K12 06 01 2015 OutlooK-12 Magazine

JUNE 01, 2015 VOL.1 NUMBER 3

from the publisher of The Hispanic

Outlook in Higher Education Magazine

WWW.K12HISPANICOUTLOOK.COM

CONAN O'BRIEN'STRIP TO CUBA

"It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!"

PUBLISHER

PRESIDENT AND CEO

VICE PRESIDENT

EDITOR IN CHIEF

EDITORIAL & MARKETING DIRECTOR

ART & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE DIRECTOR

MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR

JOSÉ LÓPEZ ISA

TOMÁS CASTELLANOS NUÑEZ

NICOLE LÓPEZ ISA

MARY ANN COOPER

MEREDITH COOPER

RICARDO CASTILLO

JAVIER SALAZAR CARRIÓN

MARILYN ROCA ENRÍQUEZ

CONTENTVOLUME 01, ISSUE 03

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Photo courtesy of TBS. Photo by Joe Pugliese

CONAN O'BRIEN'S TRIP TO CUBA“It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!”

EZRA JACK KEATS FOUNDATIONENCOURAGES YOUNG AUTHORSPlus new opportunity for schools to have their students' work show-cased nationally

SHANNA PEEPLES: 2015 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEARWill be addressing attendees at 2015 National PTA Convention & Expo

READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?Books-A-Million launches Summer Quest reading program

STATISTICS PREDICT POTENTIAL FUTURE TEACHER DECLINEACT report shows fewer high school grads planning to become educators

NEWS AND TRENDSPresenting the latest in national education news

CONTENTVOLUME 01, ISSUE 03

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16

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28

Photo courtesy of TBS

HONOR ROLL

4 · June 01, 2015

Conan O’Brien’s Trip to Cuba:

“It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!”

For more than 50 years the island of Cuba has been forbidden fruit for the American palate. Travel bans and

a lack of diplomatic relations has cloaked Cuba with a veil of secrecy and mystery. As with all engaging mysteries, there are perceived villains and heroes on both sides of this issue who have stirred the pot and heated up the rhetoric. However, recent events and the passage of time have made reconciliation between Cuba and the United States more likely than not.

The seemingly invincible but aging Castro brothers are mortal, after all, and not immune to the impact every passing day has on their iron-fisted grip on this island. On December 17,

2014, President Obama changed international rules of engage-ment when he announced his intent of having the US establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. While serious talking heads were debating the White House pro-nouncement, one not-so-serious talking head sprang into action. Comedian Conan O’Brien, the host of “CONAN” on TBS, with the help of his Team Coco quiet-ly made plans to become the first American late night talk show host to visit and film in Havana since Jack Paar interviewed Fidel Castro on his Tonight Show in 1959.

The behind the scenes prepa-ration for bringing “CONAN” to Havana was no easy task. After considering the possibility that asking permission to film might tie them up in bureaucratic red tape and kill the project, the de-

cision was made to engage in “guerilla filming” on the streets of Havana.

“It used to be easy for Amer-icans to visit Cuba,” O’Brien ex-plained to his viewing audience. “In the 1940’s and ‘50’s it was the Las Vegas of the Caribbean.”

Now, however, producing a show there would be different. Cuba is a country with many complicated social and political problems. So this process wasn’t easy. O’Brien and Team Coco came with a game plan.

“I kept the purpose of my visit simple: to meet the people and try to make friends,” said O’Brien. “We wanted to ‘run and gun’ and stay under the radar. We didn’t want to be too conspicu-ous. We rolled into sites pretty quickly and we shot.”

As if that was not daunting enough, Team Coco was faced

Story by Mary Ann Cooper

www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K

O’Brien: “That’s me. I just was walking around. This is not staged. It looks staged. I was just walking around in that ridiculous linen suit, and I came across these amazing street performers in Havana, and I started dancing with them.”Photo courtesy of TBS

with the challenge of coming up with a talk show desk set similar to “CONAN’s” regular TBS set.

“The thing with the Cuban gov-ernment is that if you start setting up something people will come right over and demand your papers,” O’Brien recently told Team Coco’s video chat participants. “They ask are you a reporter? Are you autho-rized to film on this street?”

As O’Brien was scouting loca-tions to use for that purpose, he came upon a sidewalk café on a narrow street, which just happened to have a 5 member women’s band called Dava playing there. There was one café table outside, which Team Coco commandeered by “throwing some money at some French tourists who were using it” for O’Brien to use as his talk show “desk,” dressing it

up with an old fashioned micro-phone someone found in Havana. So with a house band and desk in place O’Brien opened his two-part “CONAN” Cuban special by strolling out into view on this same narrow street, wearing a fe-dora and a light linen suit. Once he sat down at his make-shift talk show desk, he was ready to intro-duce all of America to the Cuba he had discovered. O’Brien was determined to give as accurate and in-depth a portrait of Cuba and the Cuban people while cramming as much entertainment value as he could into four days of filming.

“We wanted this to have a sensitivity and sweetness to it, so we didn’t pick solely hard hitting comedy. We didn’t want

6 · June 01, 2015

Photo courtesy of TBSPhoto by Joe Pugliese

to be snarky. We really wanted to respect the people and the cul-ture, and I think we achieved that goal. I feel lucky that we had the idea and the team to pull it off,” O’Brien revealed on a recent on-line chat. “All the moments were real with people who were funny and comfortable in their own skins. We couldn’t set this up. We didn’t use stock footage. We had these huge cameras we used. We pretty much shot around the clock. Cuba is a visually stunning place to shoot and we wanted to capture it. It was magical. It was a perfect snapshot in time to go there.”

