Schools Receive Grants For Anti-Violence Initiatives.
The Baltimore Sun (3/19, Bowie) reported, “The Reginald F. Lewis High School in Baltimore has received a $3.4 million federal grant to support programs aimed at reducing violence at the school. The federal money is being given nationally by the U.S. Labor Department to six high schools that were named ‘persistently dangerous’ under” NCLB. According to the Sun, “In the past two years, 2.5 percent of the high school’s students have been removed or suspended for a serious offense, including having weapons or being violent, according to Principal Sylvia Hall.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/19, Woodall) reported, “The School District of Philadelphia was celebrating a windfall in federal funding this week,” as the Department of Labor “announced Wednesday that it had awarded the district $25 million to reduce violence and improve educational outcomes at four neighborhood high schools on the state’s list of ‘persistently dangerous’ schools, based on the number of violent incidents and assaults reported over several years.” Also, “U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey announced that the Treasury Department and [ED] had awarded the district $145.4 million in construction bonds that will help it obtain low-cost financing to upgrade and repair facilities.”

Give your primary writers a vision of independence and the desire and confidence to achieve it. No More “I’m Done!” guides teachers in setting up the classroom environment and establishing routines that allow students to move through the writing process at their own pace. Includes a whole year’s worth of mini-lessons. Preview the entire book online!

Last night at the Local President’s meeting a member asked that we send a list to all local presidents of legislators who have been helpful by speaking up in caucus to raise concerns about the pension and benefits bills. The list is below.

Pleas contact thse legislators immediately.

Thank you.

• Assemblywoman Linda Stender – thanks! (lone vote against pension bills in the committee): AswStendernjlegorg  AswStendernjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Nelson Albano: AsmAlbanonjlegorg  AsmAlbanonjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Herb Conaway: AsmConawaynjlegorg  AsmConawaynjlegorg  
• Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein: AswGreensteinnjlegorg  AswGreensteinnjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo: AswGreensteinnjlegorg  AswGreensteinnjlegorg  
• Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman: AswWatsonColemannjlegorg  AswWatsonColemannjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Pat Diegnan: AsmDiegnannjlegorg  AsmDiegnannjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Joe Cryan: AsmCryannjlegorg  AsmCryannjlegorg  
• Assemblyman John McKeon: AsmMcKeonnjlegorg  AsmMcKeonnjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Al Coutinho: AsmCoutinhonjlegorg  AsmCoutinhonjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone: AsmChiapponenjlegorg  AsmChiapponenjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Vincent Prieto: AsmPrietonjlegorg  AsmPrietonjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Tom Giblin: AsmGiblinnjlegorg  AsmGiblinnjlegorg  
• Assemblywoman Elease Evans: AswEvansnjlegorg  AswEvansnjlegorg  
• Assemblyman Gary Schaer: AsmSchaernjlegorg  AsmSchaernjlegorg  
• Assemblywoman Joan Voss: AswVossnjlegorg  AswVossnjlegorg  
• Assemblywoman Connie Wagner: AswWagnernjlegorg  AswWagnernjlegorg  

Pen Ben Bills in Committee March 18
Call Assembly Appropriations Committee Today!
On Thursday, March 18, the four-bill Pensions and Benefits package (A-2459, A-2460, A-2461 & ACR-115) will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

When these bills were discussed in the Senate State Government Committee a few short weeks ago, the members of the committee did not ask a single question during the entire two and a half hours of testimony. The bills were quickly voted out of committee and sent to the Senate floor for a 36-0 vote of approval.

Questions about these bills MUST be answered!

There are many questions about these bills that so far have gone unanswered. Choose one from the list below, and call members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and make sure they know what questions to ask on March 18.

1) A-2461 repeals the “non-forfeitable right” for employees who have reached five years of service. This means that the State can reduce benefits for new employees at any time. Don’t public employees deserve to know how their pension benefits will be calculated? How can they plan for retirement without a formula to rely on?

