ASCD Community in Action

EL: Most Widely Read!

Educational Leadership is the most widely read education trade publication among school administrators, according to a recent survey conducted by the Haselton Group. The survey was sent out to thousands of superintendents, principals, and district-level administrators across the United States to identify their most trusted news sources.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents cited Educational Leadership (print and online) as the publication they most read, followed by Education Week (66 percent) and District Administration (44 percent).
When asked to rank the publications they rely on most, 60 percent of respondents identified Educational Leadership as one of their top two choices, followed by Education Week (43 percent) and District Administration (32 percent).
Respondents indicated that they were twice as likely to pick up the print version of their top-ranked magazines as they were to read the online edition.
Among the most widely read print publications were Educational Leadership (55 percent); Education Week (39 percent); and District Administration (33 percent).
Among the most widely read online publications were Education Week (25 percent), followed by Educational Leadership (22 percent).

Mapping Excellence in Whole Child Approaches

America's Promise Alliance's 100 Best Communities for Young People.
The Coalition for Community Schools' National Awards for Excellence recipients.
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform's Schools to Watch honorees.
Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award recipients.
ASCD's Healthy School Communities sites.

View the interactive map and examples at http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/examples.

Coaching Emerging Leaders

The ASCD Emerging Leaders Program is designed to prepare young, diverse educators for potential influence and ASCD leadership. One component of the program includes pairing participants with a coach who has ASCD leadership experience. Coaches work with emerging leaders to help them advance ASCD positions, strengthen ASCD's voice for influencing policy and practice, and become involved in ASCD governance.

Alina Davis, a 2010 emerging leader and Florida ASCD president, noted the importance of the relationship she forged with her emerging leader coach, who supported her through the process of creating and implementing her action plan. "Within this mentorship," she explained, "I've been comfortable confiding my aspirations and taking risks. Most important, although my coach is there to guide me, I still have the confidence to determine my own course of action."

ASCD emerging leaders are educators who have been in the profession approximately 5–15 years and who demonstrate a passion for learning, teaching, and leading. A new class of emerging leaders is selected each spring from a highly qualified pool of applicants for the two-year program. To learn more about the ASCD Emerging Leaders Program, go to www.ascd.org/emergingleaders.

A Pulse on Policy

Subjects like history, civics, foreign language, and the arts fight hard for a place in the day-to-day curriculum, and not always successfully. ASCD's policy newsletter, Policy Priorities, introduces its first digital-only special issue on the challenges of providing a well-rounded education.

A video introduction by ASCD policy director David Griffith.
An interactive infographic showing what top nations teach their students.
An audio interview with Lynne Munson, executive director of the nonprofit organization Common Core, about the implications of the organization's recent report, Why We're Behind: What Top Nations Teach Their Students But We Don't.
An audio interview with professor and artist Hilary Inwood on the topic of integrating arts education into the classroom.

This bonus digital issue is open to everyone, so share it with colleagues. To read the issue, visit www.ascdpolicypriorities.org/ascdpolicypriorities/0711. The print version of Policy Priorities is published four times each year and is mailed to all ASCD Premium members.

And the Winner Is…

A wide array of ASCD publications won awards this year for excellence in both content and design.

The gold award, in the category Magazines—Editorial, for "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may10/vol67/num08/What-Newsweek-Gets-Wrong.aspx">What Newsweek Gets Wrong</LINK>," from Educational Leadership's monthly column, Perspectives, by editor in chief Marge Scherer.
The gold award, in the category Blog, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/blog">Inservice</LINK>.
The gold award, in the category Newsletters, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/jan10/vol52/num01/toc.aspx">Education Update (January 2010)</LINK>.
The silver award, in the category Magazines—Single-Topic Issue, with a Circulation Greater than 100,000, for the March 2010 issue of Educational Leadership on "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar10/vol67/num06/toc.aspx">Reading to Learn</LINK>."
The silver award, in the category Blog Post, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/blog">Inservice</LINK>.
The bronze award, in the category Web Publishing—Editorial Excellence, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/el">Educational Leadership and the ASCD Web team</LINK>.
The bronze award, in the category Media Innovation—Social Media Strategy (Proprietary Media Tools), for ASCD EDge.
The bronze award, in the category E-Newsletters—General Excellence, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/home.aspx">ASCD Express</LINK>.

In the category Magazine Cover Design, for the September 2010 issue of Educational Leadership on "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept10/vol68/num01/toc.aspx">Giving Students Meaningful Work</LINK>" and the November 2010 issue of Educational Leadership on "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov10/vol68/num03/toc.aspx">Closing Opportunity Gaps</LINK>."
In the category Book Cover Design, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109009.aspx">Everyday Engagement: Making Students and Parents Your Partners in Learning</LINK>, by Katy Ridnouer; <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111003.aspx">Learning for Keeps: Teaching the Strategies Essential for Creating Independent Learners</LINK>, by Rhoda Koenig; and <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109097.aspx">What Every School Leader Needs to Know About RTI</LINK>, by Margaret Searle.
In the category Online Projects, for the <LINK URL="http://voices.ascd.org/">Value of Each Voice</LINK> website.

In the category, Periodicals—How-to Feature, "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept10/vol68/num01/Five-Hallmarks-of-Good-Homework.aspx">Five Hallmarks of Good Homework</LINK>," by Cathy Vatterott (Educational Leadership, September 2010).
In the category Periodicals—Learned Article, "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/summer11/vol68/num10/The-Myth-of-Pink-and-Blue-Brains.aspx">The Myth of Pink and Blue Brains</LINK>," by Lise Eliot (Educational Leadership, November 2010).
In the category Periodicals—Whole Publication: Newsletter/E-Newsletter, <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Newsletters/Education-Update/Education-Update.aspx">Education Update</LINK>.

The grand award, in the category Design and Illustration, for the ASCD New Member Calendar.
An award of excellence, in the category Magazines and Journals—Print over 32 Pages, for "<LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/toc.aspx">Teaching Screenagers</LINK>" (Educational Leadership, February 2011).
An award of excellence, in the category Newsletters—E-Mail (Entire Issue), for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/home.aspx">ASCD Express</LINK>.
An award of excellence, in the category Newsletters—Writing: How-to Series, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/home.aspx">ASCD Express</LINK>.
An award of excellence, in the category Illustrations and Typography, for Learning for Keeps, by Rhoda Koenig.
An award of excellence, in the category Covers, for <LINK URL="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109073.aspx">Brain Matters</LINK> (2nd.ed.), by Patricia Wolfe.