JUNE 01, 2015
VOL.1 NUMBER 3
from the publisher of The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine
CONAN O'BRIEN'S TRIP TO CUBA
"It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!"
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Photo courtesy of TBS. Photo by Joe Pugliese
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CONTENT VOLUME 01, ISSUE 03
CONAN O'BRIEN'S TRIP TO CUBA
04 10
“It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!”
EZRA JACK KEATS FOUNDATION ENCOURAGES YOUNG AUTHORS
Plus new opportunity for schools to have their students' work showcased nationally
SHANNA PEEPLES: 2015 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR
16 20 24
Will be addressing attendees at 2015 National PTA Convention & Expo
READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?
Books-A-Million launches Summer Quest reading program
STATISTICS PREDICT POTENTIAL FUTURE TEACHER DECLINE
ACT report shows fewer high school grads planning to become educators
NEWS AND TRENDS
Presenting the latest in national education news
28
HONOR ROLL
Photo courtesy of TBS
4 路 June 01, 2015
Conan O’Brien’s Trip to Cuba:
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“It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!”
or more than 50 years the island of Cuba has been forbidden fruit for the American palate. Travel bans and a lack of diplomatic relations has cloaked Cuba with a veil of secrecy and mystery. As with all engaging mysteries, there are perceived villains and heroes on both sides of this issue who have stirred the pot and heated up the rhetoric. However, recent events and the passage of time have made reconciliation between Cuba and the United States more likely than not. The seemingly invincible but aging Castro brothers are mortal, after all, and not immune to the impact every passing day has on their iron-fisted grip on this island. On December 17,
Story by Mary Ann Cooper 2014, President Obama changed international rules of engagement when he announced his intent of having the US establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. While serious talking heads were debating the White House pronouncement, one not-so-serious talking head sprang into action. Comedian Conan O’Brien, the host of “CONAN” on TBS, with the help of his Team Coco quietly made plans to become the first American late night talk show host to visit and film in Havana since Jack Paar interviewed Fidel Castro on his Tonight Show in 1959. The behind the scenes preparation for bringing “CONAN” to Havana was no easy task. After considering the possibility that asking permission to film might tie them up in bureaucratic red tape and kill the project, the de-
cision was made to engage in “guerilla filming” on the streets of Havana. “It used to be easy for Americans to visit Cuba,” O’Brien explained to his viewing audience. “In the 1940’s and ‘50’s it was the Las Vegas of the Caribbean.” Now, however, producing a show there would be different. Cuba is a country with many complicated social and political problems. So this process wasn’t easy. O’Brien and Team Coco came with a game plan. “I kept the purpose of my visit simple: to meet the people and try to make friends,” said O’Brien. “We wanted to ‘run and gun’ and stay under the radar. We didn’t want to be too conspicuous. We rolled into sites pretty quickly and we shot.” As if that was not daunting enough, Team Coco was faced
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O’Brien: “That’s me. I just was walking around. This is not staged. It looks staged. I was just walking around in that ridiculous linen suit, and I came across these amazing street performers in Havana, and I started dancing with them.” Photo courtesy of TBS
6 · June 01, 2015
with the challenge of coming up with a talk show desk set similar to “CONAN’s” regular TBS set. “The thing with the Cuban government is that if you start setting up something people will come right over and demand your papers,” O’Brien recently told Team Coco’s video chat participants. “They ask are you a reporter? Are you authorized to film on this street?” As O’Brien was scouting locations to use for that purpose, he came upon a sidewalk café on a narrow street, which just happened to have a 5 member women’s band called Dava playing there. There was one café table outside, which Team Coco commandeered by “throwing some money at some French tourists who were using it” for O’Brien to use as his talk show “desk,” dressing it
up with an old fashioned microphone someone found in Havana. So with a house band and desk in place O’Brien opened his twopart “CONAN” Cuban special by strolling out into view on this same narrow street, wearing a fedora and a light linen suit. Once he sat down at his make-shift talk show desk, he was ready to introduce all of America to the Cuba he had discovered. O’Brien was determined to give as accurate and in-depth a portrait of Cuba and the Cuban people while cramming as much entertainment value as he could into four days of filming. “We wanted this to have a sensitivity and sweetness to it, so we didn’t pick solely hard hitting comedy. We didn’t want
to be snarky. We really wanted to respect the people and the culture, and I think we achieved that goal. I feel lucky that we had the idea and the team to pull it off,” O’Brien revealed on a recent online chat. “All the moments were real with people who were funny and comfortable in their own skins. We couldn’t set this up. We didn’t use stock footage. We had these huge cameras we used. We pretty much shot around the clock. Cuba is a visually stunning place to shoot and we wanted to capture it. It was magical. It was a perfect snapshot in time to go there.” On his stay in Cuba, O’Brien filmed all over Havana, including inside a cigar factory, dance studio, nightclub, rum factory
and among locals at a popular promenade. The euphoria that was building in Team Coco for accomplishing what had been impossible just weeks earlier was stopped in its tracks, however, as they began to make plans to go home. “It started with less than 24 hours before we were supposed to return home. Our executive producer Jeff Ross was notified that a news outlet had heard probably by tourists that we were there, and they were going with the story.” O’Brien admitted. “We asked them to hold it until we at least got off the island with the footage, but they said they were afraid someone else had it, so they were going to go with it. And we were nervous. We decided to make multiple copies of what we shot on drives and tablets and laptops. We figured if