2) A-2461 allows for workers with fewer than 10 years of service to opt-out of the current defined benefit plan. If the state and local government are not planning on making a full payment for 8 more years, should we really be reducing cash flow into the system? Do you know that once an employee opts-out, this decision is irrevocable? Did you know that if an employee opts-out, they are ineligible for post-retirement medical benefits?

With today’s budget address, Governor Chris Christie is prepared to slash education spending by more than $1.5 billion, which will result in thousands of layoffs, larger class sizes, deep program cuts, and a retreat from the state’s commitment to the very best public school system in America.

NJEA has established a new website — NJ Kids & Families – designed specifically to organize public opposition to Gov. Christie’s proposed cuts. Many NJEA members have already joined the site by signing its petition, joining tens of thousands of other New Jerseyans who already have answered the call.

Just go to njkidsandfamilies.org and see for yourself! It’s got plenty of helpful information to assist people in making the case for New Jersey’s public schools. And, with a couple of simple clicks of the mouse, you can send a hard-hitting e-mail (either your own or one already on file) to Governor Christie and your legislators. New Jersey’s students are depending on you!

Please feel free to forward this to friends, family, and other supporters of public education!

Students Celebrate National Engineers Week. The Anderson (SC) Independent-Mail (2/17, Jackson) reports, “Some Clemson Elementary School students filled the Hendrix Student Center at Clemson University on Tuesday to celebrate National Engineers Week. Mary Beth Kurz, professor of industrial engineering at Clemson University, said a total of more than 150 first- and second-graders from the school participated in learning exercises from stargazing to understanding artificial knee and hip replacement technology.” Kurz said, “Our goal is to encourage students to like math and science. If they begin to understand the importance of math, then they will be ready to study engineering in the future.”

News 8 Austin (2/16) reported on “Discover Engineering Week” in the Austin area, which will give students “a hands-on and updated view of the engineering industry,” and will include visits from industry professionals who “will talk about the importance of engineers in society and provide interactive features for students and teachers.” Another News 8 Austin (2/16, Iglehart) story reported, “IBM is one of the companies participating in” the initiative. Yesterday, “IBM trained volunteers for the program and taught various activities to get students acquainted with the life of an engineer. … Each activity gives students an idea of how important engineering is to their community and the impact it can have on their daily lives.”

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Read-i-cide, n. The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools. In Readicide, Kelly Gallagher takes a hard look at instruction that discourages students from reading, and offers suggestions on how teachers can cultivate lifelong readers.

Please be advised that I have scheduled emergency individual building meetings throughout the district. Annette has also scheduled a meeting with the security guards for Wednesday. That meeting will be held at the Asbury Park High School in room 113 at 2:30pm. This will be in addition to the breakfast workshop we will be holding for the Custodians, Maintenance men as well as the Security Guards on Saturday morning, March 27, at 9:00am in the morning at Langosta Lounge on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park. The following dates and times of the meeting are as follows:

Monday, March 8, 2010 – Bradley Elementary: 2:30pm

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 – Asbury Park High School Library: Immediately following the Superintedent’s meeting

Thursday, March 11, 2010 – Thurgood Marshall Cafeteria: Immediately following the Superintedent’s meeting.
Monday, March 15, 2010 – Barack Obama Elementary School Cafeteria/Auditorium: 2:30pm.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 – Asbury Park Middle School Cafeteria or Library: 2:30pm.

Please advise Melanie from the Annex that they can attend any of these meetings. Also, word must be given to the Alternative MIddle School to attend one of these meetings, preferably the Middle School meeting. Barbara from the ITC and Gena from the Board Office, please advise your members of these meeting dates.
I STRONGLY URGE EVERY MEMBER TO ATTEND THESE MEETINGS. WE ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO STAND TOGETHER TO PROTECT EACH OTHER.