On his stay in Cuba, O’Brien filmed all over Havana, includ-ing inside a cigar factory, dance studio, nightclub, rum factory

and among locals at a popular prom-enade. The euphoria that was build-ing in Team Coco for accomplishing what had been impossible just weeks earlier was stopped in its tracks, however, as they began to make plans to go home.

“It started with less than 24 hours before we were supposed to return home. Our executive producer Jeff Ross was notified that a news outlet had heard probably by tourists that we were there, and they were going with the story.” O’Brien admitted. “We asked them to hold it until we at least got off the island with the foot-age, but they said they were afraid someone else had it, so they were going to go with it. And we were nervous. We decided to make multi-ple copies of what we shot on drives and tablets and laptops. We figured if


any of it was stopped by customs we had backup copies that might make it through.” Luckily, the film made it back to the United States without much incident.

It’s clear that O’Brien was moved by his exposure to Cuba and its people.

“I hope we will soon be able to begin mending the long, bro-ken relationship between our two countries. Despite the dif-ferences in our governments, the human level is so much we share. Laughter, music, the love of good food and sheer genius of rum in a box [a drink popular with young men on the promenade]. I was in Havana four days. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” O’Brien told his TV audience. “The people here are talented, they’re funny, they’re

CONAN and Cuba By the Numbers

A total of 3.7 million viewers have checked out "CONAN in Cuba," the historic episode of TBS's “CONAN” in which Conan O'Brien became the first American late-night host to do a show in Cuba in more than 50 years. The show, which now ranks as ”CONAN's“ most-watched destination special ever, drew its power from multiplatform viewing across TBS's premiere and encore telecasts, the TBS website and app, DVR playback and set-top Video On Demand. The show also brought in viewers through a pair of special en-cores on sister networks HLN and truTV. "CONAN in Cuba" is now the most-watched destination special in the show's history, with +23% more adults 18-49 than the average for all previous destination specials. "CONAN in Cuba" scored +194% growth compared to the show's year-to-date mul-tiplatform reach.

vivacious, they’re warm. People are anxious for economic relief. They need it. They very much want to get to know us and do business with us. That was the strong, strong, strong sense we got just talking to people. I was very happy to see that you can cross barriers. I’ve always no-ticed that if you’re humble and sweet you can connect to people with humor. I can’t say enough good things about the people of Havana and Cuba, and I can’t wait to go back.”

Meanwhile, those who wish to experience Cuba through O’Brien’s eyes can view the entire special, scenes from the episode or behind the scenes information at http://teamcoco.com/cuba/ •

America Theatre, Havana, Cuba.Photo by Marilyn Roca

Carlos III, Havana, Cuba.Photo by Marilyn Roca

8 · June 01, 2015

With Cuba in the news, classrooms all over the country will be introducing students to the culture, history and politics of this Caribbean Latin American neighbor of the United States. Here are some links for lesson plans and research materials recommended by The New York Times, PBS, Kentucky

Educational Television (www.ket.org), and the Discovery Network that can help various age groups under-stand and appreciate this island 90 miles off the shore of Florida.

• In January, 2015, The New York Times published its own guide to Cuba under its The Learning Network - Teaching and Learning With The New York Times department of its newspaper. The article, written by Tom Marshall is entitled, Thawing Relations: Teach-ing About Cuba and the U.S. It can be accessed by visiting http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/thawing-relations-teaching-about-cuba-and-the-u-s/?_r=0 • The National Geographic website http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/cuba-guide/ is chock-full of information about Cuba with an emphasis on how to travel there and get the most out of the trip whether it is a family or singles excursion. • The Cuban Culture website http://www.cubaheritage.com/ has information on music, art, painting, culture and history. The Cuban Culture site has a section devoted to the island’s collection of classic and vintage cars.• The PBS Nature web site http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cuba-wild-island-of-the-ca-ribbean-introduction/1243/ celebrates the natural beauty of this Caribbean island from its distinctive plants and foliage to the indigenous wildlife that can be found there. • If you are interested in Cuban music, try The Mamborama website http://www.mambora-ma.com/cuba_music.html for sound files of a variety of Cuban music styles. • The National Geographic World Music site http://www.nationalgeographic.com/expands the selection of modern-day Afro-Cuban music.• The IFE-ILE site http://www.ife-ile.org/traditions.htm is also a guide to the multifaceted and inimitable Afro-Cuban dance and music traditions. It interprets these music and dance traditions through the prism of Cuban culture. • The PBS Buena Vista Social Club website http://www.pbs.org/buenavista/ presents a comprehensive analysis and collection of Cuban music. They present a timeline detailing a history of the island’s music culture as well as a lexicon of terms to aid in the understanding of the subject matter. •

CUBA Coming to a US Classroom Near You

Malecón, Havana, Cuba.Photo by Marilyn Roca


Source Erza Jack Keats Foundation

10 · June 01, 2015

The entire staff of OutlooK-12 would like to welcome you to our magazine’s newest section: Star Pupils. Each month we are giving schools the option to send in their students’ writing, artwork and photos of their science projects for consideration to be featured in our national magazine. To help us start off this section we are very pleased to feature the winners of the 29th Annual Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s Bookmaking Competition and were fortunate enough to speak with the foundation’s executive director, Dr. Deborah Pope, about the widely-celebrated children’s writer Ezra Jack Keats himself. If you have a student you would like us to consider for our new Star Pupils section, contact [email protected] or (201) 587-8800.

