February 24, 2014

• Policy Offerings at ASCD's Annual Conference
• Public Review of Arts Standards Now Open
• New Preschool Competition: Your Input Needed
• Research Round-Up

Policy Offerings at ASCD’s Annual Conference  

ASCD’s 69th Annual Conference—themed @EveryLearner: Someday is Now—is only days away, and we invite those of you joining us in Los Angeles to check out some of ASCD’s policy offerings at the conference. For those of you who have yet to register, it’s not too late to participate.

Policy sessions at our Annual Conference include the following:

Saturday, March 15, 2014

• Federal Education Policy and You, 1:00–2:30 p.m., Level Two, Room 301B
  Decisions made by policymakers in Washington, D.C., can influence educators' daily lives, from how teachers are evaluated to what student test scores are used for, as well as the resources available to districts or schools. This session will provide an update on the pending changes to the No Child Left Behind Act and will address other federal issues like special education, funding, waivers, rural education, and college- and career-readiness.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

• Whole Child Policy Across the States, 8:00–9:30 a.m., Level Two, Room 409
  Educators have long recognized that it takes more than high standards and effective instruction to prepare students for a successful future. Now states are catching up. Learn how states are establishing policies to help ensure that students are healthy and safe, engaged in learning, supported by caring adults, and intellectually stimulated. Find out how states are assessing school climate, facilitating school and community partnerships that provide students with wraparound supports, and implementing other programs and policies in support of the whole child. This session will also provide ideas for how you can encourage and help lead these efforts in your own community.
• Building Public Support for Your School, 3:00–4:30 p.m., Level Two, Room 403B
  Educators can’t do it all, and they can’t do it alone. But collaboration between a school and community is often easier said than done. It’s critical to get parents, business leaders, elected officials, and the public on board to support your school so that they become champions of your work and true partners in your students’ success. This session will share strategies and resources for telling your school’s story, building relationships, encouraging deeper levels of engagement, leveraging community assets to address school needs, and celebrating shared success.

Additionally, ASCD encourages conference attendees to weigh in on the topic of teacher leadership through the ASCD Forum now through April 11. Educators will discuss the common attributes of teacher leaders, how a teacher leader can bolster the effectiveness of his or her peers, and how school systems can support an educator in the role of teacher leader. The conversation will inform ASCD positioning on teacher leadership and support.

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Public Review of Arts Standards Now Open 

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) has launched a final public review of the draft PreK–12 arts standards in dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts. The review period will close February 28. NCCAS’s standards writing team will consider the comments and feedback in preparation for a web-based release of the standards in June 2014. The voluntary grade-by-grade standards are intended to affirm the place of arts education in a balanced core curriculum, support the 21st-century needs of students, and help ensure that all students are college- and career-ready.

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New Preschool Competition: Your Input Needed 

The public comment period is now open for a new $250 million Race to the Top competition to help states develop and expand high-quality preschool programs. The competition, which is distinct from the Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT–ELC), will help states provide high-quality preschool for all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families. The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services are seeking suggestions and comments to inform competition details, including priority areas and selection criteria. The public comment period will close at 5:00 p.m. EDT this Wednesday, February 26.

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Research Round-Up  

• The number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams has nearly doubled in the last decade, while the number of low-income students taking AP exams has more than quadrupled. Despite this progress, the data show significant gaps in participation and success rates by different racial and ethnic groups, according to a new report (PDF).
• As the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems demands more time and evaluation expertise from principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and National Association of Elementary School Principals have unveiled several recommendations for principals in implementing teacher evaluation systems (PDF). This report details seven recommendations, from providing high-quality training and ongoing professional development on teacher evaluation for principals to reducing the number of observations required for teachers who demonstrate effectiveness
• Nearly two-thirds of Investing in Innovation (i3) projects, competitive grants to districts with promising strategies to improve student achievement, use teacher and principal professional development as a key strategy to improve student outcomes, according to a recent report (PDF). The report details that $457 million of the program’s awarded $937 million is being spent on professional development.

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