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January 28 , 2008, Volume 2, Issue 20

You can still register for this year’s Assistant Principals Conference and Deans Day. Today, at 3:00pm, is the last chance to pre-register   However, you can always register on site at the conference.

This event will be held Feb. 4-6 at the Hilton in Lisle and is packed with educational and networking opportunities including legal updates, techniques for interviewing and interrogation, school emergency plans, PBIS, RTI, using a PDA, resumes and interviews, special education updates, internet safety, stress reduction and much more! 

To learn more, go to IPA’s web site at www.ilprincipals.org and click on the AP Conference icon in the lower right-hand corner on the homepage.  You may also contact the IPA office at 217-525-1383.

See you in Lisle!

A Note from the Illinois State Deans Association

The job as Disciplinarian at a school can be very trying. Often, Deans are left wondering how other schools handle a particular issue, what does the latest research say, and what legal issues are involved. The Illinois State Deans Association is an organization formed specifically to provide support and resources for Deans as they work through the myriad of situations that come across their desk on a daily basis. The primary delivery method of these resources is the Annual Fall Conference held in November. In addition to providing information on everything from Re-certification to legal issues, attendees may also earn Administrator Academy Credit. In an effort to make the Fall Conference as meaningful as possible to as many Deans as possible, we are asking that you please click on the internet address below and fill out the survey in a way that best represents your needs. If you are not the disciplinarian at your school, it would be greatly appreciated if you would forward this e-mail to that person.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6YuHHHIY_2bV_2b514_2fmr9CdTg_3d_3d

For Music Students and Teachers… $10,000 Scholarship Award!

The MusicLink Foundation seeks talented music students ages 8-18 for the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award.  The MusicLink Foundation, working as a pipeline organization for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, is seeking talented music students in financial need who may qualify for the Jack Kent Cooke Young ArtistAward. The goal of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is to identify and nurture talented young musicians whose lack of financial resources might otherwise hinder their progress. Approximately twenty-five student musicians will be selected annually to receive Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Awards. Each of these students will:

1. Receive $10,000 to support his/her education and artistic development (including tuition, training, or equipment);
2. Perform on a live taping of From the Top's National Public Radio show; and
3. Participate in a Cultural Leadership workshop in order to create and implement his/her own performance outreach activity. Eligibility is limited to pre-college classical musicians (ages 8-18).  Student applicants must be interested in appearing on From the Top's popular National Public Radio show, and demonstrate:
 a. Exceptional musical talent;
 b. Unmet financial need; and
 c. Strong academic achievement.

FINAL DEADLINE: January 31, 2008

Application Process:
Students interested in this Award should fill out both the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award application and the From the Top Soloist application. Both applications can be found on From the Top's website -  www.fromthetop.org . Just click on the "Young Artist Award" link at the bottom of the page. You can also find additional information about the scholarship on this web site including answers to frequently asked questions.  If you know of a student who may apply for this award or a teacher who may be working with talented students in financial need, please forward this on. Please also send their names and email addresses to Jennifer Kitchin at singoutjen@verizon.net.

Please indicate on the application that you heard about the award through the MusicLink Foundation (Student Application, Part IV, Question 5 =96 check the box for "MusicLink Foundation”). For more information, please contact: Jennifer Kitchin singoutjen@verizon.net http://www.musiclinkfoundation.org.

Basic Training Workshops – Administrative Workshops

Basic Training workshops are ideal for new school food service and administrative staff members, but also allow veteran school staff a refresher course on the National School Lunch Program.  The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is currently in the process of planning Basic Training workshops for this coming summer.  Our tentative schedule for these workshops is as follows:

• July 16—Schaumburg
• July 17—Tinley Park
• July 30—Effingham
• July 31—Fairview Heights
• August 6—Oak Lawn
• August 7—Bolingbrook
• August 13—Galesburg
• August 14—Bloomington
• September 4—Springfield

For more information on the Basic Training workshops, please check the ISBE web site this spring at http://www.isbe.net/nutrition/htmls/workshops.htm.

Web cast - Making Algebra Work:  Instructional Strategies That Deepen Student Understanding

This web cast is being sponsored by the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement on February 19 from 2–3 p.m. (Eastern Time).  To register, visit http://www.newmediamill.com/web casts/ccsri/register/. After you fill in the requested fields and click the “Submit” button, a link to the web cast page will be sent to the e-mail address you provide.  On the day of the event, click on the e-mailed link or go to The Center home page – http://www.centerforcsri.org/ -- where a link also will be posted.  For more information, please contact Abner Oakes at abner.oakes@learningpt.org.

It will focus on the need for challenging mathematics courses—especially algebra—and mathematics instructional strategies to help students learn. Geared toward researchers, mathematics teachers at the middle school and high school levels, district-level mathematics experts, principals, and pre-service educators, the hour-long web cast will address the following questions: Just what is “algebra”? Why are students having trouble with it in our schools?

Smoke-Free Illinois Act

It appears that the new Smoke-Free Illinois Act (effective 1-1-08), which bans smoking in public places and requires the posting of “no smoking” signs, applies to all Illinois schools.  Although smoking has long been prohibited in schools, most schools do not currently have displayed the new signage required by this Act.  It is recommended that the required no smoking signs be posted at all entrances to the school.  The required signs can be accessed at the web sites listed below.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/smokefree/Smoke-FreeSign.pdf  (English)

http://www.idph.state.il.us/smokefree/Smoke-FreeSign_sp.pdf  (Spanish)

Illinois State Bar Association Workshop

The Illinois State Bar Association is having an upcoming workshop that may be of interest to teachers, principals and superintendents.  Entitled “The Ongoing Struggle: Balancing Students’ Education Rights v. Student Safety,” this event will feature a series of practical constitutional debates between school district attorneys and attorneys who represent student interests.  Continuing professional development hours are available for this event.  For additional information and registration materials, see: http://www.isba.org/lawed/2008/studentsrights02/.

Get Students Involved with the 2008 Presidential Election – Visit These Web sites

Annenberg Public Policy Center's Classroom Fact Check -offers materials to teach students to "see through the spin" of the presidential elections, including lessons to analyze political advertisements and claims made by the presidential candidates. www.FactCheckEd.org

CNN's Election Center 2008- The cable news channnel's web site features maps, summaries of the key issues, tallies of campaign contributions, blogs, podcasts and video coverage. www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008

C-SPAN Classroom - The classroom resource of the nonprofit public affairs channel provides explanatory guides, lessons, plans,student activities and video clips. www.c-spanclassroom.org/

Kids Voting USA - Information on State and local affiliates for a program that provides curriculum and mock-election events designed to engage students in the democratic process. www.kidsvotingusa.org/

The Constitutional Rights Foundation- "Election Central" offers historical resources related to democracy and elections.www.crf-usa.org/election_central/election_central.htm

Pearson's Election Kit - Free materials from the publisher include an online catalog of classroom activities, free printable posters and maps, and links to Internet resources on the presidential candidates. www.phschool.com/sales_support/marketing_websites/election_kit/index.html

Countdown to Election 2008 - Web site sponsored by Scholastic includes interactive election map, news coverage from student reporters, lesson plans, puzzles and online discussions of the campaign. www.scholastic.com/election2008