EZRA JACK KEATSFOUNDATIONENCOURAGES NEXT GENERATION OF AUTHORS

It is easy to see the word “courage” in the word “encourage.” Unfortunately, it is often easy to forget the relationship between these words: that to en-courage someone is to inspire courage in them whether it is to face chal-

lenges or to take creative risks as writers and artists. Sadly, one of the most ground-breaking children’s book writers of the 20th

century grappled with a lack of encouragement early on in his life.Born in 1916 Ezra Jack Keats, the author of The Snowy Day, a book credited

for breaking the color barrier in children’s publishing, began life in an environ-ment that did not embolden his creative talents.

“Ezra grew up in East New York, which was then the Jewish quarter of Brooklyn and was the son of Polish Jewish immigrant parents [Benjamin Katz and Augusta “Gussie” Podgainy],” Dr. Deborah Pope executive director of the Foundation said. “They were very poor and terrified he would become an artist and starve, so they gave him very little to no encouragement.”

Young Ezra, in fact, received mixed messages regarding his artistic abilities from his father who would give him tubes of paint but caution him that he traded them from starving artists for food. It was only after his father passed away that Ezra discovered just how proud he was of him.

“I found myself staring deep into his [my father’s] secret feelings,” Ezra told the poet Lee Bennett Hopkins during an interview where he talked about iden-tifying his father’s body. “There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work.”

While Ezra learned of his father’s true feelings about his talents too late for their relationship, he still found support in other areas of his life.

Story by Meredith Cooper


Ironically, however, Pope said it was in summer school where he met one of his greatest supporters, her father and today world-renown scientist, Martin Pope.

“The friendship that devel-oped between my father and Ezra changed both their lives for the better,” Pope said. “These two boys could talk to each other about anything…They could talk to each other without the rivalry or friction that comes from being siblings, but with the comfort that come from being siblings. And this was a lifelong friend-ship.”

Over the course of his career, Ezra illustrated over 85 books and wrote and illustrated 22 children’s classics. He was the

“The encouragement he got to follow his dream and his passion was from public school teachers and public librarians,” Pope said.

Although Ezra would later become a celebrated writer with a parade being held for him in Portland, Oregon in 1979, the item that he kept with him all his life was a medal described on the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s website as “unimpressive-look-ing” that he was awarded for drawing when he graduated from junior high. Further encourage-ment came in high school when he won a national student contest run by the Scholastic Publishing Company for one of his oil paint-ings that depicted hobos warming themselves around a fire.

‟The encouragement he got to follow

his dream and his passion was from

public school teachers and public

librarians.” Dr. Deborah Pope executive

director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation


12 · June 01, 2015

first artist invited to design a set of greeting cards for UNICEF, and he was the first children’s book author to be invited to donate his papers to Harvard University. And when he died from a heart attack in 1985, Martin was with him.

“Ezra died holding my father’s hand,” Pope said. At the time Ezra had already formed his foundation, but Pope explained that it was her father and mother, Lillie Pope, that built it up into what it is today—a non-profit dedicated to preserving the quality of Keats’ books and art-works, promoting children’s literacy and creativity, and maintaining quality and diversity in children’s literature.

“When he did die and the will came into effect, it fell to my father to really form the foundation to create and design the program that would do the good that Ezra wanted,” Pope said. “My father married a very dynamic strong woman, my mother, who was an educator. It fell to my parents to create these programs for the foundation. It really fell to my mother to do the design work.”

One of the programs designed by Pope’s mother is the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competitions, a collaboration between the Depart-ment of Education and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation held in New York City and San Francisco for children from grades 3 – 12 to write and illustrate their own books on subjects ranging from autobiogra-phies to fantasy stories. A jury of librarians, teachers and artists selects

both borough-wide winners and city-wide winners who receive an Ezra Jack Keats medal and cash prizes ($100 for the bor-ough-wide winners and $500 for the city-wide winners). Such accolades, however, are only part of what it is hoped the students take away from this competition.

“It was at public school that Ezra first received recognition for his talent, which encouraged him to pursue his dreams,” Pope said. “Our hope is that this award will inspire these young people to follow their dreams, too.”

Further information about the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Com-petition is available on the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s website http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ •

‟It was at public school that Ezra first received recognition for his talent, which encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Our hope is that this award will inspire these young people to follow their dreams, too.”Dr. Deborah Pope executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation



Grades 3 - 5:

When Fall Turns to Winter by John Lee (Grade 5) P.S. 193, Alfred J. Kennedy, Queens Denise Markbreit, Teacher; Joyce Bush, Principal

The winner says: "I got the idea for my book when I was outside—the falling leaves from the trees and the changing of the seasons caught my attention and became my inspiration. I've liked to draw pictures of animations and the environment ever since I was young. I used pastels for the drawings in my book because I had so many colors to choose from and because I could smudge the colors together to shade my work. This is the first contest I've ever won, so I'm very excited! I worked really hard and my teacher inspired and helped me every step of the way."

Grades 6 - 8:

The History Wheel of Coney Island by Amelia Samoylov (Grade 8) I.S. 98, The Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn Mandi Bracho, Teacher; Marietta Falconieri, Librarian; Maria Timo, Principal

The winner says: "My home—Coney Island—is such a special place and so close to my heart that I wanted to learn about its rich history and share it with others. Because the Ferris wheel is such a big part of Coney Island, I created a large, movable one that became the centerpiece of my book. I included other famous landmarks such as Luna Park and Nathan's, too. I used different materials such as a simple cardboard box, thick paper, chalks and watercolor pencils to make the book special and to help people recognize Coney Island."