Photo courtesy of TBS Photo by Joe Pugliese
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any of it was stopped by customs we had backup copies that might make it through.” Luckily, the film made it back to the United States without much incident. It’s clear that O’Brien was moved by his exposure to Cuba and its people. “I hope we will soon be able to begin mending the long, broken relationship between our two countries. Despite the differences in our governments, the human level is so much we share. Laughter, music, the love of good food and sheer genius of rum in a box [a drink popular with young men on the promenade]. I was in Havana four days. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” O’Brien told his TV audience. “The people here are talented, they’re funny, they’re
vivacious, they’re warm. People are anxious for economic relief. They need it. They very much want to get to know us and do business with us. That was the strong, strong, strong sense we got just talking to people. I was very happy to see that you can cross barriers. I’ve always noticed that if you’re humble and sweet you can connect to people with humor. I can’t say enough good things about the people of Havana and Cuba, and I can’t wait to go back.” Meanwhile, those who wish to experience Cuba through O’Brien’s eyes can view the entire special, scenes from the episode or behind the scenes information at http://teamcoco.com/cuba/ •
America Theatre, Havana, Cuba. Photo by Marilyn Roca
CONAN and Cuba By the Numbers
A total of 3.7 million viewers have checked out "CONAN in Cuba," the historic episode of TBS's “CONAN” in which Conan O'Brien became the first American late-night host to do a show in Cuba in more than 50 years. The show, which now ranks as ”CONAN's“ most-watched destination special ever, drew its power from multiplatform viewing across TBS's premiere and encore telecasts, the TBS website and app, DVR playback and set-top Video On Demand. The show also brought in viewers through a pair of special encores on sister networks HLN and truTV. "CONAN in Cuba" is now the most-watched destination special in the show's history, with +23% more adults 18-49 than the average for all previous destination specials. "CONAN in Cuba" scored +194% growth compared to the show's year-to-date multiplatform reach. Carlos III, Havana, Cuba. Photo by Marilyn Roca
8 · June 01, 2015
CUBA
Coming to a US Classroom Near You
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Malecón, Havana, Cuba. Photo by Marilyn Roca
ith Cuba in the news, classrooms all over the country will be introducing students to the culture, history and politics of this Caribbean Latin American neighbor of the United States. Here are some links for lesson plans and research materials recommended by The New York Times, PBS, Kentucky Educational Television (www.ket.org), and the Discovery Network that can help various age groups understand and appreciate this island 90 miles off the shore of Florida. • In January, 2015, The New York Times published its own guide to Cuba under its The Learning Network - Teaching and Learning With The New York Times department of its newspaper. The article, written by Tom Marshall is entitled, Thawing Relations: Teaching About Cuba and the U.S. It can be accessed by visiting http://learning.blogs.nytimes. com/2015/01/15/thawing-relations-teaching-about-cuba-and-the-u-s/?_r=0 • The National Geographic website http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ cuba-guide/ is chock-full of information about Cuba with an emphasis on how to travel there and get the most out of the trip whether it is a family or singles excursion. • The Cuban Culture website http://www.cubaheritage.com/ has information on music, art, painting, culture and history. The Cuban Culture site has a section devoted to the island’s collection of classic and vintage cars. • The PBS Nature web site http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cuba-wild-island-of-the-caribbean-introduction/1243/ celebrates the natural beauty of this Caribbean island from its distinctive plants and foliage to the indigenous wildlife that can be found there. • If you are interested in Cuban music, try The Mamborama website http://www.mamborama.com/cuba_music.html for sound files of a variety of Cuban music styles. • The National Geographic World Music site http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ expands the selection of modern-day Afro-Cuban music. • The IFE-ILE site http://www.ife-ile.org/traditions.htm is also a guide to the multifaceted and inimitable Afro-Cuban dance and music traditions. It interprets these music and dance traditions through the prism of Cuban culture. • The PBS Buena Vista Social Club website http://www.pbs.org/buenavista/ presents a comprehensive analysis and collection of Cuban music. They present a timeline detailing a history of the island’s music culture as well as a lexicon of terms to aid in the understanding of the subject matter. • www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
Source Erza Jack Keats Foundation
10 路 June 01, 2015
The entire staff of OutlooK-12 would like to welcome you to our magazine’s newest section: Star Pupils. Each month we are giving schools the option to send in their students’ writing, artwork and photos of their science projects for consideration to be featured in our national magazine. To help us start off this section we are very pleased to feature the winners of the 29th Annual Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s Bookmaking Competition and were fortunate enough to speak with the foundation’s executive director, Dr. Deborah Pope, about the widely-celebrated children’s writer Ezra Jack Keats himself.
If you have a student you would like us to consider for our new Star Pupils section, contact meredith.cooper@hispanicoutlook.com or (201) 587-8800.
