What you need to know for your teaching license

There have been contradictory sets of information regarding what will happen yet this year regarding the federal requirement to document "highly" qualified teachers.

The Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as "No Child Left Behind," requires state departments of education to document that teachers are highly qualified. The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) was preparing a survey in which every certified educator in Kansas would fill out evidence of their qualification.

Here's the latest:
KSDE will use data from the sample of 200 schools taken this spring and generalize about “highly qualified” for the fall 2003 required reports.

Teachers will be asked to complete the Highly Qualified survey when they come back for the 2003-2004 school year.

KNEA will include information about this survey in the first publication of ISSUES, which should be in KNEA members’ hands in early August.

For now, teachers should know:

• As long as you're licensed/endorsed for what you're teaching, you're fine. You will not lose your job over this.
• For all teachers, and especially those at the middle level, there are many ways to meet the requirement; do not accept advice that you need to get an endorsement in an area immediately or that you must go take college courses this summer.
• For all but Title I, this isn't effective until 2005-2006.

What about sanctions? "If a school does NOT have all the teachers 'highly qualified' by the 2005-2006 year, it COULD, if it is Title 1, have some funding put in jeopardy," said Peg Dunlap, KNEA Instructional Advocacy directory. "If it is not a Title 1 school, we’re not sure what the U.S. Department of Education will do. Probably the sanction would impact state Title 1 funding. All this is PURE speculation at this point," she added.

If you or any of your members have specific questions, please contact
Peg Dunlap at KNEA or your UniServ Director.

Kansas consistently has had the one of the highest percentages of qualified teachers nationwide.

• Read Across
  America at the Cosmosphere
• Read Across America Photo Gallery

Read Across America

Reading will take you through time and space!

Kansas NEA's Read Across America is sure to be a stellar event this year because not only are celebrating Dr. Suess' 99th birthday, we're celebrating the 100th anniversary of flight.

Kansas astronaut, Dr. Steve Hawley, the honorary chairman this year of this literacy event that encourages all adults to pick up a book and read with a child. Kansas will be celebrating March 2, Dr. Seuss' birthday, and March 3 in many ways.

"KNEA encourages principals, teachers and all adults to read with a child and to model a love of reading and a love of learning," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "Providing children motivation to read is an important factor in student achievement. Dr. Seuss epitomizes a love of learning and his books are effective in teaching young children basic reading skills. His wry sense of humor keeps even teenagers and adults actively involved in reading," she said.

"Reading is the ultimate virtual reality," Dr. Hawley said. "I've always found it tremendously exciting to learn about anything I wanted to by reading."

NEA and KNEA provide many user-friendly resources to plan Read Across America plus great resources from NASA and the Kansas Comsophere.

Here are resources and information about reading and flight! This page will be updated regularly between now and March 3.

• Reading recommendations by grade level -- the KNEA Reading Circle Catalog
• History of Flight
• NASA
• About Dr. Steve Hawley
• Kansas Comosphere
• Amelia Earhart Resources
• Amelia Earhart and Flight
• Amelia's Birthplace in Atchison, KS
• Kansas Cosmoshere and Space Center
  

Some History of KNEA's Read Across America

Who: Past Honorary Read Across America Chairpersons are Nobel Prize winner Jack Kilby, Olympic Gold medal winner Tara Nott, K-State Football Coach Bill Snyder, KU Basketball Coach Roy Williams, Kansas City Royals Baseball great George Brett and Kansas Governor Bill Graves.

What: NEA's Read Across America, the celebration that annually salutes reading and Dr. Seuss's birthday.

When: March 2 or 3 (the good doctor's birthday - March 2 -- falls on a Sunday this year, which means that the official celebration is on Monday, March 3.)

Where: All schools and towns across Kansas plus all 50 states plus countries overseas … to find out what's going on in locally, contact your KNEA local association leader or log on to www.nea.org/readacross/states.html.

Here's just a sampling of what's happened around Kansas:

• All KNEA members get an official Read Across America poster in the KNEA Issues.
• University students visited visited local elementary schools and reading to students and promoting literacy.
• School PTOs sponsored events such as a "Dr. Seuss Family Reading Night" featuring guest readers, games, story telling and crafts for all to enjoy.
• Many events involved singing "Happy Birthday" to Dr. Seuss and eating some concoction of Green Eggs and Ham - cookies, sandwiches etc.
• The whole community gets involved in the celebration and businesses donate prizes for drawings at the end of the evening.
• Several schools held a Read-a-Thon!
• One elementary school put a "foot punch-out" down on the floor for each book a student reads during the week.
• Students recited the Reader's Oath after the Pledge of Allegiance. In some communities, local and district judges held a "swearing in" of children who promised to be life-long learners.
• Many schools held a Dr. Seuss book scavenger hunt throughout a school or community.
• Local dignitaries and parents came to schools and read books to children in literally every school in Kansas.
• Schools held all-school assemblies and some featured a Surprise Someone wearing a "Cat in the Hat" hat read a famous Dr. Seuss story.
• Students did buddy-reading with different grade levels.
• Many schools organized Dr. Seuss "centers" that include trivia contests, making hats, bookmarks and much, much more.
• Some schools started in January reading books from the 50 states list.
• To show students how reading is important in all academic areas, a few K-6 school students wrote poems using the letters in Dr. Seuss's name.
• A physical education class performed Dr. Seuss rhymes while doing jump-rope tricks.
• A music teacher taught a Dr. Seuss song and the third graders completed a PowerPoint presentation based on a Dr. Seuss book.
• Different grades were involved in different ways: junior high students read to first and second graders. Upper level students made books for the first and second graders to take home.
• A Cat and the Hat "Wall of Fame" was created for students who read a Dr. Seuss book wearing the traditional red and white-stripped hat. "Wall of Fame" certificates were often presented at a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast.
  

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center: The Smithsonian in your Neighborhood

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson brings space exploration to life for thousands of school children and educators every year. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Cosmosphere is home to the internationally acclaimed Hall of Space Museum, Carey IMAX® Dome Theater, Justice Planetarium, Dr. Goddard's Lab live rocket science show and the Discovery Classroom, featuring specialized programs ranging from Living in Space to the hands-on Robotics Chalenge.

But the Cosmosphere isn't just a place to take students on one-of-a-kind field trips. It's a great resource for teacher education as well. The Cosmosphere is home to Kansas' NASA Educator Resource Center, which provides teachers with NASA-developed educational resources ranging from videotapes to lesson plans to classroom activities. And throughout the year the Cosmosphere's space science eductors offer Educator Workshops, including one which involves a behind-the-scenes tour of Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Visit the Cosmosphere's website at www.cosmo.org to learn about the Cosmosphere's many other educational programs, including the Future Astronaut Training Program and the new Overnight School Adventure, and to sign up to receive their educator newsletter electronically. See for yourself why the Cosmosphere was named just the fifth recipient of the U.S. Space Foundation's Education Achievement Award for outstanding Achievement in K-12 education. It's the Smithsonian in your neighborhood. Don't miss it!

• Read Across
  America at the Cosmosphere
• Read Across America Photo Gallery

• Read Across
  America at the Cosmosphere
• Read Across America Photo Gallery
• KNEA Members attend NASA to improve

KNEA's Read Across America
at the Cosmosphere

Read Across America in Kansas blasted off and the kids had a wonderful time. A live satellite feed between NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Hutchinson allowed Kansas astronaut Dr. Steve Hawley to share his message that reading is the ultimate virtual reality – it takes you through time and space! He visited via satellite with 50 first and fourth grade reading buddies from Lincoln Elementary School.

KNEA President Christy Levings facilitated the questions of ten first and fourth graders who asked questions about reading and space travel. Afterwards, the kids were read to throughout the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center – one reading took place on the wing of a mock space shuttle! Celebrity readers were Levings; Becky Pringle, NEA Executive Committee; Jeff Ollenburger, president/CEO Kansas Cosmosphere; Carol Rupe, Kansas State Board of Education; Sherri Yourdon, secretary/treasurer for KNEA; and Dr. Wynona Winn, superintendent of Hutchinson Public Schools.

All this plus a visit by Mr. Cat himself. The kids received a Dr. Seuss book and a map featuring Dr. Hawley when they left. Remarkably, the bus ride back to school was very quiet because the kids were reading the books we’d given them!

News clippings indicate reading events took place in nearly every school in Kansas – thousands of kids and adults heard and read the message that reading can take you through time and space! Watch this page for details!

Becky Pringle, Sherri Yourdon and Carol Rupe visit with Mr. Cat on their way into the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. Pringle, a teacher from Pennsylvania, serves on the NEA Executive Committee. Yourdon is KNEA’s secretary/treasurer and Rupe serves on the Kansas State Board of Education.

National Teacher Day is May 6

New book "Thanks Teachers with Class"

National Teacher's Day, a day to honor and remember teachers, as well as to promote the profession of teaching, is May 6. The theme for this year's celebration is Bring Out the Best: Teach!