Grades 9 -12:

The Brown M Train by Kevin Zeng (Grade 12) P.S. 77, Brooklyn Amie Robinson, Sylvia Patterson, William Petrowitz, Teachers; Merryl Redner-Cohen, Principal; Ross Cohen, Assistant Principal

The winner says: "I made my book as a protest. I want the MTA to reinstate the brown M train. Now I have to ride the R train, which is too slow and too crowded. So many people get off the R train at once that I can't even run down the stairs fast enough to catch the train! I love to draw, so using colored pencils I spent three months drawing pictures for my book and making a case for bringing the M train back. I presented my book to the president of the MTA. I've also started a petition that al-ready has 506 signatures on it. I'm not going to give up until the brown M train is back in service!"

BROOKLYN AND QUEENS STUDENTS TAKE HOME TOP AWARDS AT THE 29TH ANNUAL EZRA JACK KEATS

BOOKMAKING COMPETITION

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, announced the winners of the 29th annual Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition for grades 3-12.

City-wide Winners

For a complete list of city-wide and borough winners, visit 2015's Bookmaking Competition Winners at the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation's website.


14 · June 01, 2015

Congratulations to all of the winners of the 29th Ezra Jack Keats

Bookmaking Competition

“The bookmaking project is designed to send a message to the child that not only can they succeed at an assignment that is given to them, no matter who they are and what level they are at, they can succeed at this and that their ideas and thoughts are important.” – Dr. Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

For a complete list of winners visit http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org

Life is not a straight line. The 2015 Na-tional Teacher of the Year, Shanna Peeples, for example, did not

start out her career as a teacher. During an interview with “CBS This Morning,” Peeples con-firmed that she, in fact, avoided teaching, taking on roles such as pet sitter, reporter and medical assistant to “resist” becoming a teacher.

“I think I was afraid of it be-cause I knew I was going to love it in a way that was going to be pretty consuming, and it was,” Peeples said. “As a reporter, I covered schools, and the more

I was in those classrooms, the more I wanted to stay in those classrooms. And so I thought I just need to go ahead and get over myself and do this.”

That decision to “get over” herself and enter the teaching profession has led to a career spanning 12 years, being hon-ored at a ceremony at the White House and becoming a speaker at the 2015 National PTA Con-vention & Expo (see sidebar for further information).

Peeples, who is currently an English teacher at Palo Duro High School, works with many students who speak English as a second language or have recent-

ly entered the United States, as Amarillo is one of several cities in the country that helps refugees find new paths in life and gain access to critical resources. She reaches her students through a variety of teaching methods and helps them achieve their full potential in the classroom and beyond.

“She sees past any front that a student may put on, helps them discover their dreams and their goals and then pushes them to help them achieve them,” Pee-ples’ former student Kayla Storrs told “CBS This Morning.” Storrs is currently a University of Ken-tucky graduate student.

THE JOURNEY TO THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND: 2015 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR REFLECTS ON HER CAREER Story by Meredith Cooper

16 · June 01, 2015

“It is clear why

Shanna was

selected to be the 2015

National Teacher of

the Year: Shanna's

dedication to teaching is

all-encompassing, from

the countless hours she

devotes to helping every

child in her classroom to

the time she spends

mentoring colleagues in

her school district.” Chris Minnich, executive director of

the Council of Chief State School Officers

Shanna Peeples Photo source Voya Financial, Inc.


Another former student of Peeples’, Viet Tran, also praised her for her continued support. “Miss Peeples’ faith in me to achieve great things and to do great things and to be great has never faltered,” Tran told “CBS This Morning,” adding, “And even now she is still advocating for me even though I am a junior at Harvard and well out of her class.”

“I think what it takes to make a great teacher is somebody who just loves what they do and who loves kids and who loves to bring out the potential in every kid,” Peeples told “CBS This Morn-ing.” “You can help write the end of the story for every kid and that’s the most exciting and the most privileging thing about do-ing this job.”

This dedication to helping every child reach his/her full po-tential as well as her commitment to mentoring her colleagues to help them grow in the teaching profession was acknowledged in April when Peeples, along with all her 2015 State Teachers of the Year, was honored by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House. National PTA President Otha Thornton who participated in the ceremony and served on the selection commit-tee for the National Teacher of the Year Program also praised Shanna for her positive impact on her students.

“Shanna, and teachers like her across the country, touch the lives of students every day, and their work and impact extends far beyond the boundaries of the classroom,” Thornton said. “Na-tional PTA salutes Shanna and all of the 2015 State Teachers of the Year for going above and beyond to ensure every child succeeds and every child’s dreams become a reality.”

The National Teacher of the Year Program is run by the Coun-cil of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and presented by Voya Financial. Through the program CCSSO identifies the best teach-ers in the country, recognizes their effective work in the class-room, amplifies their voices and empowers them to participate in policy discussions at the state and national levels.

“It is clear why Shanna was selected to be the 2015 National Teacher of the Year: Shanna’s dedication to teaching is all-en-compassing, from the countless hours she devotes to helping every child in her classroom to the time she spends mentoring colleagues in her school district,” Chris Minnich, executive director of CCSSO said. “I look forward to seeing Shanna engage people across the country in a conver-sation about how to improve ed-ucation as she shares her vision of supporting all students and teachers.”

“Shanna, and

teachers like her across

the country, touch the

lives of students every

day, and their work

and impact extends far

beyond the boundar-

ies of the classroom.

