Monthly Archives: September 2010

For parents: Making sense of Race to the Top

Race to the Top (RTTT) is $4.35 billion program designed by the US Department of Education to spur school reform activity in states, and states competed against each other to win a portion of that money and implement a variety … Continue reading

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More on Ask Abouts – and designing a better classroom

Yesterday, I wrote briefly about Ask Abouts, prompts from a teacher for parents to ask their child about what’s happening in class, and I got this related idea from a teacher and parent in Elgin, IL: “I am doing this … Continue reading

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Tuesday Tidbits, September 28, 2010

As a part of this week’s Education Nation activities, see this Education Nation Scorecard, which allows “families to navigate the education system by providing useful, easily understandable information about performance at individual schools, as well as in districts, states, and … Continue reading

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Rubrics and the independent learner

In my post from September 9, I talked briefly about rubrics; in short a rubric is a scoring tool that many teachers use to measure the quality of student work – to grade that work. They are used for more … Continue reading

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Book distribution programs and their impact on kids

Yesterday, I attended an event at the National Press Club, the release of a report commissioned by Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and conducted by Learning Point Associates (LPA). (Full disclosure: I managed this project when at LPA.) For those that … Continue reading

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Tuesday Tidbits, September 21, 2010

Yesterday, our school district sent home a schedule for its Parent Academy, workshops that give parents “the tips and tools to help their children be successful in school.” There were 34 listed, from a question-and-answer session with district staff at … Continue reading

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