The celebration has two goals.

• To recognize all teachers in America for their contributions in "making public schools great for every child."
• To attract more people to the complex, and intellectually demanding profession of teaching.

The Bring Out the Best: Teach! celebration kick-offs nationwide with a series of National Teacher's Day events and teacher recruitment activities during the month of May. Celebration materials are available through the National Education Association. Celebration materials include information on effective teacher recruitment strategies, web-links and related literature, as well as National Teacher Day posters, buttons, and other suggested activities such as sample-letters to the editor, proclamations and Swiss-cheese news releases, etc. to compliment local celebrations.

"The Bring Out the Best: Teach! celebration focuses on attracting prospective educators, particularly high school and college students, as well as mid-career individuals," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "Teaching is a great profession."

National Teacher Day came into being through the leadership and persistence of Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1953, she persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim May Seventh that year as National Teacher Day. With further lobbying by the NEA in the 1980s, National Teacher Day found an official permanent home on the first Tuesday of every May.

The NEA Foundation Thanks Teachers with Class on National Teacher Day-- New gift book honors the work of outstanding educators nationwide.

Just in time for National Teacher Day, Tuesday, May 6, 2003, Marsha Serling Goldberg and Sonia Feldman have written Teachers with Class: True Stories of Great Teachers, celebrating caring educators and the profound difference they make to the lives of millions of students. A portion of the book's proceeds will be donated to The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE).

Almost everyone has had a special teacher at some point-one who saw potential where others did not, one who made ideas come alive, one who inspired and set us on our lifelong path. In this beautiful gift book, famous and not-so-famous people-including Walter Cronkite, James Earl Jones, Marian Wright Edelman and Thomas Friedman-thank their favorite educators with essays and quotations praising the difference a good teacher makes. These stories are sure to spark memories about the special teachers in your own life.

Along with the stories is a resource list for teachers and their admirers to use in finding grants and awards to help support their great work. Use this list to nominate a teacher who made a positive impact on your life.

For further details and purchasing information, visit www.teacherswithclass.com. To learn more about the grant or giving opportunities available at The NEA Foundation.

KPERS sponsors pre-retirement seminars

KPERS is hosting pre-retirement seminars for active members who are within five years of retirement from KPERS and KP&F. All seminars will begin at 6:30 p.m. The seminar will occur in nearly 40 locations around the state.

To register for a pre-retirement seminar, do one of the following:

• Complete and return a registration form to the KPERS office
• Call toll-free (888) 275-5737 or dial direct to 296-6166.
• E-mail kpers@kpers.org

When registering by phone or e-mail please include:

• Name
• Seminar location and date
• Whether you are attending a KPERS or KP&F seminar
• The number of people attending the seminar in your group
• Daytime phone number

The winter issue of KPERS Papers has pre-registration forms and information regarding pre-retirement seminars. KPERS will distribute the newsletter in the next few weeks. Pre-registration forms are also available on the KPERS web site. Please call KPERS if you have questions regarding the seminars or any aspect of KPERS benefits.

Please note: Seminars are group presentations Individual counseling is not available at these events.

Upholds lower court decision

The Kansas Supreme Court upheld a Johnson County district court decision that the Kansas affiliate of the Association of American Educators (KANAAE) is a professional employee organization (PEO). "In other words, a bargaining representative, just like KNEA," said KNEA General Counsel, David Schauner.

In the March 7 decision, the High Court unanimously declared the KANAAE is a competing organization and, consequently, is bound by the same rules as other PEOs. At issue was the use of Olathe public school mailboxes for soliciting membership. The Court said only the PEO, Olathe NEA as the official bargaining agent, could use the mailboxes because the board and association have an exclusive agreement regarding mailbox use.

The decision applies to all school districts and all similar organizations.

Additionally, the High Court said that finding KANAAE to be PEO did not infringe on individuals' rights to join, or not join a labor union organization because KANAAE members can resign from that organization.

Judy Classen, Newton EA
Alan Gleue, Lawrence EA
Terri Ball, Atchison EA
Tamara Mitchell, High Plains SEA
Fred Nelson, Manhattan-Ogden NEA

The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) offers small grants of $1,000 to $3,000 each year to fund educators' BIG ideas. NFIE grants are awarded to teams of two or more practicing U.S. public school K through 12th grade teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff.

The Innovation Grants are awarded to promote collaborative education innovations that lead to student achievement of high standards. In addition to funding up to 250 Innovation Grants per year, NFIE awards up to 75 Learning & Leadership Grants for professional development to improve classroom practice.

The NEA Foundation Applications for Innovation and Learning & Leadership Grants may be submitted at any time, so why wait? Apply today.  All applications are peer reviewed on a year-round, ongoing basis. Notification of grants awarded is sent within seven months of submission; grants fund activities for 12 months from date of the award.

Small grants lead to BIG changes
Kansas Grant Recipients

Learning & Leadership Grant
Alan Gleue
10th-12th Grades Physics Teacher,
Lawrence High School
Lawrence Education Association
Alan participated in a summer workshop on the Modeling Method for High School Physics Instruction developed at Arizona State University (ASU). He conducted a complementary literature search on inquiry-based laboratory instruction, and then he assisted other science teachers in his school in integrating sensor probe laboratory activities into their curricula. Alan hopes to become a mentor teacher for the Modeling Method through the ASU network.

Innovation Grant
Judy Classen
K - 5th Grade Literacy Specialist
Slate Creek Elementary School
Newton Education Association
Judy and her partners Amy Jones, Kate Husted and Beaty Robb used the NFIE grant to fund guided reading groups, take-home activities, and independent reading to improve the literacy skills of first-grade students. Each student met with teachers weekly to discuss effective reading approaches.

Terri Ball
School to Career Coordinator, 9th to 12th Grades
Atchison Education Association
Terri and her partner, Kathy Hines, developed Redmen Hall, a small learning community for ninth-grade students seeking to enrich their academic experience through an emphasis on the core subjects and career exploration. The teachers offered a course called Freshman Focus, through which students gained study skills and became oriented to the school in order to help them make the transition to high school.

Tamara Mitchell
Library Media Specialist, K to 5th Grades
Sullivan Elementary School in Ulysses
High Plains SEA
Tamara and her partners, Susan Biggs and Shirley Wilson, enhanced their Early Literacy project by providing students with time to improve background knowledge, vocabulary, and language development in their homes. The teachers assembled book bags that were sent home so that students could read the materials with their parents. The partners also hosted parent meetings where participants learned direct ways to promote reading success with their children.

Fred Nelson
10th to 12th Grades Teacher,
Manhattan High School
Manhattan-Ogden NEA
Fred and his partner, Casey Veatch, enhanced their science instruction through computerized data collection methods. Students worked with a laptop, LabPro interface, and sensors for collecting various types of data on temperature, dissolved gases, motion and radioactivity. The technology not only increased student interest in the material, but also provided them with a portable lab. As a result, students were able to analyze the data they gathered immediately.

To read about more projects or to apply for your own grant, visit http://www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm or call 202-822-7840.

KNEA Strategic Focus Grant comes through again!

The "gifts" NEA Topeka members are receiving this year are so awesome, nonmembers and administrators are begging to borrow (and steal) it!

Last spring members received a ring-bound, user-friendly Professional Development File to simplify record keeping for licensure renewal and to understand how to apply for Application and Impact points. Throughout this year members are receiving monthly tips with the local newsletter to insert in their notebooks, so the process will be easy.

"New state regulations for professional development may initially be confusing, but will be easy to manage once teachers learn the new system," said Sharon Kailey, who serves on the Professional Development Council and is NEA-T's president. "NEA-T developed the Professional Development File to help members understand the system and to keep track of extra paperwork.

"We think the new Professional Development File will greatly simplify record keeping. Teachers need to put all professional development forms in their new files as the forms are returned to them with points awarded by their school's PDC," she added. "Teachers need to retain all forms on which they receive Knowledge points, as these are the basis of their Application and Impact documentation."

Kailey says the Personnel File outlines the information each teacher will need to retain in an easily accessible place. "The divider tabs are organized for easy use," she said, "and the reminder to keep knowledge forms indefinitely should be heeded."

The notebook resulted from the Local Association Program (LAP) Survey done last year where members indicated the Association should help them handle their increasing professional responsibilities.

"Change is happening in professional development and the Association wants to be proactive in guiding members through the process," Kailey said.

The project was funded by NEA-T and a KNEA Strategic Grant. The idea started with Kailey, was spurred on by Mary Masters who returned from an NEA Membership Conference with an idea to help members organize their credentials, and it grew from there.

NEA-Topeka has a limited number for sale to nonmembers. To obtain copies or to get more information on KNEA's Strategic Focus Grants, contact KNEA Associate Executive Director Sheryl Mathis.

The Kansas Learning First Alliance sponsored a community conversation in which 750 educators voiced their opinions on President Bush's No Child Left Behind education legislation.