National PTA salutes

Shanna and all of the

2015 State Teachers

of the Year for going

above and beyond

to ensure every child

succeeds and every

child’s dreams become

a reality.” National PTA President

Otha Thornton

18 · June 01, 2015

“We’re proud to sponsor pro-grams like National Teacher of the Year, which acknowledge the talented professionals who educate and empower tomorrow’s work-force,” Carolyn Johnson, president of Annuities and Tax-Exempt Mar-kets, Voya Financial said, adding that Voya would like to congrat-ulate both Shanna and the 2015 State Teacher of the Year winners for “their outstanding accomplish-ments and strong commitment to the profession.”

“I choose to think that, as Na-tional Teacher of the Year, I repre-sent the people who love what they do; who are willing to do whatever it takes to help kids; who stay after school for hours; who steal time from their own families to help our kids; who may be the only person that shows up at games for a kid, or at plays, at concerts. For many kids, teachers are the only person for them,” Peeples said. “And so to me, the title of Teacher of the Year is a way for me to always talk about what teachers do for our kids. And I am exceedingly proud of the honor of representing men and women who pour themselves into this, the most important job there is.”

For more information about the National Teacher of the Year Pro-gram and to view a list of the 2015 State Teachers of the Year, visit the Council of Chief State School Of-ficers’ website at http://ccsso.org/ntoy/State_Teachers.html. •

Shanna Peeples addressing attendees at the 2015 National PTA Convention & Expo is one of many networking and learn-ing opportunities available at this year’s event:

Thought Leader SessionsBe inspired by dynamic leaders whose extraordinary life

experiences will boost your passion to make every child’s po-tential a reality.

Leadership Forums

Need new strategies to successfully run your PTA? Hear how National PTA leaders effectively communicate with mem-bers, keep boards on track and handle conflict resolution to achieve the PTA mission to advocate for every child’s success and well-being.

Trending TopicsDiscover the latest info on key education and child advoca-

cy issues and learn best practices and innovative approaches to engaging families on these trending topics.

The Fresh 20 Demo StageReady to take your PTA to the next level? Explore new edu-

cation apps, fundraising strategies and products and services that will enhance your efforts in the next school year.

MeetupsShare your PTA successes and ongoing challenges with

your peers. Facilitated by National PTA leaders, you will gain new insights and build strong bonds as you discuss the issues you care about most.

PTA Coaching SessionsGet a personal PTA coach! Talk to a PTA expert about the

challenges you face as a PTA leader and hear proven methods you can use to handle your unique circumstances.

2015 National PTA Convention & Expo will be held June 25-28 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. For more information and to register visit http://www.pta.org •

ENGAGE IN NEW WAYS:2015 NATIONAL PTA CONVENTION & EXPO


Books-A-Million Launches Summer Quest Reading Program

To promote reading during the summer months, Books-A-Million is launching its Summer Quest Reading program, which features a reading list of over 75 popular books for both kids and teens. Young readers who participate will receive a Camp Half-Blood tote bag celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians book series by Rick Riordan. Here’s a sampling of their Summer Quest Reading Program books:

THE WARRIOR HEIR By Cinda Williams Chima2007. 426 pp. ISBN: 9780786839179. Disney-Hyperion Books for Children. Series: Heir Chronicles Before he knew the startling truth about himself, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in a small Ohio town. Then Jack learns he is Weirlind; part of an under-ground society of magical people. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose whose power is determined by a magical tournament in which a warrior from each house fight to the death to rule the Weir.

BLACK DOVE WHITE RAVEN By Elizabeth Wein2015. 368pp. ISBN: 9781423183105. Disney-HyperionEmilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's survived, determined to raise Teo where he won't be discriminat-ed against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adop-tive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat. Black Dove White Raven explores the difficulties this family faced.

GO SET A WATCHMANBy Harper Lee2015. 288 pp. ISBN: 9780062409850. HarperGo Set a Watchman is set during the mid-1950s and features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Scout (Jean Louise Finch) has returned to Maycomb from New York to visit her father, Atti-cus. She is forced to grapple with issues both personal and political as she tries to understand her fa-ther’s attitude toward society, and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood.

GRADES 9-12

20 · June 01, 2015

DEEP BLUE By Jennifer Donnelly 2014. 352 pp. ISBN: 9781423133162. Disney-HyperionDeep in the ocean live the merpeo-ple. When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, she finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations.

Wonder By R.J. Palacio, 2012. 315 pp. ISBN: 9780375869020. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young ReadersAugust Pullman was born with a facial difference that has pre-vented him from going to a main-stream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordi-nary kid, but his new classmates and community can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face and struggle with empathy, compas-sion and acceptance.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Perilous JourneyBy Trenton Lee Stewart, Diana Sudyka (Illustrator)2009. 440 pp. ISBN: 9780316036733. Little, Brown Young Readers. Series: Mysterious Benedict Society #3After reuniting for a celebratory scavenger hunt, Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance are forced to go on an unexpected search--a search to find Mr. Benedict. It seems that while he was preparing the kids' adventure, he stepped right into a trap orchestrated by his evil twin, Mr. Curtain.

GRADES 6-8


BIG NATE Lives it UpBy Lincoln Peirce 2015. 224 pp. ISBN: 9780062111081. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen/ Series: Big NatePrincipal Nichols wants Nate to be buddies with new kid Breck-enridge Puffington III and show him around. But that's no easy task when Breckenridge is a plant-doo-dling total fun-sponge. There's also something strangely familiar about this guy. . . . What in the world could it be?

DORK diaries By Rachel Renée Russell2015. 352 pp. ISBN: 9781442487697. Aladdin Paper-backs. Series: Dork Diaries #1Nikki's diary is up to the month of April, and springtime is sure to bring more wacky adventures with Nikki and her friends Chloe, Zoey and Brandon. The Dork Diaries series has more than 13 million copies in print worldwide.

