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New England League of Middle Schools 460 Boston Street, Suite 4 Topsfield, MA 01983 Tel: (978) 887-6263 Fax: (978) 887-6504 Email: nelms@nelms.org |
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January 17, 2007 |
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The Excitement Continues to Grow!!! Plan now to attend this terrific professional development event!Over 2,200 middle level educators will continue a tradition of quality professional development that has gone on for 27 years. They will be attending the New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS) Annual Conference on March 30 – April 1, 2008 in Providence, RI. The conference has always and continues to focus on improving student learning for young adolescents. The conference brings teachers, principals, assistant principals, college and university professors, and other educators from throughout the nation together for learning, problem solving, fun and invigoration! More than 180 sessions were held on topics such as what makes excellent schools, middle level school leadership, student motivation, effectively educating 10 to 14 year-olds, parent/community partnerships and involvement in the middle school, technology, and developing relevant curriculum. In addition, over 90 booths of exhibitors will be on hand. Get ready to go by clicking on www.nelms.org, to look over the soon to be posted concurrent sessions, the terrific keynote speakers, and in depth half day sessions. The conference changes educators and schools. Attend this powerful experience and support young adolescent learning and NELMS in the process. NELMS Board Meets On Saturday, January 12, 2008 the NELMS Board met. Agenda items included reports for the office team and committees. The Director’s Team reported on our extensive School Based Work, the "Teacher in Residence" program, and our longer term professional development activities; Breaking Ranks In the Middle, On The Same Page (NELMS reading and writing across the curriculum), STEPS (the reading across the curriculum program), and our revised Literacy Focus Assessment. Bob Spear and the Office team activities and membership updates, year-to-date financial information and projections, a NELMS web site update, 2008 Annual Conference plans (see related article), plans for the 3rd Annual Middle Level Symposium, and the status of the Spotlight Schools identification and review process. The Board Chair, Marcia Ross reported on Executive Director Bob Spear's evaluation process and report. A good amount of time was spent on discussion and developing ideas for next years professional activities. The board also looked at Annual Conference related issues including the conference location and future dates into 2011. The Development Committee and proposed changes were discussed as were the results of the recent Board Elections. (see related story) Under "New Business", two new types of membership were discussed and reviewed. They are the soon to be released "Business Membership" and the new "NELMS Neighbor Membership". Both are designed to serve groups not currently represented in our services. Details of each are on our web site www.nelms.org. Lastly, the Board discussed establishing a list of "Appropriate Middle Level Practices" with a brief explanation and examples of successful programs and practices in our middle level schools. A list was established and further development will take place on such topics as "honor roles", dances, student leadership opportunities, graduation activities, etc. This work will be reviewed at the May Board meeting. (This idea was generated by a NELMS member via an email to the Executive Director.) The list of practices will be posted on our web site when it is completed. Greetings all: A Middle School Tech blog has been set up by Gary Ackerman at the NELMS web site.The purpose is to begin to create a Tech Community of middle level educators on the web. We all know that technology holds great promise for all learners but it is especially appropriate the developmental stages of young adolescent learners. We hope that you can visit this blog as Gary has lots of tech info as do many other in our New England Community. It is for all middle level educators and even others. by Gary Ackerman That's all there is to it! Digital Textbooks Expand Into K-12 Classrooms Teachers may be driving growth in digital texts as they experiment with tweaking material for different learning styles or to aid English-language learners. "Essentially what you're doing is you're able to reach all types of learners," said Jim Blackwell, whose central California district participated in a pilot program for a digital text in 2005. "Reaching them verbally and visually, you're letting them control the material and go at their own pace. They stay engaged at all times." Link to the full article here. Longer Day Helps 10 Massachusetts Schools Boost Test Scores Ten Massachusetts public schools that last year lengthened the school day by 25% or more to offer extra reading, writing and math lessons saw student scores increase across the board. Education leaders across the U.S. are weighing whether they should follow suit, and U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., wants Congress to approve legislation to make school days longer. Massachusetts spent about $20 million administering the program, at a cost of $1,300 per student. Link to the full article here.
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