The "Moving From Good to Great Conference" also gave participants an opportunity to hear from Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Commissioner of Education Andy Tompkins and Assistant Commissioner Alexa Pochowski about Kansas educational performance, now and in the future.

The event was funded by a grant from the National Education Association.

All participants discussed in small groups the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on Kansas schools. The conversation format allowed participants to speak frankly about their opinions and beliefs. (KLFA Summary) The results of the conversations can all be viewed at the KLFA web site. (www.teachkansas.org)

The "Kansans Respond to NCLB" reports summarize the conversations and participant evaluations. KLFA encourages the "Kansans Respond" flyers to be used extensively in discussions with policy makers and community members, as they reflect beliefs and opinions drawn from a large population sample in an authentic and representative manner.

KLFA's mission is making Kansas first in the nation in teaching and learning. Its national affiliate, Learning First, is in the formative stage of developing resources to help districts place and maintain high-quality teachers in the most challenging assignments. A second thrust will be aimed at addressing the lack of common norms of quality and professionalism in teaching and leadership.

Community members often face a difficult challenge as they think about important community issues. They must decide if the information they hear is from "special interests" or from more "authentic," broadly representative sources.

The Kansas Learning First Alliance (KLFA) sponsored community conversation was designed for listening. The conversation format allowed participants to speak frankly about their opinions and beliefs. The format also made it difficult for "rants" or "diatribes" to gather much steam. What the small groups ultimately generated were thoughtful and accurate reflections of the group and its participants.

What should citizens "hear" from this activity? The clearest messages are:

• The education system has insufficient resources for continued success. Resources must include funding for programs and staffing, and for adequate instructional time to meet learning goals.
• Parents, community, school personnel and boards of education all have a role to fill.
• Concerns exist on the sanctions and technical details of NCLB. Three factors - accountability measures, resources and local control - are all necessary.
• All children benefit from high expectations and generous dedication.

Other common messages:

• Adequate resources need to be provided for professional development.
• Community and parent involvement needs to increase.
• NCLB needs to be more broadly shared with teachers and parents.
• Local control is important in deciding how to best implement federal legislation.
• "Flexibility" and "thinking outside of the box" are important structural and organizational considerations.

"Next steps" were also generated. They included:

• Network to share successful practices beyond one's own community.
• Educate the public on community accountability.
• Promote civic participation, and the responsibilities and benefits that accompany it.
• Involve parents and the community in the education of all children.
• Work to better educate media representatives on the complexity of educational issues.
• Stage a "community conversation" at home.
• Create a better understanding among all citizens of education as an investment.
• Improve and include site councils in informational efforts.
• Involve parents early in learning opportunities.

The participants appreciated the civil, thought-provoking environment of the small, moderated discussion groups. In terms of educators, the groups were diverse. The discussion revealed the complexity of the issues, and people consistently reported their opinions and views were challenged in respectful ways, which made an impact on how they might view the issue in the future. And by large majorities, participants reported their discussion groups as being superior to other institutions or formats with which they were familiar that discussed educational issues.

The event was funded through a grant from the National Education Association.

KNEA members are NCATE Examiners

NCATE examiners are recommended by an individual's professional organization. Kansas examiners are recommended by KNEA President Christy Levings to the NEA, which in turn recommends them to NCATE.

"Classroom teachers are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of candidates who choose to teach. This is an opportunity for us to influence and insure those field experiences are of the highest quality and extensive enough so graduates are well prepared," said West. "Classroom teachers want student teachers who come from an institution that prepared them well to move into classroom responsibilities. Kansas teacher preparation institutions have the reputation."

"NCATE is more real-life," he added. "It is now an outcomes-based approach to accreditation; we look at actual performance of the student and teacher."

NCATE pushed colleges to engage in the same kinds of practices that we have to do in K-12 classrooms, like collecting data on student performance and adjusting programs to meet student performance; and looking across demographic subgroups.

KNEA Vice President West is now chairing site visits for NCATE. "It's a tremendous responsibility," he said. "While the accreditation board makes the final decision, each team member has a say in whether each standard is met, or not."

West says the five-day visit involves 16-hour days. They review hundreds of documents the institution prepares about programs, interview dozens of teacher education candidates, faculty members and university personnel, visit schools where student teachers are placed and talk to cooperating teachers and administrators.

"It has been one of the best professional growth experiences," he added. "By understanding the requirements of K-12 teachers in areas such as QPA, we're able to give meaningful feedback about preparing new teachers for the kind of responsibilities they'll have in a classroom, in addition to their work with students directly."

A project undertaken by the Kansas Learning First Alliance (KLFA) and the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is providing a powerful tool for teaching and learning math.

An audit was funded primarily by a $50,000 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant that KLFA wrote with in-kind contributions from KSDE and other KLFA members. As the data from the audit is disaggregated and analyzed in conjunction with state assessment results, districts and buildings will have a powerful new tool to guide math instruction and professional development.

Three-dimensional graphs that display instructional time in relation to math standards and levels of cognitive complexity are a powerful product of the audit. Eventually, districts, buildings and teachers will be able to improve student math achievement by reviewing alignment of curriculum, assessment and instructional time devoted to a particular concept.

This information will be particularly helpful as buildings strive to design instruction that is beneficial to all students and leads to student outcomes that meet the high standards associated with the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). These regulations have been incorporated into Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA) regulations slated to go into effect July 1, 2005. The audit also included an in-depth survey of beliefs and practices. Detailed graphs made clear the wide range in teacher perceptions about core teaching beliefs and training practices and effectiveness.

The survey was a modified version of one developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). It was given to almost 500 math teachers from approximately 65 grade schools and 65 secondary schools across the state. The schools were randomly selected to represent the demographical and geographical diversity found in the state. The surveys were completed in the fall of 2002.

The Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC) is a free resource to teachers and schools. Funded under Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as "No Child Left Behind," KPIRC consists of eight statewide educational and parent advocacy partners that include Kansas NEA.

As parents and teachers we know how important school/family partnerships are," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "KNEA is pleased to be part of this network."

A major goal of the KPIRC is to provide training, information, resources and support to schools, parents and other organizations that carry out parent education and family involvement programs. This, in turn, helps teachers to communicate more effectively with parents of pre-K through 12th grade students.

Services from the KPIRC are available to help you to build the capacity of parents to become an integral part of their children's educational success in meeting the Kansas QPA academic requirements. KPIRC is offering free workshops to schools and districts on topics such as:

• Creating Parent Involvement Policies;
• Best Practices in Title I Parent Involvement;
• How Parents Can Help Children Learn At Home; and
• Developing Meaningful Parent/School Compacts.

Check out the Web site: www.kpirc.org. For details, contact Nancy Kraft at 866-711-6711 or nkraft@piric.org.
KPIRC is housed at the Northeast Kansas Education Service Center (NEKESC) in Lecompton.

Members take on teaching and learning issues to maintain quality Kansas public schools

Nearly 700 KNEA members attended the Representative Assembly April 4 - 6 in Topeka.

The delegates addressed the myriad of issues that impact maintaining and improving Kansas public schools and strengthening the teaching profession. KNEA members set the course for the teacher's association by considering new business items, which involve actions on the part of KNEA, and resolutions, which are statements of belief.

Special guest, NEA Vice President Dennis Van Roekel, updated delegates on NEA's activities around improving public school funding, supporting teachers called to active duty and the impact of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind. He congratulated KNEA members on their professionalism, noting that Kansas public schools rank in the top ten on all national standards. Delegates also honored 2003 Kansas Teacher of the Year and Olathe NEA member, Ruth Ann Gharst.

Delegates dealt with issues such as the new Kansas teaching license, school funding, discipline, district assessments, educator preparation programs, and the impact of ESEA and the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). They heard updates of activities in each of KNEA's priority areas: promoting quality public schools, strengthening the teaching profession and improving the well being of members.

The prestigious KNEA Friend of Education was awarded to the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation for it's commitment to education, specifically for its work and support in introducing to Kansas City, Kansas, the First Things First (FTF) Framework. NEA KCK President Sandra Butler applauded the Foundation's financial support so staffs were able to visit other schools that had the FTF implemented and help in filling classrooms with certified personnel through the Teaching Fellows Program. "The Kaufman Foundation has played a major role in the increasing success of our students and staff," she said.

The KNEA Excellence in Teaching Award went to Emporia Middle School teacher Barbara Fowler. KNEA will now nominate Ms. Fowler, a nationally board certified teacher, Master Teacher and a member of the 2003 Kansas Teacher of the Year team, for the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, which recognizes excellence in teaching and advocacy for the profession and includes a $25,000 grant. The finalists are chosen based on their outstanding instructional expertise, creativity and innovation, attention to diversity and individual student needs, learning styles, and leadership experiences.

KNEA presented the Human and Civil Rights Award to Norm Conard, a social studies and technology teacher at Uniontown High School. His high school has no diversity or ethnic students and is considered a poverty school. Yet in this setting, his students have been producing multi-cultural films and dramas for 15 years. This year's class project, "The Holocaust and Life in a Jar," has won national acclaim.