The Never Girls before the bellBy Kiki Thorpe, Hana Christy (Illustrator)2015. 128 pp. ISBN: 9780736433044. Random House Disney. Series: Stepping Stone BookNever Girls is about four real girls in a fairy's world. It’s the first day of school, and Gabby can’t wait to tell the fairies all about it. She even met a new friend who loves fairies as much as she does, but what will the Never Girls do when a fairy goes missing in Gabby’s new classroom?

GRADES 3-5

22 · June 01, 2015

The Day the Crayons came homeBy Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers2015. 48 pp. ISBN: 9780399172755. Philomel BooksDuncan is confronted with a group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him to poor Turquoise whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan's stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.

Chu's Day at the Beach By Neil Gaiman & Adam Rex 2015. 32 pp. ISBN: 9780062223999. HarperCollinsA brand-new adventure is here for everyone's favorite sneezing panda from the New York Times best-selling team of Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex. Chu and his family are going to the beach, and Chu is excited. He will get to play in the sand and wade in the water. But what will happen if Chu sneezes at the beach? And what will happen if he doesn't?

I am Jackie RobinsonBy Brad Meltzer, Christopjer El-iopoulos (Illustrator)2015 40 pp. ISBN: 9780803740860. Dial Books. Series: Ordinary People Change WorldJackie Robinson always loved sports especially baseball. But even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn't allowed on the best teams just because of the col-or of his skin. Jackie became the first black player in Major League Baseball, and his bravery changed African-American history and led the way to equality in all sports in America.

Ilustration by © Depositphotos.com/ johny007pandp

GRADES K-2


The number and per-centage of high school graduates interested in becoming an educator have significantly de-

clined over the past four years, according to The Condition of Future Educators, a new report from American College Testing (ACT).

The report shows that only 5 percent (89,347 students) of the nearly 1.85 million 2014

U.S. high school graduates who took the ACT® test said they intended to pursue a career as an educator—including as a teacher, counselor or administrator. Both the percentage and number have steadily dropped each year since 2010, when 7 percent of gradu-ates (106,659 students) planned an education major.

The decline in the number of students interested in an edu-cation career is even more strik-

ACT REPORT

Shows Fewer High School Grads Planning to Become Educators

Articles courtesy of ACT

24 · June 01, 2015

ing given the fact that the total number of ACT-tested graduates has increased substantially—up by 18 percent—during the same four-year period.

“The drop in the number of our young people who want to become an educator is truly alarming,” said Jon Erickson, ACT president. “Unless some-thing changes quickly, the supply of new teachers may not meet the future demand.”

According to the US De-partment of Education, a teacher shortage already exists in many states and subject areas, particu-larly math and science. The Na-tional Center for Education Sta-tistics has reported that the need for elementary and secondary teachers is projected to increase over the next several years.

Other recently released ACT data suggest that the pool of future educators is not likely to enlarge—and, in fact, could even decrease slightly—when students enroll in college and declare a major. The data show that more

than half of ACT-tested 2013 graduates who intended to pursue an education career switched to another major within their first two years of college, while a slightly smaller number of stu-dents who had planned another type of career switched to an ed-ucation major.

The ACT findings also call into question the overall prepara-tion levels of students planning a career as an educator. The per-centages of future teachers who met the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in math, science and reading remained lower than those of the population of nation-al test takers, as was the case in 2010.

“Quality teaching is a crucial element in getting students ready for college and career,” said Er-ickson. “We must be concerned not only with increasing the overall number of students who plan to become educators but also with attracting more of the best and brightest students to the field.”

The report also reveals that diversity continues to be lack-ing among future educators. Among ACT-tested graduates who planned to pursue an edu-cation major, 72 percent were white, compared to 56 percent of all tested graduates. Previous studies have suggested that K–12 students may benefit from being taught by a teacher of the same race.

In addition, young women are much more likely than young men to consider a career as an educator. Nearly three-quarters of those ACT-tested graduates interested in an education career were female, including nearly 95 percent of those interested in early childhood and elementary education.

“The pipeline of future teach-ers doesn’t reflect the diversity of the student population that it will be serving,” said Erickson. “We need to find ways to encour-age more minority students and males to consider a career as an educator.” •

National Future Educators ReportAttainment of College and Career Readiness

All Students Planning Education Majors

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Race/Ethnicity and Subject*

29

37

15

16

32

15

6

33

43

22

23

51

18

9

43

49

22

25

38

26

13

65

75

43

44

61

44

29

Two or More Races

White

Pacific Islander

Hispanic

Asian

American Indian

African American

English

Reading

Mathematics

Science

African American

American Indian

Asian

Hispanic

Pacific Islander

White

Two or More Races

N = 8,521 N = 650 N = 1,507 N = 10,703 N = 179 N = 61,659 N = 2,830

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Gender and Subject

58

68

37 44

36 37 31 30

0

20

40

60

80

100

Male Female

Per

cent

English

Reading

Mathematics

Science

Male Female

N = 22,499 N = 66,389

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Educational Aspirations and Subject

5

6

27

46

38

7

7

32

55

44

10

12

38

60

51

22

25

63

82

71

Voc-tech Degree

Associate’s Degree

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

Professional Degree

English

Reading

Mathematics

Science

Professional Degree

Master’s Degree

Bachelor’s Degree


Voc-tech Degree

N = 6,492 N = 18,123 N = 56,601 N = 2,476 N = 503

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Highest Parental Education Level and Subject

16

26

27

38

45

45

20

31

32

45

53

53

25

38

37

50

57

60

45

62

63

75

81

82

High School Graduate or Less

Certification or Some College


Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

Professional Degree

English

Reading

Mathematics

Science

Professional

Degree

Master’s Degree

Bachelor’s

Degree

Associate’s

Degree

Certification or Some College

High School Grad or

Less

N = 3,878 N = 12,015 N = 22,690 N = 9,529 N = 14,867 N = 17,299

* Race/ethnicity categories changed for the 2010–2011 academic year to reflect updated US Department of Education reporting requirements.

