News: Interview
Meredith Brodsky
Special Ed Training Becomes Standard

A special ed instructor is on every teaching team at Western Oregon State University's College of Education. Here's why.

Today, more than 6 million students with disabilities are educated in the United States--11 percent of the total public school enrollment, according to the U.S. Commission on Special Education. Since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the mid-1970s, the categories of disabilities have increased, and the range of related issues that teachers have to deal with has grown as well.

The College of Education at Western Oregon State has developed an innovative program to prepare student teachers for classrooms in which inclusion and special education students are an integral part of the landscape. Dean Meredith Brodsky explains.

How does Western Oregon State prepare its students for inclusive classrooms?
We believe that every student, not just the special education student, benefits from understanding how to teach the special needs child. That's why we work in teams, and a special ed educator is always part of that team.

Skills on teaching the special needs child are taught in every class at the university because every school classroom nowadays has a special needs child. We're linking reality with training.

How are you actually able to accomplish this?
Teaching the special needs child is integrated throughout our curriculum. Because we have a special ed educator on every team, there's always the opportunity to step back to say here's how this instruction can be delivered to a child with a learning disability or a child with a behavioral disorder.

If students never see examples in practice, how can we expect them, as teachers, to teach in an inclusive setting?

Do you see this trend growing in teacher education?
I hope so. At Western Oregon State, we realized long ago that if we didn't restructure our program, our students would leave the university without the full complement of skills possible.

But that goes for understanding children of different cultures, learning styles, and ethnicities too, and that's why we've also worked hard to recruit minority teachers and strengthen our students' understanding of the diverse communities they may enter.

A comprehensive teacher training program should ensure that graduates leave here able to teach children of all abilities.

What are your biggest concerns about inclusion and teacher education?
As a former special education teacher and counselor, I know how significant the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is to education. It has opened the door to so many special needs children and given them access to education with their peers. It's nice to see more and more inclusive classrooms.

The problem is that many of the teachers in those classrooms need training, support, and resources, and that has to begin right at the beginning in teacher education. Too many schools of education offer an introductory course on special needs children and nothing more.

Your program is unique. What can student teachers who have access to only one class do to prepare themselves?
Unfortunately, their situation is all too common. It's almost a one-time-only opportunity to understand the multiple levels of special needs and the teaching challenges they create.

First, I would see if there were any way to advocate for more classes on special education for regular ed students. If that doesn't work, I would try to make sure that class is more comprehensive.

But I wouldn't want to stop there.

What more can you suggest to a student?
Try to supplement your education with additional training. There are lots of conferences and workshops run by organizations addressing special education. Make sure you link up with a mentor and try to make a connection with a nearby school so that you can observe how they deal with inclusion and talk to teachers about their experiences and your concerns.

Finally, there are plenty of Web sites, such as www.ideapractices.org, that are full of terrific materials.

What if I am a student teacher about to enter the classroom?
Find a mentor. Don't think that you have to handle any of this by yourself. There are plenty of teachers who have been in your shoes and have struggled with the same challenges and concerns. Talk to veteran teachers, contact your Association representative, or contact one of the many organizations that specialize in helping special ed children and their families.

Very often, these organizations have networks of educators trained to help colleagues understand inclusion and its implementation. NEA has a special cadre of teachers and support staff--contact them as well.

Remember that you're not alone.

Meredith Brodsky is featured in the 2001 issue of Tomorrow's Teachers, a publication for NEA Student members. The NEA Student Program, with more than 52,000 members on some 750 colleges and universities across the country, supports pre-professionals as they prepare to enter the classroom and gives them an opportunity to become active participants in NEA. For more information, visit the Web at www.nea.org/students.

Reader Services Archives NEA Today Table of Contents: Apr 2001 Cover Story s ESP to the Rescue s Debate News s First in Quality, but 50th in Pay s Heroes & Zeroes s Moving to the Front of the Bus s Playing a Supporting Role s Do-er's Profile s Rights Watch s Interview Learning s Innovators s Problems & Solutions s Reading s Inside Scoop s ESP on the Team s Tips for the Wired Classroom Departments s Letters s President's Viewpoint s My Turn s Health and Fitness s Money s People s Resources s In the Light Lane s Masthead

Inside Scoop
Sex, Peers, Media--and Family Values

The NEA Health Information Network's 'Can We Talk?' program helps thousands of parents talk with their kids, in English or Spanish.