KNEA Rep Assembly is April 4 - 6

Some 700 members of the Kansas National Education Association will meet in Topeka April 4-6 to set the course for the teacher's association. The annual Representative Assembly (RA) includes teachers, education support personnel such as school secretaries and paraprofessionals, student teachers, retired teachers and higher education faculty -- all elected to represent their colleagues back home.

Kansas public schools still rank in the top ten on all national standards. The delegates will take on tough issues to maintain the quality teaching and learning that is taking place in Kansas public schools.

A special guest will be National Education Association Vice-President, Dennis Van Roekel. A high school math teacher from Phoenix, the easy-going, 25 year teaching veteran had served as NEA's secretary-treasurer since before being elected vice president last summer. While secretary-treasurer of the country's largest professional organization, Van Roekel was widely applauded for his efforts to align NEA's budget with its commitment to improve low-performing schools and enhance teacher quality. A longtime NEA activist, Van Roekel, served two terms on NEA's Executive Committee. Before that, he was president of the Arizona Education Association and the local Paradise Valley Education Association. He's also a recognized educator. At the request of then Secretary of Education Richard Riley, Van Roekel served on the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century in 1999.

The KNEA Friend of Education Award and the KNEA Teaching Excellence Award will be announced during the RA.

During the KNEA RA members set the course for the KNEA by considering new business items, which involve actions on the part of KNEA, and resolutions, which are statements of belief.

Do you have a student who would benefit from a before - or after - school program? Would you like to get an out-of-school program started at your school?

A new resource for parents and teachers is the Kansas Enrichment Network (KEN). The network is a connecting tool; providing connections to resources and services to get a child into a program or to help adults connect with agencies or organizations that can fund or provide resources for after-school programs.

The network is already proving to be a useful tool by helping teachers find out what programs are already available, said Nan Harper, project director. "The network pulls together all the organizations and agencies that provide services and resources for any out-of-school time programs. We can tell educators and parents what's already working. It's efficient and effective because we're not duplicating programs."

Educators involved with the 21st Century Grants will be familiar with the program. The 21st Century Grant was the most popular program out of the U.S. Department of Education. Fifty-two school districts received 21st Century Grants, Harper said. One year ago, the "No Child Left Behind" Act was passed and that caused a loss of some of those funds. KEN serves 21st Century Grant schools plus whoever wants after-school programs, she said.

KEN is funded through a Mott Foundation Grant with matching grants from the Ewing Murion Kaufman Foundation, University of Kansas and Kansas State Department of Education, among others.

Debbie Elder is a KEN field associate and president of the Kansas Communications Association. She notes that the emphasis for the network is before and after school, weekends and summers. "The network addresses academic achievement, working families and provides a safe place for kids after school," she said.

KNEA Secretary-Treasurer Sherri Yourdon couldn't agree more. One of the outstanding after-school programs in the state is at Reno Valley Middle School in Nickerson where Yourdon is school counselor.

Yourdon says the Nickerson program combines tutoring and various activities that include families and the community. "There are family nights for math…and various activities that connect tutoring and academics to 'fun' things," she said. "Other projects include Food for Thought where students learn how to cook. They create model cars, do scrapbooking and basket weaving."

There are 30 programs or agencies involves, she says, and the community interaction is great. She cites the Empty Bowl Supper, where students create pottery bowls and then the school holds a chili supper. Donations go to the local soup kitchen; this year over $1,000 was raised. The students work in the soup kitchen as a community service project. Another project involved an auction of student cow art that raised over $2,000 for other such projects.

"Many KNEA members are already involved in after-school programs…and as the 21st Century Grant was cut back, this network is helping to sustain those programs that keep our kids safe after school," Yourdon said.

For details contact Debbie Elder (785-864-7044). The web site should be launched soon. The address will be www.kansasenrichment.net.

Take the term "failing" out of your vocabulary when it comes to Kansas public schools.

That caution from KNEA President Christy levings in referring to the Kansas Report Cards released by the Kansas State Department of Education.

"The purpose of these tests is diagnostic -- to find out which kids are struggling," Levings said. "This is just one tool that teachers should use to improve schools and to determine what they need to do for individual students."

The reporting of the tests are well intentioned, she added, saying that schools have always been accountable for student learning. Kansas public schools, in particular, have ranked well nationally. "We are ranked in the top 10 in all national measures," Levings said.

The tests are required in President Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation. Overall, the news from the assessments was good, she said. It showed significant gains in all subject areas for nearly all populations.

"There were phenomenal student improvements documented in the Kansas Report Card. The achievement gap for math and reading is closing. This is extraordinary news!"

Related Stories

About No Child Left Behind

The new HP Computers Technology for Teaching grants aim to bolster the innovative and effective integration of technology in K-16 education settings.

For K-12 public schools, awards will be made to those using a collaborative, team-based approach to implementing technology integration projects. The focus of the project must be on using technology to teach, rather than teaching students to use technology. Preference will be given to teacher teams specifically focused to support the project goal, such as having a common content area, grade levels or theme concentration.

Deadline:
HP requests potential applicants to register online. Applications will be accepted from Jan. 15 to March 1, 2004.

Funds: $4.5 million for 150 awards to teams of five teachers from K-12 public schools.
The award package, valued at some $35,000 each, includes five Tablet PCs, five multimedia projectors, free help desk support for one year, a $500 stipend per teacher and customized professional development. HP also will give $5.5 million for 40 awards to two- and four-year colleges and universities. The award package, valued at $50,000 each, includes an HP product package and a faculty stipend of $7,500.

Eligibility: U.S. K-12 public schools and two- or four-year colleges or universities.
Preference will be given to low-income schools and to projects that include integration of mathematics and/or science curriculum. Schools that have been HP Wireless Mobile Classroom grant recipients in the past 3 years are ineligible.

]]>http://www.nea.org/news/2003/highlyqualified_resource.htmlhttp://www.nea.org/news/2003/highlyqualified_resource.htmlFri, 16 Dec 2005 05:00:00 GMTKNEA is Your Resource: What you should know first about being highly qualified!

The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) determined how to quantify "highly qualified" under the ESEA.

KSDE used data from the sample of 200 schools taken this spring and generalize about "highly qualified" for the fall 2003 required reports.

Teachers will be asked to complete the Highly Qualified survey when they come back for the 2003-2004 school year.

Look in the August edition of the Issues for information about this survey and how you will need to document yourself as being "highly qualified." Another good resource is A Practical Guide to the Kansas Performance-Based Licensure System.

Know that:

• As long as you're licensed/endorsed for what you're teaching, you're fine. You will not lose your job over this.
• For all teachers, and especially those at middle level, there are many ways to meet the requirement; do not accept advice that you need to get an endorsement in an area immediately - or that you must go take college courses this summer.
• For all but Title I, this isn't effective until May, 2006.
  Regarding sanctions: if a school does NOT have all the teachers "highly qualified" by the 2005-2006 year, it COULD, if it is a Title 1 school, have some funding put in jeopardy. If it is not a Title 1 school, no one is quite sure what the federal government might do.

If you have questions on this, contact KNEA Instructional Advocacy Director Peg Dunlap.

Kansas teachers are highly qualified, partly because Kansas teacher preparation institutions are highly qualified. There is a natural correlation to highly qualified teachers and the institutions from which they came. KNEA has long been involved in promoting and providing quality teacher preparation experiences.

All three KNEA officers, President Christy Levings, Vice President Blake West and Secretary-Treasurer Sherri Yourdon, are NCATE examiners, the only place in the country where this occurs.

Kansas State Department of Education's Martha Gage said of the teacher preparation institutions in Kansas:

• 14 are fully accredited by NCATE and KSDE,
• 7 are accredited only by KSDE, and
• 1 has gone through the process and is awaiting approval.

"Kansas uses NCATE standards because they are rigorous," said Gage. "Rigorous accreditation standards mean that institution will likely have well prepared candidates (those in teacher prep programs).

"The only difference between being NCATE accredited and state accredited is the makeup of the team," she added. "The NCATE team is people from inside and outside of the state; the KSDE team is people from within the state. They all are trained in the same way."

As discussion heats up this summer and fall regarding ESEA's requirement for highly qualified teachers, know that Kansas teachers, and KNEA, are already highly qualified. The Elementary Secondary Education Act - ESEA was first passed in 1965. President George W. Bush dubbed it "No Child Left Behind" when the act was passed in 2001.

"ESEA questions whether teachers are highly qualified in content area," KNEA Vice President Blake West said. "NCATE insures that in a meaningful way. In fact, NCATE does a better job because the standards are more rigorous than simply requiring a content area degree (which ESEA requires)."

"NCATE requires all institutions to undergo a state review of programs (which Kansas does in a folio review) or to submit programs to national content organizations, such as the National Council of Teachers of English, for content area review…so we know someone who graduates as a science teacher in Kansas, for example, is highly qualified in content and pedagogy," said West.