If you have any questions, please contact me.
John

Superintendent Is Willing To Negotiate With Teachers After Mass Firings.
The AP (3/3, Henry) reported that Central Falls, R.I. Superintendent Frances Gallo said “she’s willing to negotiate” with the Central Falls Teachers’ Union after firing all the teachers from Central Falls High School, “one of the state’s most troubled schools.” Gallo “said an offer made late Tuesday by the Central Falls Teachers’ Union gives her hope the issue could be resolved without mass firings. The offer includes support for a longer school day and providing before- and after-school tutoring for students.”

The Washington Post (3/4, Anderson) reports that “the decision last month to replace the teaching staff at the end of the school year cast the spotlight on a new Obama administration policy: To qualify for a share of $3.5 billion in federal turnaround aid, local officials must close the struggling school or replace the principal and start over with a new academic game plan and perhaps a new staff.” However, The Post notes, “Experts say there is little evidence to determine whether firing teachers en masse will improve a troubled school.”

Instead of drilling students on what’s wrong with a sentence, Jeff Anderson invites students to use mentor texts and make editing a meaningful part of the writing process in Everyday Editing. See how to weave editing into writer’s workshop and get 10 lesson sets covering everything from apostrophes to verb choice. Click here to read Chapter 1!

In the Classroom
Middle School Teacher Ties Mosaic-Building Exercise To Geography Lesson.
The St. Petersburg Times (3/4, Ritchie) reports that through mosaic-building, J.D.

The Asbury Park Board of Education meeting will be held at Bradley Elementary on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at 6:30pm.
Please make every effort to attend. There will be RIFs on this agenda due to serious budget cuts within the district. Come out support your staff members, colleagues, family members and friends.

Prepare for budget elections
With all the problems facing the U.S. economy and the economy in this state, with record foreclosures and rising unemployment, your local association must be prepared for a difficult school budget election season. Contact your UniServ office to check on the date for a “Pass the School Budget” workshop in your county.

Are your members registered to vote?
You can start your school budget campaign by ensuring that your members are registered to vote for the April 20 school budget elections and by working with your administration and parents to register parents to vote. Visit the Division of Elections website for voter registration forms and the addresses to which they can be mailed.

Vote by mail for your school district’s budget
Don’t forget how easy it is to vote in New Jersey! You can vote by mail and it counts the same. No need to wait in line at the polls; you don’t even need an excuse as you did in the past to vote by mail. Simply print out and complete a Mail-In Ballot Application and mail it to your county clerk. Once you fill out the application you will receive, prior to Election Day, a voting ballot in the mail. Remember, if you apply for a Mail-In Ballot, you cannot show up at the polls on Election Day to vote.

Does your school plan to celebrate Read Across America?
Read Across America—a national day to celebrate reading—is slated for Tuesday, March 2. If you or your school has an awesome activity planned over the next several weeks, let the Cat know about it!

Most Elementary School Principals Say Recess Positively Impacts Achievement, Poll Shows.

The Christian Science Monitor (2/4, Paulson) reported that a new Gallup survey shows “more than 80 percent of elementary-school principals believe that recess has a positive impact on academic achievement.” Also, according to “two-thirds of the principals” polled, “students listen better and are more focused in class” after recess. “The findings support a growing wave of educators who are pushing to restore the place of recess in schools and, in some cases, to improve its quality.” Schools in some cities such as “Chicago, Atlanta, and Boston…have dropped recess completely,” amid budget cuts and an increasingly intense focus on test preparation.

Nancy Shute wrote in the US News and World Report (2/4) On Parenting blog, “Recess has almost disappeared from the curriculum at many schools, edged out by more math and reading work as schools push to raise scores on standardized tests.” But more and more research “shows that adding more play to the day, not less, improves the likelihood of better test scores and behavior.” However, Shute adds, “The news wasn’t all good. The principals said most of their discipline problems happened during a recess or lunch break and said that they would like to have more staff to monitor the playground, better equipment, and training in playground management.”

In the Classroom