EZRA JACK KEATS
FOUNDATION ENCOURAGES NEXT GENERATION OF AUTHORS
It
Story by Meredith Cooper
is easy to see the word “courage” in the word “encourage.” Unfortunately, it is often easy to forget the relationship between these words: that to encourage someone is to inspire courage in them whether it is to face challenges or to take creative risks as writers and artists. Sadly, one of the most ground-breaking children’s book writers of the 20th century grappled with a lack of encouragement early on in his life. Born in 1916 Ezra Jack Keats, the author of The Snowy Day, a book credited for breaking the color barrier in children’s publishing, began life in an environment that did not embolden his creative talents. “Ezra grew up in East New York, which was then the Jewish quarter of Brooklyn and was the son of Polish Jewish immigrant parents [Benjamin Katz and Augusta “Gussie” Podgainy],” Dr. Deborah Pope executive director of the Foundation said. “They were very poor and terrified he would become an artist and starve, so they gave him very little to no encouragement.” Young Ezra, in fact, received mixed messages regarding his artistic abilities from his father who would give him tubes of paint but caution him that he traded them from starving artists for food. It was only after his father passed away that Ezra discovered just how proud he was of him. “I found myself staring deep into his [my father’s] secret feelings,” Ezra told the poet Lee Bennett Hopkins during an interview where he talked about identifying his father’s body. “There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work.” While Ezra learned of his father’s true feelings about his talents too late for their relationship, he still found support in other areas of his life. www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
‟The encouragement he got to follow his dream and his passion was from public school teachers and public librarians.” Dr. Deborah Pope executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
“The encouragement he got to follow his dream and his passion was from public school teachers and public librarians,” Pope said. Although Ezra would later become a celebrated writer with a parade being held for him in Portland, Oregon in 1979, the item that he kept with him all his life was a medal described on the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s website as “unimpressive-looking” that he was awarded for drawing when he graduated from junior high. Further encouragement came in high school when he won a national student contest run by the Scholastic Publishing Company for one of his oil paintings that depicted hobos warming themselves around a fire.
Ironically, however, Pope said it was in summer school where he met one of his greatest supporters, her father and today world-renown scientist, Martin Pope. “The friendship that developed between my father and Ezra changed both their lives for the better,” Pope said. “These two boys could talk to each other about anything…They could talk to each other without the rivalry or friction that comes from being siblings, but with the comfort that come from being siblings. And this was a lifelong friendship.” Over the course of his career, Ezra illustrated over 85 books and wrote and illustrated 22 children’s classics. He was the
Source Erza Jack Keats Foundation
12 · June 01, 2015
first artist invited to design a set of greeting cards for UNICEF, and he was the first children’s book author to be invited to donate his papers to Harvard University. And when he died from a heart attack in 1985, Martin was with him. “Ezra died holding my father’s hand,” Pope said. At the time Ezra had already formed his foundation, but Pope explained that it was her father and mother, Lillie Pope, that built it up into what it is today—a non-profit dedicated to preserving the quality of Keats’ books and artworks, promoting children’s literacy and creativity, and maintaining quality and diversity in children’s literature. “When he did die and the will came into effect, it fell to my father to really form the foundation to create and design the program that would do the good that Ezra wanted,” Pope said. “My father married a very dynamic strong woman, my mother, who was an educator. It fell to my parents to create these programs for the foundation. It really fell to my mother to do the design work.” One of the programs designed by Pope’s mother is the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competitions, a collaboration between the Department of Education and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation held in New York City and San Francisco for children from grades 3 – 12 to write and illustrate their own books on subjects ranging from autobiographies to fantasy stories. A jury of librarians, teachers and artists selects
both borough-wide winners and city-wide winners who receive an Ezra Jack Keats medal and cash prizes ($100 for the borough-wide winners and $500 for the city-wide winners). Such accolades, however, are only part of what it is hoped the students take away from this competition. “It was at public school that Ezra first received recognition for his talent, which encouraged him to pursue his dreams,” Pope said. “Our hope is that this award will inspire these young people to follow their dreams, too.” Further information about the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition is available on the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s website http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ •
Source Erza Jack Keats Foundation
‟It was at public school that Ezra first received recognition for his talent, which encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Our hope is that this award will inspire these young people to follow their dreams, too.” Dr. Deborah Pope executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
BROOKLYN AND QUEENS STUDENTS TAKE HOME TOP AWARDS AT THE 29TH ANNUAL EZRA JACK KEATS BOOKMAKING COMPETITION The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, announced the winners of the 29th annual Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition for grades 3-12. City-wide Winners Grades 3 - 5: When Fall Turns to Winter by John Lee (Grade 5) P.S. 193, Alfred J. Kennedy, Queens Denise Markbreit, Teacher; Joyce Bush, Principal The winner says: "I got the idea for my book when I was outside— the falling leaves from the trees and the changing of the seasons caught my attention and became my inspiration. I've liked to draw pictures of animations and the environment ever since I was young. I used pastels for the drawings in my book because I had so many colors to choose from and because I could smudge the colors together to shade my work. This is the first contest I've ever won, so I'm very excited! I worked really hard and my teacher inspired and helped me every step of the way." Grades 6 - 8: The History Wheel of Coney Island by Amelia Samoylov (Grade 8) I.S. 98, The Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn Mandi Bracho, Teacher; Marietta Falconieri, Librarian; Maria Timo, Principal The winner says: "My home—Coney Island—is such a special place and so close to my heart that I wanted to