In an effort to promote highly engaging research-based classroom practices and rich student learning, the Literacy Research Panel of the International Reading Association issues a call to teachers to join them in developing curricular units/modules that will accomplish these important goals. John T. Guthrie from the University of Maryland leads the Panel subcommittee to collect module submissions. 

Widespread implementation of the Common Core State Standards has provided a window of opportunity for teachers in the U.S. to reassert their authority and responsibility in ensuring that our students are involved in the highly rigorous, highly engaging learning that will prepare them for entry into postsecondary experiences in our colleges and workplaces. The goal is to create these modules and make them available to teachers around the country to enhance the quality and engagement of the classroom experiences they provide for their students. The Literacy Research Panel encourages educators to take advantage of this opportunity to build a new set of curricular units that represent the best that our profession has to offer to students and their families.

Every team should include the expertise of a classroom teacher and school, district or university professional with responsibility for conducting, interpreting or promoting research, especially research based literacy practices.

Submissions will be accepted at any time, but a first round of submissions will close on February 15, 2013. Exemplary units may be selected for a poster session at the 2013 Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Read more about the submission process at www.reading.org/LRPUnits.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released report number 2012-325 entitled “Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2010-11 - First Look.” This report presents findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States and other jurisdictions in the 2010–11 school year using data from the Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. The CCD is an annual collection of data that are reported by state education agencies (SEAs) to the National Center for Education Statistics through the U.S. Department of Education’s EDFacts collection system.

The purpose of this report was to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information. Selected findings include:

• There were 98,817 operating public elementary/secondary schools in the 2010–11 school year (table 1). In this school year, 1,929 schools were closed and 1,665 new schools were opened. Most operating schools were regular schools (88,929) that were responsible for instruction in the standard curriculum as well as other areas. An additional total of 2,206 schools focused primarily on special education services; 1,485 schools were identified as vocational schools; and 6,197 were identified as alternative education schools.
• By 2010–2011, charter schools had been established in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and 35 states and the District of Columbia had designated magnet schools (table 2). Charter schools enrolled about 1.8 million students, and magnet schools enrolled about 2.1 million students in 2010–11 (table 3).
• Across all regular public schools that had membership, the overall pupil/teacher ratio in 2010–11 was 15.7 (table 4),  compared to 16.1 in 2009–10 (Chen 2011). In the 2010–11 school year, the ratio ranged from 10.9 in Vermont to 23.8 in Utah. The pupil/teacher ratio differed across school instructional levels: it was 15.6 in primary; 15.4 in middle; and 16.1 in high schools.
• School size differed by instructional level in 2010–11. On average, primary schools had 453 students in membership, middle schools had 576 students, and high schools had 846 students (table 5).
• More schools (29,219) were in rural locations than in any other locale in 2010–11. An additional 22,522 were in cities; 24,476 schools were in suburban areas; and 11,856 were in towns (table 6). In contrast, the largest percentage of students attended suburban schools (34 percent), followed by schools in cities (29 percent), rural areas (25 percent), and towns (12 percent). These distributions were similar to those in 2009–10 (Chen 2011).
• Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Program is sometimes used as a proxy measure of poverty. Across the reporting states and the District of Columbia, 48 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2010–11 (table 7),  compared to the 47 percent reported in 2009–10 (Chen 2011). In 2010–11, the percentage of eligibility ranged among states from a low of 25 percent in New Hampshire to a high of 79 percent in the District of Columbia. By locale, 60 percent of students in city schools were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, compared to 52 percent in towns, 44 percent in rural areas, and 40 percent in suburban areas.

Visit the NCES website to read the whole report.

by Elizabeth Bleacher

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) partnered to release Rethinking Principal Evaluation: A New Paradigm Informed by Research and Practice at a Congressional briefing this month. The report was developed by practicing principals in response to demands for higher principal responsibility within schools. “It is essential to insert the principals’ voice in the redevelopment or refinement of evaluation systems to change practice to improve schools,” said Gail Connelly, Executive Director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Six Key Domains of School Leadership

Rethinking Principal Evaluation stresses the importance of leadership within schools. The report acknowledges that the influence of leadership is strongest at the schools that need it the most. These points put emphasis on the importance of developing successful leadership through effective evaluation. The report outlines six key domains of leadership that it maintains should be considered in principal evaluations. Those six domains are:

• Professional growth and learning;
• Student growth and achievement;
• School planning and progress;
• School culture;
• Professional qualities and instructional leadership; and
• Stakeholder support and engagement.

Essential Features of Comprehensive Evaluation Systems

At its core, the report is a set of guidelines that policymakers can use to cultivate a consistent measurement system for the success of principals and associate principals. “The key element is that this is a framework for states and districts to develop their evaluation programs,” said Richard M. Long, Director of Government Relations at the International Reading Association. The shortcomings of past evaluation methods only serve to highlight the importance of the comprehensive systems outlined within the report.

The research contained in Rethinking Principal Evaluation acknowledges that there are some shared features that make evaluation systems effective. These features –including systemic support, flexibility, relevance and utility–help the evaluation system be applied to a range of institutions based on unique criteria. However, the report also provides more specific guidelines to help policymakers enforce and develop these systems.

The report suggests that policymakers should:

• Consider student, school, and community contexts;
• Incorporate standards that can improve practice;
• Use evaluation to build capacity; and
• Focus on multiple measures of performance data.

Overall, the report takes an extensive look at principal evaluation and offers a research-based framework for its improvement. The report encourages policymakers to adopt its new paradigm, uniquely based on research, for comprehensive principal evaluation.

More information on Rethinking Principal Evaluation: A New Paradigm Informed by Research and Practice can be found at the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ website, along with an executive summary and the full report.

Elizabeth Bleacher is the strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.

Established in memory of life-long elementary classroom teacher Esther Zolt, the International Reading Association (IRA) Esther Zolt Teacher Research Grant may be given annually for an action research study. The study should be conducted by a teacher who is implementing In2Books or an e-Pals project and the Common Core State Standards with exceptional innovation and rigor, leading to the development of curious and independent learners. This grant is for US $2,500 (sponsored by Nina Zolt and Miles Gilburne).

All applicants must be IRA members. Applicants may apply for more than one IRA research award. However, applicants are limited to one research award per year. The submission deadline is November 15, 2012.

The 2013 award recipient(s) will be encouraged to attend the awards ceremony held at IRA’s 58th Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on April 19-22, 2013.

Visit the IRA Esther Zolt Teacher Research Grant webpage for the application guidelines.

The International Reading Association (IRA) Esther Zolt Academic Research Grant was established in memory of Esther Zolt, a life-long elementary classroom teacher. The grant may be given annually for a research study on the classroom implementation of In2Books or an e-Pals project and the Common Core State Standards that inspires others to improve teaching and learning in innovative ways. This grant is for US $2,500 (sponsored by Nina Zolt and Miles Gilburne).

All applicants must be IRA members. Applicants may apply for more than one IRA research award. However, applicants are limited to one research award per year. The submission deadline is November 15, 2012.

The 2013 award recipient(s) will be encouraged to attend the awards ceremony held at IRA’s 58th Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on April 19-22, 2013.

Visit the IRA Esther Zolt Academic Research Grant webpage for the application guidelines.

IRA 2012 Research Award Recipients

Awards and Grants from the International Reading Association

Join the International Reading Association