"Can We Talk?" is a program that gives parents the skills and support they need to discuss healthy relationships and sexuality with their children. Its key feature: Parents talk about these tough topics in the context of their own family values. As a result, it's widely accepted in both liberal and conservative communities. It was created by the NEA Health Information Network, with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why was this program created?
Dominic Cappello, co-author of "Can We Talk?," says parents want to communicate their values to their children, but even the most conscientious parents often shy away from discussing sexual topics with their children.

Why? "Because their own parents never talked to them about sex," says Cappello. "They are scared to death of the questions they might get from their kids, and how to answer them."

All parents need, he says, is a little help.

"While a school's role in health and sex education is important, talking about sex means talking about family values, and that should be up to the parents," Cappello says. "But it's unfair to tell parents to talk to their kids and then leave them hanging. They don't know how to do it."

How does "Can We Talk?" help?
The program is a series of four workshops for parents--usually held at school--that helps them learn how to talk with their kids about self-esteem, peer pressure, puberty and sexuality, and the mixed messages children get from the media.

Parents receive both training and materials to help them discuss these sensitive issues with their children.

What happens in the workshops?
Each workshop covers a different topic, introduced by a short video. Parents are given an activity book they can use to interact with their children. They practice the exercises and discuss them with the group.

Each exercise contains cartoon drawings of family members, with empty thought and talk bubbles for each character. Parents and children complete the empty bubbles according to their own feelings and beliefs.

"This isn't a program that tells parents what to say or even how to say it," says NEA member Gloria Chapa, who coordinates the program as parent liaison at Edison Middle School in Dallas, Texas.

When do parents need this help?
"Once children reach about 10 years old, parents start wondering what's happening to their 'little angels,'" says Chapa.

"Kids start to notice changes to their bodies and feelings, and their relationships change with their peers and their parents. For a lot of families, communicating becomes increasingly difficult."

But research shows that if the lines of communication stay open, children will develop self-confidence, good relationships with others, and the skills needed to make healthy decisions later in life.

Experts also say that young people who talk with their parents about sex are more likely to postpone sexual activity and to use protection when they do become sexually active.

"'Can We Talk?' gives parents information on what their children are going through both physically and mentally," says Chapa. "They start to realize that all of the changes are healthy and normal.

"The program," she notes, "gives parents the information they need to respond to what's happening."

How are parents responding to "Can We Talk?"
"It's working better than anything I've ever seen in my education career," says Chapa.

"Many parents start crying tears of joy as we share our stories in the second, third, and fourth workshops about our attempts to talk to our kids," Chapa notes. "They just can't believe how much easier it makes the effort."

"I hear from parents on a daily basis who are having incredible success," Cappello adds.

"One mother told me she and her daughter sat down after school one day to do an activity from the workbook, and they stayed up until midnight that night, just talking."

How's the program being used?
The "Can We Talk?" program exists in many different formats in 12 states.

• In Syracuse, New York, the program is sponsored by a mental health organization.

• Since "Can We Talk?" is value-neutral and has parents teaching their children, the Dallas Independent School District is using federal abstinence grant dollars to fund the program.

  With nearly 60 percent of their students coming from Hispanic families, the Dallas schools were so eager to use the program in Spanish that they had a local translator write a Spanish version. This was then cut and pasted into the activity book.

  But such drastic measures aren't needed any longer. NEA recently published a Spanish translation of the materials called "�Conversamos?" And it's having an impact.

  "We're finding that parents who might otherwise be intimidated by the school are coming to the workshops in huge numbers," says Chapa.

  At her school, "Conversamos?" facilitators are reaching out into the community by holding workshops at apartment complexes twice per semester. That way, they reach many parents who have trouble getting to school.

• The Washington Education Association created a nonprofit organization--Washington State Can We Talk--to partner with community-based organizations and reach out to the state's schools.

  "The beauty of the program is that it can be tailored to fit individual needs," says Dennis Worsham, executive director of Washington State Can We Talk.

  Education associations and parent-teacher groups can also use it to collaborate with public health departments and community organizations.

  "It's a way to link schools with the community at several different levels," says Worsham.

--Dina S. G�mez

For More: Go to www.canwetalk.org for information about getting this program started in your community, including sample budgets. Then call the NEA's Can We Talk? staff at 202/822-7570, or E-mail info@canwetalk.org."Can We Talk?" is the basis of the New York Times best-seller Ten Talks Parents Must Have with Their Children about Sex and Character (Hyperion).