5

National Future Educators ReportAttainment of College and Career Readiness

Trends of Student Interest in Education Majors: 2010–2014

• Between 2010 and 2014, the percent of all ACT-tested graduates who expressed an interest in education majors decreased by 2%.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

NationPercent 7% 6% 6% 5% 5%

N Count 106,478 103,932 94,458 91,186 89,192

All Students Planning Education Majors

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by ACT College Readiness Benchmark Attainment and Subject

65

42 37 31

10

15 10 17

25

43 53 52

0

20

40

60

80

100

English Reading Mathematics Science

Per

cent

Below Benchmark by 3+ Points Within 2 Points of Benchmark Met Benchmark

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Number of ACT College Readiness Benchmarks Attained

30

19 17 14 20

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 1 2 3 4

Per

cent

Benchmarks Met

Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Subject

65

42 37

31

20

0

20

40

60

80

100

English Reading Mathematics Science All Four Subjects

Per

cent

Number and Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Area of Planned Major

Education Area N Count Percent

Administration/Student Services 3,818 4

General Teacher Education 10,678 12

Student Population Specific 47,247 53

Subject Specific 27,449 31

Total 89,192 100

Note: Percents in this report may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

4 THE CONDITION OF FUTURE EDUCATORS 2014


ColoradoIllinoisKentuckyLouisiana MichiganMississippiMontanaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaTennesseeUtahWyomingArkansasHawaiiNebraskaFloridaAlabamaSouth DakotaMinnesotaMissouriKansasOklahomaWisconsinOhioNew MexicoIowaWest VirginiaSouth CarolinaArizonaGeorgiaIdahoIndianaTexasAlaskaDistrict of ColumbiaNevadaOregonCaliforniaConnecticutVermontVirginiaNew YorkNew JerseyMassachusettsMarylandWashingtonNew HampshirePennsylvaniaDelawareRhode IslandMaineNATION

1001001001001001001001001001001001009390868180787676757573726968655855534540403737363629292928272523222220191816957

2,1218,2022,8421,8705,0121,490556

3,873431

3,1181,647478

1,848345

1,4664,2282,229441

2,6493,5111,5691,4542,7475,503477

1,785953

1,6701,0832,624381

1,4026,05510035314484

3,139530116

1,0432,5421,270727612591128

1,318668235

89,192

69706865655260536867716668457151656974716964757354746860555980685360346069638068697369766670806559678065

45434136392843324340484141274436384451474744484932484236373858473340264446415650475140504354614138456042

37413027361735324029393535233624254452374227464424382230332851423435263538425247405447513651514139304637

34343024321630203227353530183420263744333528413822382624232441322526143030274134354331373240 423130295431

* Totals for graduating seniors were obtained from Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates,8th edition. © December 2012 by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

% of All Graduates

Tested*

English Reading Math

State

Science

% of All ACT-Tested Graduates

Interested in Education Majors

Number of All ACT-Tested Graduates Interested

in Education Majors

Percent of Students with EducationMajors Meeting Benchmarks

Future EducatorsInterest and Achievement by State

4564456464587383676775664897355554244346555444454535

26 · June 01, 2015

Future Educators Interest and Achievement by State

Article Courtesy of ACT 2015.

To help drive greater interest in the teaching profession among a diverse population of high-achieving students, ACT recommends the following:

Recruit high-achieving college students who are undecided about their future careers. Postsecondary institutions should focus on identifying high-achieving students who are undecided

about their college majors and encourage them to consider pursuing the teaching profession. In particu-lar, because ACT data indicate that relatively few minority students are interested in education as a career, recruitment efforts should target more minority students to enter the teaching pipeline. A more diverse teacher population may also lead to greater achievement among minority students. Research in the study “Representation in the Classroom: The Effect of Own-race Teachers on Student Achievement,” by Anna J. Egalite, Brian Kisida, and Marcus A. Winters shows that K–12 students—particularly African American and Asian American students—benefit from being taught by a teacher of the same race, while ACT data indi-cate that few minority students are interested in education.

Promote alternative pathways to teaching. Teacher preparation programs play a critical role in developing quality teachers. However, given the

expected need for more teachers than are currently available in certain areas and subjects, states and dis-tricts should remove barriers that prevent qualified individuals—such as mid-career professionals or recent talented college graduates—from entering the profession via alternative certification routes.

Improve educator benefits to attract and retain quality teachers.

Teachers are the most important school-based factor in a student’s achievement, so states and districts should advance policies that make the teaching profession more attractive. For example, beginning teach-er salaries should be comparable to entry-level salaries for recent college graduates in other fields, and effective teaching should be supported and awarded over the number of years spent in the classroom. •

ENCOURAGING A NEW GENERATION OF TEACHERS


As a program that under-stands the importance of teacher performance, accountability, in-classroom training and men-torship, UTC is currently sup-porting over 300 teachers and residents, reaching more than 13,000 students across Baltimore and Washington, DC. •

Baltimore, MD -- The Urban Teacher Center (UTC) has

announced it was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fur-ther advance the organization’s efforts to provide urban school districts with a pipeline of high-ly qualified, effective teachers. The grant comes on the heels of the foundation’s news that it will direct its support to advance high-quality teacher preparation programs nationwide.