"The problem we run into with ESEA is that others who are not educators are writing the regulations and creating the hoops for teachers to jump through," said Alvin Peters, a high school teacher in North Anderson Co. TA in Garnett, who has done program reviews for the state since 1993 and has been an NCATE examiner since 2001.

"There may not be time to jump through those new (ESEA) hoops. When talking 'pure quality' in terms of highly qualified, Kansas teachers will have no problem. In terms of the 'bureaucratic' high quality - it may be a problem," he added.

NCATE establishes six standards.
1. Collect assessment data on programs to demonstrate knowledge, skills and dispositions.
2. A system and plan in place to collect data that will be used to access/evaluate teacher candidates, college courses and programs and the college of education itself.
3. Field experiences/internships that put teacher candidates in P-12 classrooms early and often.
4. Diversity - teacher candidates should have practices and experiences with a diversity of students and staff - racial, ethnic and socioeconomic.
5. Qualified faculty.
6. Adequate resources, facilities and administration.
Regarding standard 5, Peters said faculty must model the best practices in teaching.

"We know certain things improve quality: experience and having more experience early. I speculate that we'll see fewer drop out of the profession when they have more experience in more areas, are better prepared and have fewer surprises..."

NCATE looks at graduate programs, too, West said. That means advanced degree (masters in teaching) programs are reviewed for quality. Also reviewed are programs for those going into administration, librarians, media specialists and counselors.

"In each case, we look for specifics," said West. "In administration, for instance, we look for the ability to work well with groups, collaborate and leadership skills. We realize the best administrators are those who can create learning communities within faulty as opposed to top-down management structures."

Ceremony Gives National Recognition to Local Heroes

A Kansan is will be honored for tirelessly fighting to promote social justice and dignity. Leonard H. Wesley, Jr., Wichita, will be honored by more than 2,000 educators at the National Education Association's 37th annual Human and Civil Rights (HCR) Awards dinner on in New Orleans.

Wesley is receiving the H. Council Trenholm Memorial Award. A fixture in the Wichita public school system for 37 years, Dr. Leonard H. Wesley, Jr. started out as a 5th and 6th-grade teacher. He was eventually appointed school principal, becoming the first African-American administrator hired under Wichita's desegregation plan. Dr. Wesley spent much of his career promoting diversity and eliminating inequities in schools, establishing alternative education programs for minority and disadvantaged students as director of elementary education and as assistant superintendent for desegregation/integration. His relentless service has not gone unrecognized; he received the United Teachers of Wichita "Friend of Education" Award in 2001, and was named the Wichita Branch NAACP "Man of the Year" in 2002. Today, he continues to work toward the goal of creating equitable schools for all students.

The HCR event is held each year prior to the NEA's annual meeting. Among the dozen people being honored are two members of Congress, a well-known children's author, and several educators and activists. They are being recognized for reaching out to all social, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds, spanning the globe from the rural communities of the Deep South to predominantly Hispanic cities in the West, from the snowcaps of Alaska to the warm seas of the Pacific Islands. Each award is named after a prominent human and civil rights leader.

Emporia Middle School teacher Barbara Fowler is representing Kansas for the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, which recognizes excellence in teaching and advocacy for the profession and includes a $25,000 grant.

The finalists are chosen based on their outstanding instructional expertise, creativity and innovation, attention to diversity and individual student needs, learning styles and leadership experiences.

Ms. Fowler is a nationally board certified teacher, Master Teacher and a member of the 2003 Kansas Teacher of the Year team. In nominating her, KNEA President Christy Levings said "Barbara has been steadfast in her commitment for a quality education for every child."

Fowler created "Take Root in Your Community," which teaches the need for a lifelong habit of serving others and gives students the opportunity to understand the difference collective action can make.

"Barbara is a talented and dedicated teacher as well as a community activist. She uses both instructional practice and good sense to make her students successful," Levings said.

We can’t do what we’ve always done because we don’t have the same students we had before

It is generally accepted in the educational community that exposing students to diversity is beneficial since our society is also growing more diverse. When there is no diversity among the faculty in schools, there are no role models for many of the students.

It is also accepted that the more teachers know and understand about their students’ culture, economic status and racial and ethnic background, the more they can help their students learn.

KNEA work team studied the racial, ethnic and gender composition of the state’s students and teachers over the past four school years based on data from the Kansas State Department of Education. The good news is that there is an increase in minority teachers in every subgroup in every year for the past four years. Even when disaggregated by gender, there are more minority teachers in every subgroup. The bad news is that we have a long way to go before the faces in front of the class resemble those being taught.

Here are the results of that study.

KNEA presented the Human and Civil Rights Award to Norm Conard, a social studies and technology teacher at Uniontown High School. His high school has no diversity or ethnic students and is considered a poverty school. Yet in this setting, his students have been producing multicultural films and dramas for 15 years. This year's class project, "The Holocaust and Life in a Jar," has won national acclaim.

In nominating Conard, Kimberly Thomas, Wichita, said Conard's work is "the story of Protestant kids from Kansas discovering a Catholic woman in Poland who saved Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto. It is an example of Norm Conard's work in civil rights, his dealing with the rights of others, his working to bring understanding and appreciation of multiethnic issues and his promotion of equality in education."

The 18-minute documentary, "The Holocaust and Life in a Jar," is about Irena Sendler from Warsaw, Poland. During the Holocaust, Sendler was a member of the Zegota, a Polish underground group whose purpose was to save Jews from the Germans occupying Poland. At personal risk, Sendler smuggled 400 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto and helped to arrange the rescue of some 2,500 children from certain death.

The children were given new identities and adopted by Christian families, who also faced execution if the Germans found out what they had done. Sendler wrote down each child's real name on pieces of paper and buried them in a glass jar near her home. In 1943, Sendler was captured and tortured by the Germans, who broke her arms and legs. They demanded the list of children, but she refused.

Conard's students, Megan Steward, Elizabeth Cambers, Janice Underwood and Sabrina Coons, discovered Sendler is still alive and they visited the 92-year-old in Poland. The Polish government didn't know of Sendler's background and have since moved her from her impoverished neighborhood to a retirement community. The students continue to raise funds for Sendler.

Norm Conrad is congratulated by Greg Oborny, chair of the KNEA Human and Civil Rights Committee.

  ]]>http://www.nea.org/news/2003/collegegoalsunday.htmlhttp://www.nea.org/news/2003/collegegoalsunday.htmlFri, 16 Dec 2005 05:00:00 GMTCollege Goal Sunday is Feb. 16

Learn about grants, loans and financial aid!

College Goal Sunday will be held across Kansas on February 16 from 2- 4 p.m. College-bound students and their parents will hear about grants, loans and other financial aid that is available to you. Participants will get help filling out the paperwork plus simple answers to difficult questions.

College Goal Sunday will be held in the following cities: Dodge City, Emporia, Garden City, Junction City, Kansas City, KS, Olathe, Pittsburg, Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City, MO and Raytown, MO. The College Board Sunday web site has details.

For high school students, the rules of this "game" are simple:

1. Tell your parent or guardian about College Goal Sunday.
2. Mark Sunday, February 16, 2003, on your calendar.
3. Make a list of questions that you and your parent or guardian might have.
4. Bring your parent or guardian's completed 2002 income tax return. (You can estimate 2002 income on the FAFSA form, but you'll have to adjust it later.)
5. Attend!

Celebrating Brown V. Topeka Board of Education

Why Kansas?
Impact on school quality
Impact on foreign policy
Did You Know...?
Brown Family provides resources
Teacher-friendly resources

The Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision happened 50 years ago this May. Brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Brown case ultimately dismantled the legal basis for racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. It ended the practice of "separate but equal" throughout every segment of society.

Cheryl Brown Henderson was three years old when the historic High Court decision was made. A former teacher, administrator, legislator and political activist, she is now the president of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research.

Her perspective on Brown centers on race relations and foreign policy. It also highlights Kansas as being one of the most progressive states in the Union.

"Brown was truly about race relations, not simply about schools," she said. "Schools were the battlefront and society was the target. The NAACP was attempting to get the country to honor its promise," she said. "This was a way to bring about that challenge - to use a public target, a public school, something we could all support and had every right to have access to."

Ultimately, progress in society as a whole happened at a faster rate when schools did integrate, she added.

"Using the 14th Amendment as a pivot for Brown finally pulled us out of the era of state's rights," Brown Henderson said. "Before 1954, states had autonomy over everything that happened…because the decision used the 14th Amendment as the deciding point in the equal protection clause, the Supreme Court finally gave the country a definitive interpretation of the 14th Amendment and made it clear that U.S. citizens have sovereign power, sovereign rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence."

Brown v. Topeka Board of Education also clarified that the Bill of Rights could not arbitrarily decide who got what because the Constitution had the ultimate authority, she added. Before that decision the Court had not given the country a definitive ruling.

