. The command to take the image is uplinked to the spacecraft. The image is downlinked to Earth, a billion kilometers away.

In the Cassini Scientist for a Day contest, students get to be the scientists. Seminole Ridge High School physics students learned about possible images that the cameras on Cassini could take on May 25, 2009. Students needed to weigh all the factors and choose one of the targets. What do we already know about Saturn, its rings, and its moons? What do we hope to learn from the image selected? The decision is based on which image would yield the most scientific results, but the artistic value of the image can be an added bonus.

For more information please contact Mr. Landstrom at 561-422-2600.

(photo: STS-124 from Lake Worth Beach)

Head Start Children to Receive Free Swimming Lessons

For immediate release: June 3, 2009
Contact: Drowning Prevention Coalition 561-616-7068
Who: YWCA Head Start children
When: June 4, 10:30 a.m.
Where: Warren Hawkins Aquatic Center, Gaines Park
1501 N. Australian Ave.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401

The Rotary Club of Palm Beach donated $920 so that approximately 35, 4-year-old Head Start children could receive free swim lessons. The donation was given to the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County to help prevent drowning incidents in the county.

According to the Florida Department of Health, drowning is the leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4 in Florida. Florida’s drowning death rate among children under age 5 is the highest in the nation. The number of children who drown each year in Florida is equivalent to approximately four preschool classrooms.

In 2007, 479 Florida residents drowned and another 374 were hospitalized for nonfatal drownings; children under age 5 accounted for 16 percent of the deaths and 44 percent of the hospitalizations.

With summer season beginning, it is imperative that a pro-active approach to drowning prevention is taken.

New Book to Guide Parents Through Middle School Experience - Boynton Beach Middle School

New Book to Guide Parents Through Middle School Experience - Boynton Beach Middle School Teachers Partners With Publishing Company

Public Affairs - (561) 434-8228May 29, 2009

Teachers at Christa McAuliffe Middle School and American Life Publishers are partnering to produce a book titled A Parent’s Guide to Middle School Academics. Managing editor Patricia Mavo says the book will be written over the summer and she welcomes any teacher or parent who wants to give input. “The inspiration for the book came from my own experiences as a parent of three children who entered middle school almost consecutively,” states the career educator, who says she did find resources---but they were scattered in a variety of different places.

Christa McAuliffe Principal Faith-Ann Cheek says the guide will be user-friendly. “The book will help parents adjust to the many changes that students experience when they transition to middle school,” she adds. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the book will benefit each middle school that sells the resource. Plans include an accompanying website to provide online resources for parents to just “point and click” on the topics covered in the book.

Chapters cover topics such as how students learn, how teachers assess, and a variety of local and state resources for homework and testing assistance. For more details, contact Patricia Mavo, (561) 254-1883, or email her americanlife@bellsouth.net.