The UTC model identifies talented, resilient individuals who want to become career teachers in urban schools. It pro-vides clinically-based teacher training via a 13-month residen-cy in K-12 urban classrooms, paired with a Master’s degree in a content area and special educa-tion. Three years of one-on-one coaching also ensures every UTC graduate is equipped to success-fully teach students in high-need schools.

News and Trends in K-12 Education from Across America

Urban Teacher Center Receives Funding to Prepare High-Quality Teacher Workforce

Articles courtesy of PR Newswire and PR Web

28 · June 01, 2015

Minneapolis, Minn -- Kidblog is proud to announce the

release of their newly redesigned student publishing platform. Kid-blog.org serves over 5 million K-12 students, teachers, and par-ents around the world. Based on teacher input, the new platform delivers significant advancements in enabling students to share their voice with an authentic audience.

The new platform is built on three principles:

1) Safe and Simple – Kidblog is elegantly simple and relevant for today’s digital learner, yet powerful enough to transform the writing experience for students of all ages. Flexible privacy settings meet the security demands of teachers, parents, and schools.

2) Student-Centered – Kid-blog is designed to help students find their voice. Each author’s creation is unique, with its own purpose, tone, and audience.

Kidblog Releases New Student Blogging Platform for K-12 Classrooms

3) Authentic Audience – Writing is meant to be read. Kid-blog makes it easy for students to share posts with their teacher, their classmates, connected class-es, and the world. •


News and Trends

Burlington, NC -- Carolina Bi-ological Supply Company, in

partnership with the North Caro-lina Science Festival, is pleased to announce the results of the 3rd annual Carolina STEM Chal-lenge Competition. The winners of the 2015 competition were se-lected from more than 100 class-

rooms in 86 cities across North Carolina.

The competing classrooms represented a mix of middle, high, rural, urban, public, char-ter, parochial, and alternative schools. Entrants submitted a short video via YouTube demon-strating their design, explaining

STEM Competition Allows Students to Explore Engineering

their scientific process, and showing their project in action. The winning teams were selected by a panel of judges:

1st Place: Chaise Swisher's Mousetrap Car Team, Elkin High School - Elkin, NC

2nd Place: Greg Stolze’s Mousetrap Car Team, Stanly County Early College – Albemar-le, NC

3rd Place: Marsha Dunn’s Solar Car Team, South Stokes High School – Walnut Cove, NC

“The students learn so much in the challenge and it reinforces class instruction with hands-on activities” commented Marsha Marsha Dunn, science teacher at South Stokes High School in Stokes County. •

30 · June 01, 2015

Dallas, TX -- Just 23% of U.S. eighth-graders are “profi-

cient” or above in knowledge of American civics, according to the “Nation’s Report Card,” released this week by the National As-sessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

A 2010 study out of the University of Central Florida found that 74% of middle school students report that they dislike social studies class due to the emphasis on reading from the textbook, rote memorization, and note-taking.

A proven method for exciting students about civic is competi-tive debate. Numerous university studies have demonstrated that debaters out-perform in grades,

test scores, reading level, critical thinking skills, understanding of controversial issues, and enthusi-asm for learning.

Through its Debate Central program, the National Center for Policy Analysis provides teachers and students with the resources necessary to launch new debate programs, as well as to sustain

8th Graders Nationwide Flunk Civics: Debate Can Help Defend Democracy

existing ones, all at no charge.Every day, more than 2,200

American students visit the De-bate Central website for research tips, starter packets for each new topic, individualized feedback, and more. Everything Debate Central does is completely free for all teachers, students, or anyone else who might be interested. •


News and Trends

WASHINGTON -- Through a new White House-led

initiative, First Book, a nonprof-it social enterprise, is helping connect children in need across the country with access to thou-sands of e-books. The initiative, announced by President Obama at the Anacostia Library in Wash-ington, is part of a broad effort to ignite kids' love of reading by

improving access to digital con-tent and public libraries.

Through the initiative, called Open eBooks, major publishers are providing $250 million worth of e-books to children from low-income families for free, including 10,000 of their most popular titles. The books will be accessible through an Open eB-ooks app, currently being devel-

First Book Partners with White House, Libraries and Publishers on Groundbreaking Effort to Bring Thousands of e-Books to Children in Need

oped by the New York Public Li-brary, the Digital Public Library of America and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Together, the organizations will curate and deliver the e-books to programs and classrooms serving low-income students.

Anyone can sign up with First Book at www.firstbook.org/register. •

32 · June 01, 2015

Ottawa, Ontario and Virginia Beach, VA -- idoodlelearn-

ing, a division of idoodle L.L.C., an educational development company offering solutions to bridge the gap between tra-ditional and digital learning, announced that it has executed a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The SAA will broaden the reach of idoodlelearning’s Cubes

in Space™ program by the col-laboration with NASA’s Project Hands-On Project Experience (HOPE). Cubes in Space pro-vides an opportunity at no cost to students to design and compete to launch an experiment into space. Utilizing formal or informal learning environments, students and educators will be exposed to engaging content and activities in preparation for the design and development of an experimental

idoodlelearning Announces Space Act Agreement With NASA Langley Research Center

payload to be integrated into a small cube (Cube).

NASA Langley will provide access to scientists and engineers within the HOPE program to serve as mentors and subject mat-ter experts for the students during their experiment design process. Student payloads will fly on the HOPE program’s Radiation Dosimetry Experiment (RaD-X) mission in September 2015. •


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