"This decision was critical for everyone. It made a difference for everybody, regardless of race or gender. That's what makes Brown significant for all of us, not simply African Americans."

Why Kansas? Because we're so progressive
Kansas doesn't get the credit it deserves for being progressive in relation to civil rights and education, Brown Henderson said. "Kansas has always been a leader - from day one."

She noted that the westward expansion of the idea of slavery stopped at Kansas because of people like John Brown and the defeat of pro slavery factions.

"After the Civil War, Kansas had a more welcoming view of people of African American descent coming into the state; it offered certain promises of education and land. Freedoms that no other state offered," she said, adding that women voted and entered professions such as medicine and law before most other states. "The pioneer spirit didn't create artificial barriers."

Brown Henderson said Kansas needs to give itself credit. Although the first documented school integration case was Roberts v. the City of Boston in 1849, there were 11 other school segregation cases before Brown, including Tinnon v. Ottawa School Board in 1881.

"We were dealing with this before the NAACP was established in 1909. By then Kansas already had six or seven cases under its belt," she said.
Starting in 1879, Kansas law permitted only certain types of segregation and then, only in cities of 15,000 and larger and in elementary schools. Brown Henderson said this was very different from other states.
While not specifically stated, it is presumed segregation was not allowed in junior high schools, high schools and in small towns because of economics and practicality.

KNEA President Christy Levings noted that the NEA was the first to form a joint relationship with the American Congress of Colored People and KNEA (KSTA then) made a resolution in the 1800s that no child, regardless of color or income, should be excluded from school. "That was incredibly controversial," Levings said.

Prior to 1954 "in Kansas, African American teachers were paid the same as white teachers because many, if not most, held advanced degrees. There was often no other outlet for those advanced degrees," Brown Henderson said.

"We didn't have the issue of quality education here in Kansas - we had the issue of access. Kansas proved to be the best test case for segregation, per se, because the facilities were equal, the teacher salaries were equal and teacher qualifications were not in question," she said. "It was simply a matter of not being afforded access to all public schools."

There were great disparities in the other states - facilities, school years shortened because of agriculture needs, not having buses to get to school. In the South Carolina case the issue was transportation, in the Virginia case it was facilities, in the Delaware case it was transportation and in the DC case it was access, she said. All were companion cases under heading of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

Impact on the quality of schools
The 1954 court ruling determined racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional. The greatest impact on schools was felt in the South. "Finally tax dollars had to be used equitably. That would impact facilities, resources, teacher qualification and salaries," Brown Henderson said.

In Kansas, schools were integrated immediately. Topeka's Washington School, however, remained segregated for another year or two. "Some parents by choice kept their children there because they were afraid of unpleasantries," Brown Henderson said, adding that, "The sad consequence was that some African American teachers were displaced."

African American teachers who taught three years or less were not retained.

"Topeka Superintendent of Schools Wendell Godwin sent out a letter a year before the decision came down telling teachers they would be let go because he didn't believe there would be enough white parents wanting African American teachers teaching their children," she said.

When schools opened, some of the teaching force was integrated, but some lost their jobs.

Also during the 1954 school year, "USD 501 had a policy that required administrators to contact parents of white students for permission to have their child taught by an African American teacher," she said. "That practice was abandoned after one year because it proved to be unnecessary."

Brown Henderson taught school from 1972-76. She taught at Monroe Elementary School - "the school that my mother and sisters had been bused to… and it was still predominantly African American."

In the 1970's, there seemed to be a wholesale lowering of educational expectations for African American students. While that view has changed, teachers and public schools continue to struggle to meet every student's needs.

Brown impacted foreign policy
Brown Henderson said most people don't understand the connection between the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision and U.S. foreign policy.

"First President Harry Truman, and later President Eisenhower, used Brown to counter Cold War propaganda," she said.

"At the end of Truman's term, the State Department issued a friend of the court brief in Brown saying that it needed to be a unanimous decision in favor of the plaintiffs because the U.S. was starting to lose credibility on the world scene. We could not be the moral conscious of the world when we ourselves were engaged in human rights abuses."

Brown v Topeka Board of Education gave the country and the administration the power and authority to make major foreign policy changes, she said.

Did You Know...?
In 1952 Brown v. Board was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court as a combination of five cases from various parts of the country, representing 200 plaintiffs. Besides Brown v. Board, the cases were

• Belton v. Gebhart (Delaware)
• Briggs v. Elliot (South Carolina)
• Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward
  County (Virginia)
• Bolling v. C. Melvin Sharpe (District of Columbia)

The case was named after Oliver Brown as a legal strategy to have a man at the head of the roster. There were actually two plaintiffs with the surname Brown: Darlene and Oliver. The only male plaintiff was Oliver Brown, for whom the Topeka case was named.

The strategy to use the federal courts to challenge segregation in public education began in the 1930's with the NAACP under the leadership of Charles Houston. Houston became a mentor for many civil rights lawyers, including Thurgood Marshall, who was hired by Houston to work for the NAACP.

Brown Family Provides Resources
Cheryl Brown Henderson has lived with the landmark Brown v. Topeka Board of Education all her life. After the decision, "life went on in Kansas," she said.

"Down South - those families were still fighting the good fight," she added. "The families in Virginia, South Carolina, and Delaware have some distressful stories - people lost their jobs, some were run out of town. Nothing like that happened with the 13 families here in Topeka," Brown Henderson said.

It was not big news until the late 1960s. The change for the Brown family became more significant as the case became a focal point for civil rights. They had to determine how to respond to media interests and scholarly interests.

The Brown Foundation was formed in 1988. Since then the Foundation has created teacher-friendly resources, such as those mentioned below, and has been working with various groups to commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of Brown. In fact, the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education 50th Anniversary Coalition was formed in 2000 and Congress created the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission in 2001.

Teaching Resources Available

Teacher-Friendly Resources
Brown Foundation resources include:

• an oral history collection focusing on the pre- and post-Brown era;
• a traveling exhibit of photos and text that examine the history of school integration;
• a tour of historic sites associated with the Topeka case;
• a national symposium convened annually to revisit the tenets of Brown and its continuing impact;
• classroom presentations and university lectures recounting the events surrounding Brown;
• an activity booklet on Brown for elementary school children;
• video tapes, including "In Pursuit of Freedom and Equality";
• recommended reading for various grade levels; and
• the Brown Quarterly which was designed for classroom teachers and includes museum and national park resources.

Brown Foundation Scholarships
The Lucinda Todd Book Award Scholarship is a one time, non-renewable book grant of $300 for the freshman year. The Brown Foundation Academic Scholarship is for students entering their junior year of college and is a $1,000 award per year for two academic years. The deadline for both is March 30.

Monroe Elementary School Brown v. Topeka Board of Education National Historic Site

This interpretive center consists of the Monroe Elementary School, one of the four segregated elementary schools for African American children in Topeka, and the adjacent grounds. Visitors will find an array of interactive, multi-media and traditional exhibits that starts with African Americans arriving on U.S. shores through the human and civil rights eras.

Students can leave their impressions of their visit, in writing or drawing, on computers as they leave. Impressions are archived and shared with other visitors.

Cheryl Brown Henderson shares teacher resources with KNEA President Christy Levings

Cheryl Brown Henderson

"Before teachers are in the classroom, they should have undergone a coherent program of study that meets high standards and that is geared to what the teacher and the students need to know," said National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) President Arthur E. Wise. "That's what other professionals such as nurses, social workers and veterinarians are required to do. Even hairdressers complete a uniform course of study and take an examination before they are licensed."

The U.S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as the only professional accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States. Accreditation is voluntary, and not all colleges of education attain it. In Kansas, all teacher preparation institutions are accredited either by the state or NCATE. The KSDE has adopted NCATE standards. The advantage of the NCATE system is that it serves to institutionalize reforms and quality standards.

"For classroom teachers, consistent, quality standards mean the student teachers coming into our classrooms have a higher level of training," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "It ratchets up the quality of clinical experience before actual classroom experience."

In NCATE's performance-based system, accreditation is based on results-results that demonstrate that the teacher candidate knows the subject matter and can teach it effectively so that students learn. The focus is on showing that the candidate can actually connect theory to practice and be effective in an actual P-12 classroom. Subject matter knowledge may be assessed by PRAXIS or another content knowledge test, and this information will be used in the accreditation decision. How well the candidate can synthesize the content to help P-12 students understand it is assessed as well.

The college must have a system in place to assess its candidates. This system must include assessments at entry, throughout the program, upon exit and after entry into the profession. Benchmarks for acceptable learning must be set, and institutions must have evidence that candidates who are recommended for licensure have performed at acceptable levels. NCATE has established rubrics for institutions to use to help them determine satisfactory levels of performance.

NCATE assists in aligning accreditation standards with licensing standards and tests to ensure that the teaching profession's standards are the core of licensing examinations. This alignment plays out in higher education institutions as the institutions ensure that their graduates will perform at an acceptable level. The alignment will eventually provide evidence of the common body of knowledge that all teachers should know as the assessments are revised to reflect the profession's standards.