learn about its rich history and share it with others. Because the Ferris wheel is such a big part of Coney Island, I created a large, movable one that became the centerpiece of my book. I included other famous landmarks such as Luna Park and Nathan's, too. I used different materials such as a simple cardboard box, thick paper, chalks and watercolor pencils to make the book special and to help people recognize Coney Island." Grades 9 -12: The Brown M Train by Kevin Zeng (Grade 12) P.S. 77, Brooklyn Amie Robinson, Sylvia Patterson, William Petrowitz, Teachers; Merryl Redner-Cohen, Principal; Ross Cohen, Assistant Principal The winner says: "I made my book as a protest. I want the MTA to reinstate the brown M train. Now I have to ride the R train, which is too slow and too crowded. So many people get off the R train at once that I can't even run down the stairs fast enough to catch the train! I love to draw, so using colored pencils I spent three months drawing pictures for my book and making a case for bringing the M train back. I presented my book to the president of the MTA. I've also started a petition that already has 506 signatures on it. I'm not going to give up until the brown M train is back in service!" For a complete list of city-wide and borough winners, visit 2015's Bookmaking Competition Winners at the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation's website. Source Erza Jack Keats Foundation
14 · June 01, 2015
Congratulations to all of the winners of the 29th Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition
“The bookmaking project is designed to send a message to the child that not only can they succeed at an assignment that is given to them, no matter who they are and what level they are at, they can succeed at this and that their ideas and thoughts are important.” – Dr. Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
For a complete list of winners visit http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org
THE JOURNEY TO THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND: 2015 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR REFLECTS ON HER CAREER Story by Meredith Cooper
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ife is not a straight line. The 2015 National Teacher of the Year, Shanna Peeples, for example, did not start out her career as a teacher. During an interview with “CBS This Morning,” Peeples confirmed that she, in fact, avoided teaching, taking on roles such as pet sitter, reporter and medical assistant to “resist” becoming a teacher. “I think I was afraid of it because I knew I was going to love it in a way that was going to be pretty consuming, and it was,” Peeples said. “As a reporter, I covered schools, and the more
16 · June 01, 2015
I was in those classrooms, the more I wanted to stay in those classrooms. And so I thought I just need to go ahead and get over myself and do this.” That decision to “get over” herself and enter the teaching profession has led to a career spanning 12 years, being honored at a ceremony at the White House and becoming a speaker at the 2015 National PTA Convention & Expo (see sidebar for further information). Peeples, who is currently an English teacher at Palo Duro High School, works with many students who speak English as a second language or have recent-
ly entered the United States, as Amarillo is one of several cities in the country that helps refugees find new paths in life and gain access to critical resources. She reaches her students through a variety of teaching methods and helps them achieve their full potential in the classroom and beyond. “She sees past any front that a student may put on, helps them discover their dreams and their goals and then pushes them to help them achieve them,” Peeples’ former student Kayla Storrs told “CBS This Morning.” Storrs is currently a University of Kentucky graduate student.
“It is clear why Shanna was selected to be the 2015 National Teacher of the Year: Shanna's dedication to teaching is all-encompassing, from the countless hours she devotes to helping every child in her classroom to the time she spends mentoring colleagues in her school district.� Chris Minnich, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers
Shanna Peeples Photo source Voya Financial, Inc.
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“Shanna, and teachers like her across the country, touch the lives of students every day, and their work and impact extends far beyond the boundaries of the classroom. National PTA salutes Shanna and all of the 2015 State Teachers of the Year for going above and beyond to ensure every child succeeds and every child’s dreams become a reality.” National PTA President Otha Thornton
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Another former student of Peeples’, Viet Tran, also praised her for her continued support. “Miss Peeples’ faith in me to achieve great things and to do great things and to be great has never faltered,” Tran told “CBS This Morning,” adding, “And even now she is still advocating for me even though I am a junior at Harvard and well out of her class.” “I think what it takes to make a great teacher is somebody who just loves what they do and who loves kids and who loves to bring out the potential in every kid,” Peeples told “CBS This Morning.” “You can help write the end of the story for every kid and that’s the most exciting and the most privileging thing about doing this job.” This dedication to helping every child reach his/her full potential as well as her commitment to mentoring her colleagues to help them grow in the teaching profession was acknowledged in April when Peeples, along with all her 2015 State Teachers of the Year, was honored by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House. National PTA President Otha Thornton who participated in the ceremony and served on the selection committee for the National Teacher of the Year Program also praised Shanna for her positive impact on her students.
“Shanna, and teachers like her across the country, touch the lives of students every day, and their work and impact extends far beyond the boundaries of the classroom,” Thornton said. “National PTA salutes Shanna and all of the 2015 State Teachers of the Year for going above and beyond to ensure every child succeeds and every child’s dreams become a reality.” The National Teacher of the Year Program is run by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and presented by Voya Financial. Through the program CCSSO identifies the best teachers in the country, recognizes their effective work in the classroom, amplifies their voices and empowers them to participate in policy discussions at the state and national levels. “It is clear why Shanna was selected to be the 2015 National Teacher of the Year: Shanna’s dedication to teaching is all-encompassing, from the countless hours she devotes to helping every child in her classroom to the time she spends mentoring colleagues in her school district,” Chris Minnich, executive director of CCSSO said. “I look forward to seeing Shanna engage people across the country in a conversation about how to improve education as she shares her vision of supporting all students and teachers.”
