USE WORDLE WITH YOUR SOCIAL CONTRACTS!

I love Wordle! It's a fun and creative way to illustrate your social contracts. Use it to emphasize what's most important to your classroom and team. If a word is mentioned more than once, put a check beside it for each time it is stated.  The more times a word is entered, the bigger it is printed. http://www.wordle.net/

CORWIN: ALIGNING YOUR CURRICULUM TO THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: JOE CRAWFORD: 9781452216478

Check out my good friend Joe Crawford's new book. He has been recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education in the Those Who Excel program and by the Carnegie Foundation in the National Systemic Change Award. Additionally, he was principal of a twice-recognized National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and met two presidents as part of that recognition. He was also chosen by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Milken Family Foundation as a National Distinguished Educator. 

AligningYour Curriculum to the Common Core State Standards.

Check out his other book, Using Power Standards to Buildan Aligned Curriculum

ED.GOV, "DISTRICT-LEVEL RACE TO THE TOP TO FOCUS ON THE CLASSROOM, PROVIDE TOOLS TO ENHANCE LEARNING AND SERVE THE NEEDS OF EVERY STUDENT." MAY 22ND, 2012

The U.S. Department of Education announced proposed criteria for the 2012 Race to the Top program—a nearly $400 million competition that invites school districts to create plans for individualized classroom instruction aimed at closing achievement gaps and preparing each student for college and career.

District-Level Race to the Top to Focus on the Classroom, Provide Tools to Enhance Learning and Serve the Needs of Every Student

BARBARA DAY, "CAPTURING KIDS' HEARTS." DAY IN THE CLASSROOM. JUNE 30TH, 2011

Barbara attended The Flippen Group's Capturing Kids' Hearts training last year and wrote about her experience on her blog, Day In the Classroom. She said, "I can say this is some of the best training I’ve taken in a long time." Click here to read Barbara's article and the comments made from others about Capturing Kids' Hearts.

Barbara, thanks for sharing your training experience with us on your blog!


Check out this Flippen Group video... "Why should I attend Capturing Kids' Hearts"

DR. MARJORIE STEALEY FEATURED IN VIRGINIA TEACHER MAGAZINE

Congratulations to my friend Dr. Marjorie Stealey, Principal of Norview High School at Norfolk Public Schools. She is featured in Virginia Teacher magazine on page 7.

LEADING AND LEARNING 2.0 BLOG BY DR. TODD WIRT

My friend, Dr. Todd Wirt is the Executive Director of Secondary Education at Mooresville Graded School District and he has created a great Blog called Leading and Learning 2.0 His blog provides great resources and information for teachers and administrators.

Dr. Wirt led a full digital conversion at Mooresville High School in a one-to-one 24/7 mobile computing environment focused on digital content and project-based learning for the past four years.  Under Dr. Wirt’s leadership Mooresville High School has increased its performance composite on state end-of-course exams twenty percentage points from 69% to 89%.  Mooresville High School has risen to the top ten in North Carolina on graduation rate and dropout rate, as well as being recognized nationally as an Apple Distinguished school for its amazing use of 1:1 technologies. Dr. Wirt was nationally recognized as North Carolina’s 2010 High School Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Check out his Blog Leading and Learning 2.0 and follow him on Twitter @toddwirt! 

I highly recommend it!

EDUCATION WEEK: BUILDING THE DIGITAL DISTRICT

EDUCATION WEEK: BUILDING THE DIGITAL DISTRICT 

Find out how you can create a Digital Culture in your schools.

My friends at Mooresville Graded School District are hosting another SOLD OUT Summer Connection Conference on JULY 31-AUGUST 2, 2012 at Mooresville Intermediate School in Mooresville, North Carolina for Superintendents, District Administrators, Principals, Teachers, and Technology Staff.

TOP 5 MUST DO's FOR CENTRAL OFFICE ORGANIZATION

The leaders of an organization are responsible for translating vision to results. They must align the thinking and actions of others toward common expectations and goals, without false starts or missteps.

5 MUST DO's: 

1. Understand how your systems and structure affect individual and group performance
2. Recognize and overcome system constraints
3. Facilitate a rigorous and effective strategic-planning process
4. Set priorities and effectively focus organizational resources (No more than 2 or 3 top priorities)
5. Apply an appropriate behavioral model to move an organization from good to great

Leaders need to coordinate critical systemic elements of their organization - mission, core principles, vision, capacity for change, alignment, accountability, and internal communication - to reach optimal results and staff performance.