In addition, NCATE encourages institutions to redesign advanced master's degrees to incorporate the standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Join the Kansas NEA Reading Wranglers in celebrating Dr. Seuss' 100th Birthday!

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss!
KNEA's Reading Wranglers
KNEA Read Across America poster
About Dr. Seuss
Reading Rodeo and other Event Ideas
Literacy Facts & Fun Tips
KNEA Reading Circle Catalog

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss!
Kansas NEA is asking eight outstanding high schools students to exchange their cowboy hats for stove pipe hats. Whatever hat you usually wear - or even if you've never worn one - the National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America has plans for you on March 2, 2004. The day will mark what would have been the 100th birthday of Theodor Geisel, better known to millions as Dr. Seuss. The plan is to bring the entire nation under one hat - the familiar red and white stovepipe chapeau made famous by the good doctor himself.

Helping KNEA do that this year are the KNEA Reading Wranglers and the Kansas High School Rodeo Association. The Wranglers are eight Kansas rodeo champions.
National All Around Cowboy Joe Macoubrie, Blue Mound;
State All Around Cowgirl Ashley Amos, Colby;
State Pole Bending Champion Michelle Bartley, Emporia;
State Goat Tyer Champion Brooke Inlow, Oakley;
State Boy's Cutting Champion J.R. Williams, Lakin;
State Girl's Cutting Champion Amanda Gugelmeyer, Lakin;
State Break Away Champion Michelle Stueve, Olpe; and
State Saddle Bronc Champion Chance Harmon, Norcatur.

KNEA would like to thank Ty Inlow, teacher in Oakley, KHSRA and the Foto Cowboy, Kent Kerschner, for their help in making this event such a success!

Nationally, park rangers at Mt. Rushmore, coal miners in West Virginia, showgirls in Las Vegas, and sailors in Virginia - all will be swapping their usual headgear for The Hat on March 2. They will be joining teachers, librarians, education support professionals, kids, and parents to have fun reading. For a sampling of other happenings, keep an eye on NEA's Read Across America section of the NEA Web site.

"The Hat illustrates the value of reading…and we are honoring the author whose books have taught millions just how much fun it is to read," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "We're having a party with a purpose to show young and old alike not only the importance of the written word, but the joy of reading as well."

Since the first celebration of Read Across America in 1998, the event has become a national tradition that annually attracts young and old alike in communities across the nation. Last year more than 45 million adults and children participated in reading events that ranged from green eggs 'n ham breakfasts and pajama parties to reading extravaganzas featuring politicians, pundits, sports celebrities, and stars of television and movies.

KNEA's Reading Circle Catalog is being released in conjunction with Dr. Seuss' birthday and includes a poster featuring the KNEA Reading Wranglers.

About the Reading Wranglers
KNEA's Reading Wranglers are eight Kansas rodeo champions... and outstanding students!

KNEA Read Across America Poster
2004 KNEA Read Across America Poster

About Dr. Seuss
Ted Geisel wore so many hats!
In addition to his book illustrations, Ted Geisel often painted and was an accomplished artist. He often told young artists to "paint at least one picture a month that is just for fun."

Dr. Seuss believed gardening to be another form of art and enjoyed creating a relaxed, lush outdoor environment to share with his friends and family. He was concerned about the environment as a whole and wanted to make the world aware of the consequences of indifference to nature. The result of his concerns was The Lorax, published in 1971, a book that has inspired generations to practice conservation.

His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, had worked in her father's bakery before marrying Ted's father, often memorizing the names of the pies that were on special each day and "chanting" them to her customers. If Ted had difficulty getting to sleep, she would often recall her "pie-selling chants." As an adult, Ted credited his mother "for the rhythms in which I write and the urgency with which I do it."

The American Heritage Dictionary credits Dr. Seuss as the originator of the word nerd, which made its first appearance in his 1950 book, If I Ran the Zoo. "And then just to show them, I'll sail to Ka-Troo And Bring Back an It-Kutch a Preep and a Proo a Nerkle a Nerd and a Seersucker, too!"

His books were originally considered too outlandish to appeal to children. His first, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street (1937), was reportedly rejected by 28 publishers before it finally found a home at Random House. It was one of the company's most prophetic decisions; former Random House President Bennett Cerf once remarked, "I've published any number of great writers, from William Faulkner to John O'Hara, but there's only one genius on my authors list. His name is Ted Geisel."

At the time of Theodor Seuss Geisel's death in 1991, his 46 children's books had sold more than 200 million copies, and his last, Oh, the Places You'll Go! (1990), was still on the best-seller lists.

Fun Fast Facts
Theodor Seuss Geisel, AKA: Theo LeSieg, Rosetta Stone

Date and Place of Birth: March 2, 1904 Springfield, Massachusetts

Date and Place of Death: September 4, 1991 La Jolla, California

Married to:
Helen Palmer Geisel, 1899-1967
Audrey Stone Geisel, 1921-

Education:
Spent one hour in a formal art class in high school in 1919.
B.A., Dartmouth College, 1925; Oxford University (no degree)

More on Dr. Seuss
Seussville.com

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Reading Rodeo and other Event Ideas
Reading Rodeos
Lasso up a good book by cowboy authors such as Kansas native Don Coldsmith! Fold up your saddle blanket, cozy up around an imaginary fire and read ghost stories; hold rodeo events in different parts of the school; take your reading rodeo on the road; decorate your rodeo arena in the appropriate western style; and invite local rodeo stars of all ages to wrangle up a good book and read to a child.

Reading's On Parade
Dressing up is oh so fun, especially when the whole town turns out to see you! Parades for reading can be simple-children and adults dressed as favorite storybook characters-or elaborate-"Riders for Reading" with kids on bikes or unicycles or Shriners in their cars; book floats; a "Readers Court," complete with a Reading King and Queen; and the mayor and other dignitaries turned out to salute readers and reading.

Prescribe Reading
Just like eating green vegetables and getting plenty of exercise, reading is good for you. Help the doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and pharmacists in your community spread the word-host "reading clinics" at hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies to model good reading behaviors and provide resources for putting books into a balanced diet of healthy living.

Survivor Reader
Who are the ultimate readers in your school? And what are they willing to do to prove it? Will they eat fried worms (gummi candy) ala How to Eat Fried Worms (Rockwell)? Can they climb a beanstalk (rope ladder) like Jack? Will they drink Freckle Juice (Blume)? Search titles to create a challenge to tax even your boldest readers.

Proud to be an American Reader
The same ideas and ideals that make you proud to be an American also make you proud to be an American reader. But as an American reader, you can identify books and characters, real and fictional, which evoke feelings of pride in America. Create community booklist of titles recommended by local citizens-titles for the American reader by American readers. Or create a booklist of "survivor" titles such as Hatchet (Paulsen), A Girl Named Disaster (Farmer), My Side of the Mountain (George), and Homecoming (Voigt) along with a competition to see who survives reading all the survivor books.

A Fool for Books
There's nothing like the promise of an adult making a fool of him/her self to inspire readers to read to great lengths. Principals are popular targets for this activity, but librarians, custodians, bus drivers, coaches and other authority figures at school can join in. To make the reading challenge work, the challenge must be challenging, but doable, and the incentive, hilarious. It's helpful to recognize kids' incremental gains to meet the challenge and to be sure to celebrate their accomplishments.

Literacy Facts & Fun Tips
Bilingual Book List (pdf)
Cat-a-List - Teacher's Top 100 Books (pdf)
Kids' Top 100 Books (pdf)
Facts about Children's Literacy (pdf)
More Children's Literacy Facts (pdf)
Goldilocks…A Little Game for Young Readers (pdf)
How Famous Authors Begin…a Quiz (pdf)
Read Across America Resource Kit (pdf)
How to Excite Soon-To-Be Readers (pdf)
Reading Matters!! (pdf)

2004 Martin Luther King Celebration

Deadline is December 19 for Poster and Slogan Contest

A poster and slogan contest for all Kansas kids, grades K -12, is being held to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Four students will win $100 U.S. Saving Bonds and one student in each grade level will receive a certificate signed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

Posters will be selected that best capture the essence of Dr. King's accomplishments and vision of equality for all. Younger students in particular, may wish to draw or paint (or use construction paper cutout, etc.) a picture/poster about what Dr. King's lessons mean to them. Posters shall be no smaller than 8 1/2 x 11 inches or larger than 17 x 11 inches. (Posters will survive the journey best if mailed in tubes.)

The slogan that best captures the inspiration of Dr. King will be used as the theme for the day's activities. It must be 8 words or less. In past years, the themes included; "Making His Work Live On;" "Keeping the Spirit Alive;" and "Making his Dream Come True." The Committee is particularly interested in a slogan that would serve as a reminder that we have many opportunities to demonstrate attitudes of inclusiveness.