ENGAGE IN NEW WAYS: “We’re proud to sponsor programs like National Teacher of the Year, which acknowledge the talented professionals who educate and empower tomorrow’s workforce,” Carolyn Johnson, president of Annuities and Tax-Exempt Markets, Voya Financial said, adding that Voya would like to congratulate both Shanna and the 2015 State Teacher of the Year winners for “their outstanding accomplishments and strong commitment to the profession.” “I choose to think that, as National Teacher of the Year, I represent the people who love what they do; who are willing to do whatever it takes to help kids; who stay after school for hours; who steal time from their own families to help our kids; who may be the only person that shows up at games for a kid, or at plays, at concerts. For many kids, teachers are the only person for them,” Peeples said. “And so to me, the title of Teacher of the Year is a way for me to always talk about what teachers do for our kids. And I am exceedingly proud of the honor of representing men and women who pour themselves into this, the most important job there is.” For more information about the National Teacher of the Year Program and to view a list of the 2015 State Teachers of the Year, visit the Council of Chief State School Officers’ website at http://ccsso.org/ ntoy/State_Teachers.html. •
2015 NATIONAL PTA CONVENTION & EXPO
Shanna Peeples addressing attendees at the 2015 National PTA Convention & Expo is one of many networking and learning opportunities available at this year’s event: Thought Leader Sessions Be inspired by dynamic leaders whose extraordinary life experiences will boost your passion to make every child’s potential a reality. Leadership Forums Need new strategies to successfully run your PTA? Hear how National PTA leaders effectively communicate with members, keep boards on track and handle conflict resolution to achieve the PTA mission to advocate for every child’s success and well-being. Trending Topics Discover the latest info on key education and child advocacy issues and learn best practices and innovative approaches to engaging families on these trending topics. The Fresh 20 Demo Stage Ready to take your PTA to the next level? Explore new education apps, fundraising strategies and products and services that will enhance your efforts in the next school year. Meetups Share your PTA successes and ongoing challenges with your peers. Facilitated by National PTA leaders, you will gain new insights and build strong bonds as you discuss the issues you care about most. PTA Coaching Sessions Get a personal PTA coach! Talk to a PTA expert about the challenges you face as a PTA leader and hear proven methods you can use to handle your unique circumstances. 2015 National PTA Convention & Expo will be held June 25-28 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. For more information and to register visit http://www.pta.org •
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Books-A-Million Launches Summer Quest Reading Program
To promote reading during the summer months, Books-A-Million is launching its Summer Quest Reading program, which features a reading list of over 75 popular books for both kids and teens. Young readers who participate will receive a Camp Half-Blood tote bag celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians book series by Rick Riordan. Here’s a sampling of their Summer Quest Reading Program books:
GRADES 9-12 THE WARRIOR HEIR
By Cinda Williams Chima 2007. 426 pp. ISBN: 9780786839179. Disney-Hyperion Books for Children. Series: Heir Chronicles Before he knew the startling truth about himself, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in a small Ohio town. Then Jack learns he is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose whose power is determined by a magical tournament in which a warrior from each house fight to the death to rule the Weir.
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BLACK DOVE WHITE RAVEN
By Elizabeth Wein 2015. 368pp. ISBN: 9781423183105. Disney-Hyperion Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's survived, determined to raise Teo where he won't be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat. Black Dove White Raven explores the difficulties this family faced.
GO SET A WATCHMAN
By Harper Lee 2015. 288 pp. ISBN: 9780062409850. Harper Go Set a Watchman is set during the mid-1950s and features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Scout (Jean Louise Finch) has returned to Maycomb from New York to visit her father, Atticus. She is forced to grapple with issues both personal and political as she tries to understand her father’s attitude toward society, and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood.
GRADES 6-8
DEEP BLUE
By Jennifer Donnelly 2014. 352 pp. ISBN: 9781423133162. Disney-Hyperion Deep in the ocean live the merpeople. When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, she finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations.
Wonder
By R.J. Palacio, 2012. 315 pp. ISBN: 9780375869020. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers August Pullman was born with a facial difference that has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid, but his new classmates and community can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face and struggle with empathy, compassion and acceptance.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Perilous Journey
By Trenton Lee Stewart, Diana Sudyka (Illustrator) 2009. 440 pp. ISBN: 9780316036733. Little, Brown Young Readers. Series: Mysterious Benedict Society #3 After reuniting for a celebratory scavenger hunt, Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance are forced to go on an unexpected search-a search to find Mr. Benedict. It seems that while he was preparing the kids' adventure, he stepped right into a trap orchestrated by his evil twin, Mr. Curtain.
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GRADES 3-5
BIG NATE Lives it Up
By Lincoln Peirce 2015. 224 pp. ISBN: 9780062111081. Balzer & Bray/ Harperteen/ Series: Big Nate Principal Nichols wants Nate to be buddies with new kid Breckenridge Puffington III and show him around. But that's no easy task when Breckenridge is a plant-doodling total fun-sponge. There's also something strangely familiar about this guy. . . . What in the world could it be?
22 · June 01, 2015
DORK diaries
By Rachel Renée Russell 2015. 352 pp. ISBN: 9781442487697. Aladdin Paperbacks. Series: Dork Diaries #1 Nikki's diary is up to the month of April, and springtime is sure to bring more wacky adventures with Nikki and her friends Chloe, Zoey and Brandon. The Dork Diaries series has more than 13 million copies in print worldwide.
The Never Girls before the bell
By Kiki Thorpe, Hana Christy (Illustrator) 2015. 128 pp. ISBN: 9780736433044. Random House Disney. Series: Stepping Stone Book Never Girls is about four real girls in a fairy's world. It’s the first day of school, and Gabby can’t wait to tell the fairies all about it. She even met a new friend who loves fairies as much as she does, but what will the Never Girls do when a fairy goes missing in Gabby’s new classroom?
Ilustration by Š Depositphotos.com/ johny007pandp
GRADES K-2
The Day the Crayons came home
By Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers 2015. 48 pp. ISBN: 9780399172755. Philomel Books Duncan is confronted with a group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him to poor Turquoise whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan's stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.
Chu's Day at the Beach
By Neil Gaiman & Adam Rex 2015. 32 pp. ISBN: 9780062223999. HarperCollins A brand-new adventure is here for everyone's favorite sneezing panda from the New York Times bestselling team of Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex. Chu and his family are going to the beach, and Chu is excited. He will get to play in the sand and wade in the water. But what will happen if Chu sneezes at the beach? And what will happen if he doesn't?