All entries must be received in the KAAAC office (Kansas African-American Affairs Commission), 512 SW 6th Street, Topeka, KS 66603 no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, December 19, 2003. An entry form must accompany the entries. For questions, call Jassina Washington at (785)296-4874.

Winners will be recognized during a program on January 15, 2004 which starts with a symbolic march at the north entrance of the Kansas Judicial Center on 10th street over to the 2nd floor rotunda of the State Capitol.

Nominate for Friends of Education Awards

The Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force is seeking nominations for its 22nd annual Friends of Education Awards. The deadline is January 31, 2004 and entry forms and other information are available online.

The categories are:

School Volunteer: An individual or couple who provides volunteer services in a public school.

Community Leader: An individual who has made a significant contribution to public education while serving in a leadership capacity.

Partner Activity: A business, company or agency that has provided an ongoing partner activity over an extended period of time (three-year minimum), by means of volunteer time, services, finances or other types of support, in an amount that exceeds typical collaboration from a private or public institution.

Private or Public Institution: A profit or nonprofit company, business or agency that has made a significant contribution to public education.

Community/Civic Organization: A club, organization, committee or task force that has made a significant contribution to public education.

Mobilize to fix and fund law's laudable goals

Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association (NEA), opened the Association's 2003 annual meeting with a vow to fight politicians' attempts to hold schools accountable without holding up their end of the bargain. Nearly 10,000 delegates, including some 160 Kansans, left New Orleans mobilized to meet the laudable goals of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, promoted by President Bush as the No Child Left Behind Act.

NEA took aim against the flaws and broken promises in the No Child Left Behind Act. NEA also announced plans for a lawsuit challenging unfunded mandates imposed on the states by the law's federally mandated corrective actions, including the costs of open enrollment and private tutoring for schools designated as in need of improvement.

"NEA has always been dedicated to leaving no child behind - that is nothing new to us," Weaver said in Thursday keynote address. "The stated goals of NCLB - closing the achievement gap, ensuring highly qualified teachers, improving academic achievement - are a page from our very own book. NEA's concern with this legislation lies with the implementation of, and the lack of adequate and equitable funding for, these laudable goals."

Weaver also told delegates, "Our members are angry, and they're frustrated. But behind all of that is emotion. There is energy. I have seen it...It is our job to help our members unleash that energy."

In his first Representative Assembly as NEA president, Weaver set the tone for NEA's efforts to improve educational opportunities for children. Weaver emphasized the organization's commitment, energy and expertise as crucial to closing the achievement gap and making public schools great for every child.

"Team NEA, we would love to stay out of politics and in the classroom, but as long as Washington favors millionaires over children, we have to fight," said Weaver, a middle school science teacher from Harvey, Ill.

Educators from every state, the District of Columbia, and overseas came here as delegates to the NEA's Representative Assembly to set policies for the coming year. NEA represents 2.7 million teachers, education support professionals, higher education faculty, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.

As part of an organized lobbying effort, delegates sent nearly 13,000 e-mails and made more than 1,000 phone calls to Congress and state legislators over six days. They urged support for revisions in the federal elementary and secondary education law - including provisions to ensure that over-reliance on standardized testing not interfere with teaching and learning. Members also expressed their concerns that school improvement plans focus on helping students, teachers, and schools, and not undermine the ability of public schools to be effective. Delegates also wrote postcards to Bush administration officials that support the law's goals but urge that it be fixed and fully funded.

NEA delegates shared stories of how the law's sanctions and unfunded mandates threaten to leave the nation's most vulnerable children behind. For example, one Michigan teacher spoke of an elementary school where art, music, physical education, and recess all had fallen to the budget ax. Hundreds of members told similar stories about their concerns for the children with whom they work.

Policy Actions

Delegates adopted a new early childhood education policy, urging that every child should be required to attend full-day kindergarten and should be offered free pre-kindergarten education. They also voted to draft and support model legislation to be proposed in state legislatures.=

The early childhood education policy was developed as the result of a year-long study of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten practices by a special committee chaired by Michael Marks, a Hattiesburg, Miss., drama teacher and a member of the NEA Executive Committee. The committee report emphasized that quality, full-day kindergarten programs and pre-school education programs boost student achievement and help children throughout their school careers.

Each year, delegates to NEA's Representative Assembly take action on three types of policy statements - amendments to the Legislative Program, Resolutions, and New Business Items. In addition, they vote to approve the organization's budget. Delegates overwhelmingly adopted a strategic budget that directs resources to enhance teaching and learning, advocate for children and members, and build partnerships with organizations and individuals who support public education.

NEA adopted language in its Legislative Program calling for legislation to prohibit employment discrimination in organizations that receive federal funds, such as religious organizations that act as "supplemental services providers," or tutors under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Changes to the Resolutions included language that specified that standardized tests be used as a supplement to other assessments developed and conducted by teachers and schools, and that tests should be used primarily to evaluate student learning. New provisions also deplore test preparation that impedes teaching and learning or testing regimes that limit opportunities for students.

Delegates passed a number of New Business Items, including a number of actions related to strengthening teacher retirement systems and expanding access to health care. Other New Business Items urged NEA to plan a lobby day to influence the government pension offset and windfall elimination provision - federal policies that reduce the pensions of public employees and to participate in the anticipated 40th anniversary of 1963 March on Washington.

Delegates are elected by their state and local colleagues. They represent teachers, college faculty, student members, retired members, education support professionals, and other Association members.

For more on this year's Annual Meeting and details about the Representative Assembly 2003, visit the NEA website at www.nea.org/annualmeeting.

Kids Create a Buzz About Books for the Holiday Season

The holidays are just around the corner and a perfect gift is a good book. If you're looking for "the perfect book" to give a favorite child, check out the KNEA Reading Circle Catalog or Books Your Kids Will Talk About! A Guide to Children's Literature for Teachers and Parents (K-6). These resources can make your quest easy, fun, and educational.

The Reading Circle Catalog is chock full of new books for all ages and reading levels. They are recommendations by KNEA members.

NEA's first book for both parents and teachers, Books! is a multicultural annotated booklist that makes reading choices easier in the classroom and the family room.

Children's literature specialists Susan Hepler and Maria Salvadore teamed up with the National Education Association's (NEA) Professional Library to create this helpful guide to books that children will not only love to read, but talk about as well. Just as talking about a book can make reading more fun and memorable for adults, the same holds true for kids. "The thrill of talking about what you've read," say the authors, "is a powerful tool for learning."

Divided into 10 child-centered themes, each chapter discusses important topics, such as living in a family, going to school, making friends, making a difference, and getting through tough times. Suggested titles include old and new classics, award winners, parents' and teachers' choices, and children's favorites--a rich variety of books to tempt even the most reluctant readers.

Books Your Kids Will Talk About! is available only through the NEA Professional Library and can be ordered online at www.nea.org/books or by calling 1-800-229-4200. Bulk discounts are available.

The "Kansans Respond to NCLB" reports summarize the conversations and participant evaluations. KLFA encourages the "Kansans Respond" flyers to be used extensively in discussions with policy makers and community members, as they reflect beliefs and opinions drawn from a large population sample in an authentic and representative manner.
KLFA's mission is making Kansas first in the nation in teaching and learning. Its national affiliate, Learning First, is in the formative stage of developing resources to help districts place and maintain high-quality teachers in the most challenging assignments. A second thrust will be aimed at addressing the lack of common norms of quality and professionalism in teaching and leadership.

• The education system has insufficient resources for continued success. Resources must include funding for programs and staffing, and for adequate instructional time to meet learning goals.
• Parents, community, school personnel and boards of education all have a role to fill.
• Concerns exist on the sanctions and technical details of NCLB. Three factors - accountability measures, resources and local control - are all necessary.
• All children benefit from high expectations and generous dedication.

Other common messages:

• Adequate resources need to be provided for professional development.
• Community and parent involvement needs to increase.
• NCLB needs to be more broadly shared with teachers and parents.
• Local control is important in deciding how to best implement federal legislation.
• "Flexibility" and "thinking outside of the box" are important structural and organizational considerations.

"Next steps" were also generated. They included:

• Network to share successful practices beyond one's own community.
• Educate the public on community accountability.
• Promote civic participation, and the responsibilities and benefits that accompany it.
• Involve parents and the community in the education of all children.
• Work to better educate media representatives on the complexity of educational issues.
• Stage a "community conversation" at home.
• Create a better understanding among all citizens of education as an investment.
• Improve and include site councils in informational efforts.
• Involve parents early in learning opportunities.

The participants appreciated the civil, thought-provoking environment of the small, moderated discussion groups. In terms of educators, the groups were diverse. The discussion revealed the complexity of the issues, and people consistently reported their opinions and views were challenged in respectful ways, which made an impact on how they might view the issue in the future. And by large majorities, participants reported their discussion groups as being superior to other institutions or formats with which they were familiar that discussed educational issues.

The event was funded through a grant from the National Education Association.