I am Jackie Robinson
By Brad Meltzer, Christopjer Eliopoulos (Illustrator) 2015 40 pp. ISBN: 9780803740860. Dial Books. Series: Ordinary People Change World Jackie Robinson always loved sports especially baseball. But even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn't allowed on the best teams just because of the color of his skin. Jackie became the first black player in Major League Baseball, and his bravery changed African-American history and led the way to equality in all sports in America.
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ACT REPORT
Shows Fewer High School Grads Planning to Become Educators Articles courtesy of ACT
24 · June 01, 2015
T
he number and percentage of high school graduates interested in becoming an educator have significantly declined over the past four years, according to The Condition of Future Educators, a new report from American College Testing (ACT). The report shows that only 5 percent (89,347 students) of the nearly 1.85 million 2014
U.S. high school graduates who took the ACT® test said they intended to pursue a career as an educator—including as a teacher, counselor or administrator. Both the percentage and number have steadily dropped each year since 2010, when 7 percent of graduates (106,659 students) planned an education major. The decline in the number of students interested in an education career is even more strik-
4
decreased by 2%.
Attainment of College and Career Readiness
All Students Planning Education Majors All Students Planning Education Majors Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested School Graduates Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested HighHigh School Graduates College Readiness Benchmarks by by ACTMeeting CollegeACT Readiness Benchmark Attainment Race/Ethnicity and Subject* and Subject
80
American Indian
25
Percent
10
60
9 6
32
20
0
Pacific Islander White
English
16
15
17
Below Benchmark by 3+ Points English Within 2 Points of Benchmark Reading Met Benchmark Mathematics
Asian
English 37 36
40
40
Mathematics
37 31
30
Science
30 19
17
14
20
0 Male
75
Female
0
Science
0
65
1 Male N = 22,499
Hispanic
Reading
44
20
31
Mathematics 37 43
60
68 58
60
20
Science
49 43
33 29
American Indian
10
37
22
Reading
61 51
43
42 22
Two or More Races
African American
44
25 23
80
52
53 38
Hispanic
80
44
18 15
Asian
65
100
43 26
15 40
100
29
13
Percent
African American
Percent
100
Percent of of 2014 ACT-Tested School Graduates Percent ACT-TestedHigh High School Graduates Meeting ACT Readiness Benchmarks by by Number ofCollege ACT College Readiness Benchmarks Gender and Subject Attained
Pacific Islander
White
2 Female Met Benchmarks
3
4
N = 66,389
Two or More Races
Percent
Percent ofthe 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Number of 2014 ACT-Tested ing given fact that Nthe total than of ACT-tested 2013 and PercentThe report also reveals that N = 8,521 N = 650 = 1,507 N = 10,703 N = 179 half N = 61,659 N = 2,830 Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by High School Graduates by Area of Planned Major number of ACT-tested graduates graduates who intended to pursue diversity continues to be lackSubject Education Count Percent has increased substantially—up an education career switched to Areaing among futureNeducators. 100 by 18 percent—during the same another major within their first AmongServices ACT-tested3,818 graduates 4 Administration/Student Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Percent of 2014 ACT-Tested High School Graduates four-year period. two years of college, while a who planned to pursue edu-12 Meeting Teacher ACT College Readiness Benchmarks 10,678an by General Education 80 Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Educational Aspirations Education Level Subject “The drop in the numberand Subjectslightly smaller numberHighest of stu-Parentalcation major, 72and percent were 65 47,247 53 Student Population Specific of our dents who had planned another white, compared to 56 percent 82 60 young people who want71 Professional 60 27,449 31 Specific Professional 51 53 to become an educator is44truly type of career switchedSubject to an Degree edof all 45tested graduates. Previous Degree 42 38 89,192that K–12 100 Total 37 alarming,” said Jon Erickson, ucation major. studies have 81suggested 40 31 Master’s 57 82 53 may benefit from being Degree ACT president. “Unless someThe ACT findings also call students Master’s 60 45 20 55 Degree 20 changes quickly, the thing into question the overall preparataught by a 75teacher of the same 46 supply Bachelor’s 50 English English of new teachers may not meet63 the tion levels of students planning race.3845 Degree Reading Reading Bachelor’s 38 0 32 Degree future demand.” a career as an educator. The perIn addition, youngMathematics women Mathematics 63 English Reading 27 Mathematics Science All Four Associate’s 37 Science Science Subjects According to the 25US Decentages of future teachers who are2732much more likely than young Degree Associate’s 12 partment of Education, a teacher met the ACT College Readiness men to consider a career as an 62 7 Degree Certification or 38 31 shortage already 6exists in many Benchmarks in math, science educator. Nearly three-quarters Some College 26 22 states andVoc-tech subject10areas, particuand reading remained lower than of those 45 ACT-tested graduates High School 25 7 20 larly mathDegree and science. The Nathose of the population of nationinterested in an education career Graduate or Less 5 16 Note: Percents in this may not sum duetest to rounding. tional Center forreport Education Sta-to 100%al takers, as was the case in were female, including nearly Certification High School Professional Master’s Bachelor’s Associate’s Voc-tech Professional Master’s 95Bachelor’s Associate’s Some Grad orin tistics has reported that the need 2010. percent of thoseorCollege interested Degree Degree Degree Degree Degree Degree Degree Degree Degree Less for elementary and secondary “Quality teaching is aN =crucial early childhood and elementary = 6,492 N = 18,123 N = 56,601 N = 503 3,878 N = 12,015 N = 22,690 N = 9,529 N = 14,867 N = 17,299 THE CONDITIONNOF FUTURE EDUCATORS 2014 N = 2,476 teachers is projected to increase element in getting students ready education. over the next several years. for college and career,” said Er“The pipeline of future teachOther recently released ACT ickson. “We must be concerned ers doesn’t reflect the diversity data suggest that the poolchanged of for the 2010–201 not only with increasing the US Department of the student population that it * Race/ethnicity categories 1 academic year to reflect updated of Education reporting requirements. future educators is not likely to overall number of students who will be serving,” said Erickson. enlarge—and, in fact, could even plan to become educators but “We need to find ways to encourdecrease slightly—when students also with attracting more of the age more minority students and enroll in college and declare a best and brightest students to the males to consider a career as an major. The data show that more field.” educator.” • www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
5
Future Educators Interest and Achievement by State % of All Graduates Tested*
State Colorado Illinois Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Tennessee Utah Wyoming Arkansas Hawaii Nebraska Florida Alabama South Dakota Minnesota Missouri Kansas Oklahoma Wisconsin Ohio New Mexico Iowa West Virginia South Carolina Arizona Georgia Idaho Indiana Texas Alaska District of Columbia Nevada Oregon California Connecticut Vermont Virginia New York New Jersey Massachusetts Maryland Washington New Hampshire Pennsylvania Delaware Rhode Island Maine NATION
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 93 90 86 81 80 78 76 76 75 75 73 72 69 68 65 58 55 53 45 40 40 37 37 36 36 29 29 29 28 27 25 23 22 22 20 19 18 16 9 57
Number of All % of All ACT-Tested ACT-Tested Percent of Students with Education Graduates Graduates Majors Meeting Benchmarks Interested Interested in in Education Education Majors English Reading Math Science Majors
4 5 6 4 4 5 6 4 6 4 5 8 7 3 8 3 6 7 6 7 7 5 6 6 4 8 9 7 3 5 5 5 5 4 2 4 4 3 4 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 3 5
2,121 8,202 2,842 1,870 5,012 1,490 556 3,873 431 3,118 1,647 478 1,848 345 1,466 4,228 2,229 441 2,649 3,511 1,569 1,454 2,747 5,503 477 1,785 953 1,670 1,083 2,624 381 1,402 6,055 100 35 314 484 3,139 530 116 1,043 2,542 1,270 727 612 591 128 1,318 66 82 35 89,192
69 70 68 65 65 52 60 53 68 67 71 66 68 45 71 51 65 69 74 71 69 64 75 73 54 74 68 60 55 59 80 68 53 60 34 60 69 63 80 68 69 73 69 76 66 70 80 65 59 67 80 65
45 43 41 36 39 28 43 32 43 40 48 41 41 27 44 36 38 44 51 47 47 44 48 49 32 48 42 36 37 38 58 47 33 40 26 44 46 41 56 50 47 51 40 50 43 54 61 41 38 45 60 42
37 41 30 27 36 17 35 32 40 29 39 35 35 23 36 24 25 44 52 37 42 27 46 44 24 38 22 30 33 28 51 42 34 35 26 35 38 42 52 47 40 54 47 51 36 51 51 41 39 30 46 37
34 34 30 24 32 16 30 20 32 27 35 35 30 18 34 20 26 37 44 33 35 28 41 38 22 38 26 24 23 24 41 32 25 26 14 30 30 27 41 34 35 43 31 37 32 40 42 31 30 29 54 31
* Totals for graduating seniors were obtained from Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates, 8th edition. 漏 December 2012 by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
26 路 June 01, 2015
ENCOURAGING A Future Educators Interest and Achievement by State NEW GENERATION OF TEACHERS
T
o help drive greater interest in the teaching profession among a diverse population of high-achieving students, ACT recommends the following:
Recruit high-achieving college students who are undecided about their future careers. Postsecondary institutions should focus on identifying high-achieving students who are undecided about their college majors and encourage them to consider pursuing the teaching profession. In particular, because ACT data indicate that relatively few minority students are interested in education as a career, recruitment efforts should target more minority students to enter the teaching pipeline. A more diverse teacher population may also lead to greater achievement among minority students. Research in the study “Representation in the Classroom: The Effect of Own-race Teachers on Student Achievement,” by Anna J. Egalite, Brian Kisida, and Marcus A. Winters shows that K–12 students—particularly African American and Asian American students—benefit from being taught by a teacher of the same race, while ACT data indicate that few minority students are interested in education. Promote alternative pathways to teaching. Teacher preparation programs play a critical role in developing quality teachers. However, given the expected need for more teachers than are currently available in certain areas and subjects, states and districts should remove barriers that prevent qualified individuals—such as mid-career professionals or recent talented college graduates—from entering the profession via alternative certification routes. Improve educator benefits to attract and retain quality teachers. Teachers are the most important school-based factor in a student’s achievement, so states and districts should advance policies that make the teaching profession more attractive. For example, beginning teacher salaries should be comparable to entry-level salaries for recent college graduates in other fields, and effective teaching should be supported and awarded over the number of years spent in the classroom. • Article Courtesy of ACT 2015.
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News and Trends in K-12 Education from Across America
Urban Teacher Center Receives Funding to Prepare High-Quality Teacher Workforce
B
altimore, MD -- The Urban Teacher Center (UTC) has announced it was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further advance the organization’s efforts to provide urban school districts with a pipeline of highly qualified, effective teachers. The grant comes on the heels of the foundation’s news that it will direct its support to advance high-quality teacher preparation programs nationwide.
Articles courtesy of PR Newswire and PR Web
28 · June 01, 2015
The UTC model identifies talented, resilient individuals who want to become career teachers in urban schools. It provides clinically-based teacher training via a 13-month residency in K-12 urban classrooms, paired with a Master’s degree in a content area and special education. Three years of one-on-one coaching also ensures every UTC graduate is equipped to successfully teach students in high-need schools.
As a program that understands the importance of teacher performance, accountability, in-classroom training and mentorship, UTC is currently supporting over 300 teachers and residents, reaching more than 13,000 students across Baltimore and Washington, DC. •
Kidblog Releases New Student Blogging Platform for K-12 Classrooms
M
inneapolis, Minn -- Kidblog is proud to announce the release of their newly redesigned student publishing platform. Kidblog.org serves over 5 million K-12 students, teachers, and parents around the world. Based on teacher input, the new platform delivers significant advancements in enabling students to share their voice with an authentic audience. The new platform is built on three principles:
1) Safe and Simple – Kidblog is elegantly simple and relevant for today’s digital learner, yet powerful enough to transform the writing experience for students of all ages. Flexible privacy settings meet the security demands of teachers, parents, and schools. 2) Student-Centered – Kidblog is designed to help students find their voice. Each author’s creation is unique, with its own purpose, tone, and audience.
3) Authentic Audience – Writing is meant to be read. Kidblog makes it easy for students to share posts with their teacher, their classmates, connected classes, and the world. •
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News and Trends
STEM Competition Allows Students to Explore Engineering
B
urlington, NC -- Carolina Biological Supply Company, in partnership with the North Carolina Science Festival, is pleased to announce the results of the 3rd annual Carolina STEM Challenge Competition. The winners of the 2015 competition were selected from more than 100 class-
30 · June 01, 2015
rooms in 86 cities across North Carolina. The competing classrooms represented a mix of middle, high, rural, urban, public, charter, parochial, and alternative schools. Entrants submitted a short video via YouTube demonstrating their design, explaining
their scientific process, and showing their project in action. The winning teams were selected by a panel of judges: 1st Place: Chaise Swisher's Mousetrap Car Team, Elkin High School - Elkin, NC 2nd Place: Greg Stolze’s Mousetrap Car Team, Stanly County Early College – Albemarle, NC 3rd Place: Marsha Dunn’s Solar Car Team, South Stokes High School – Walnut Cove, NC “The students learn so much in the challenge and it reinforces class instruction with hands-on activities” commented Marsha Marsha Dunn, science teacher at South Stokes High School in Stokes County. •
8th Graders Nationwide Flunk Civics: Debate Can Help Defend Democracy
D
allas, TX -- Just 23% of U.S. eighth-graders are “proficient” or above in knowledge of American civics, according to the “Nation’s Report Card,” released this week by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). A 2010 study out of the University of Central Florida found that 74% of middle school students report that they dislike social studies class due to the emphasis on reading from the textbook, rote memorization, and note-taking. A proven method for exciting students about civic is competitive debate. Numerous university studies have demonstrated that debaters out-perform in grades,
test scores, reading level, critical thinking skills, understanding of controversial issues, and enthusiasm for learning. Through its Debate Central program, the National Center for Policy Analysis provides teachers and students with the resources necessary to launch new debate programs, as well as to sustain
existing ones, all at no charge. Every day, more than 2,200 American students visit the Debate Central website for research tips, starter packets for each new topic, individualized feedback, and more. Everything Debate Central does is completely free for all teachers, students, or anyone else who might be interested. •
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First Book Partners with White House, Libraries and Publishers on Groundbreaking Effort to Bring Thousands of e-Books to Children in Need
W
ASHINGTON -- Through a new White House-led initiative, First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise, is helping connect children in need across the country with access to thousands of e-books. The initiative, announced by President Obama at the Anacostia Library in Washington, is part of a broad effort to ignite kids' love of reading by
News and Trends
32 ¡ June 01, 2015
improving access to digital content and public libraries. Through the initiative, called Open eBooks, major publishers are providing $250 million worth of e-books to children from low-income families for free, including 10,000 of their most popular titles. The books will be accessible through an Open eBooks app, currently being devel-
oped by the New York Public Library, the Digital Public Library of America and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Together, the organizations will curate and deliver the e-books to programs and classrooms serving low-income students. Anyone can sign up with First Book at www.firstbook.org/ register. •
idoodlelearning Announces Space Act Agreement With NASA Langley Research Center
O
ttawa, Ontario and Virginia Beach, VA -- idoodlelearning, a division of idoodle L.L.C., an educational development company offering solutions to bridge the gap between traditional and digital learning, announced that it has executed a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The SAA will broaden the reach of idoodlelearning’s Cubes
in Space™ program by the collaboration with NASA’s Project Hands-On Project Experience (HOPE). Cubes in Space provides an opportunity at no cost to students to design and compete to launch an experiment into space. Utilizing formal or informal learning environments, students and educators will be exposed to engaging content and activities in preparation for the design and development of an experimental
payload to be integrated into a small cube (Cube). NASA Langley will provide access to scientists and engineers within the HOPE program to serve as mentors and subject matter experts for the students during their experiment design process. Student payloads will fly on the HOPE program’s Radiation Dosimetry Experiment (RaD-X) mission in September 2015. •
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