Reader Services Archives NEA Today Table of Contents: Apr 2001 Cover Story s ESP to the Rescue s Debate News s First in Quality, but 50th in Pay s Heroes & Zeroes s Moving to the Front of the Bus s Playing a Supporting Role s Do-er's Profile s Rights Watch s Interview Learning s Innovators s Problems & Solutions s Reading s Inside Scoop s ESP on the Team s Tips for the Wired Classroom Departments s Letters s President's Viewpoint s My Turn s Health and Fitness s Money s People s Resources s In the Light Lane s Masthead

News: Rights Watch
Dress Codes Are Back in Style

School uniforms upheld; Marilyn Manson expelled.

Rejecting student free speech claims, three recent court rulings have forcefully reaffirmed the broad authority of school officials to tell students how to dress.

• Last January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit became the first federal appeals court to uphold a mandatory school uniform policy for public school students.

  Citing the need to reduce disciplinary problems, Louisiana's Bossier Parish School Board in 1999 adopted a requirement that all students wear uniforms to school beginning with the 1999-2000 school year. Each school was free to choose between two colors of polo or oxford shirts, and navy or khaki pants.

  A group of 40 parents sued, claiming a First Amendment violation.

  The appeals court agreed that a student's clothing is a form of "pure speech" that can express the student's "ethnic heritage, religious beliefs, and political and social views."

  But that free speech right, the court said, is trumped by the right of educators "to decide what constitutes appropriate behavior and dress in public schools."

  Why? Because school officials testified--without contradiction--that the new uniform policy actually "drastically decreased" discipline problems and "improved ... overall test scores."

  "It is not the job of federal courts to determine the most effective way to educate our nation's youth," the court cautioned.

• In a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last year upheld an Ohio school district's ban on wearing Marilyn Manson T-shirts in school.

  The reason? The court agreed with school officials that the T-shirts could be outlawed because the controversial rock band is a bad influence on young people.

  Van Wert High School senior Nicho-las Boroff ignited the controversy in August 1997 when he wore a Marilyn Manson T-shirt to school. The front of the shirt depicted a three-faced Jesus and the words, "See No Truth, Hear No Truth, Speak No Truth." The back of the T-shirt carried the word "BELIEVE" with the letters "LIE" highlighted.

  Citing a school rule prohibiting "clothing with offensive illustrations," the principal told Boroff that Marilyn Manson T-shirts are banned on campus and gave him the option of turning the T-shirt inside-out or going home. He opted to go home.

  But for the next five days, Boroffcontinued to wear Marilyn Manson T-shirts, each featuring a differentpicture of the band's lead singer. And each day, he was sent home.

  When he later sued, school officials argued that the band "promotes disruptive and demoralizing values which are inconsistent with and counter-productive to education."

  And the court agreed, citing media reports that the group's lead singer, also named Marilyn Manson, "promotes drug use," "is popularly regarded as a worshipper of Satan," and sings lyrics advocating suicide, mayhem, and violence.

  The court also accepted the principal's testimony that "children are genuinely influenced by the rock group and [its] propaganda."

  The school has the authority to ban the group's T-shirts, the court concluded, because they "contain symbols and words that promote values that are ... patently contrary to the school's educational mission."

  Boroff has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, but the Court has not yet decided whether to hear the case.

• And in Jefferson County, Kentucky, last year, a federal district court upheld one of the most restrictive and detailed dress codes in the country.

  The policy bans shirts made of denim or spandex, those with hoods or zippers, collarless shirts, and red or blue shirts.

  Also taboo are pants made of denim, nylon, or spandex; pants that are frayed, bagging, or sagging; and biker, bib, capri, cargo, and clam digger pants.

  The court found that the dress code was adopted to "help reduce violent gang activity, ease tensions between students who fight over attire, aid school officials in identifying campus intruders, and promote student safety in general."

  The school's goal of creating a "safe and peaceful environment," the court ruled, outweighs students' right to express themselves through their choice of clothing.

--Michael D. Simpson
NEA Office of General Counsel

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Court Strikes Down School's Anti-Harassment Policy

In a decision with nation-wide implications, a federal appeals court in Pennsylvania has ruled that a school district's policy banning various forms of verbal harassment violates the First Amendment.

The February 14, 2001 ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a comprehensive anti-harassment policy adopted in 1999 by the State College Area School District in Pennsylvania because it was "overbroad" and sought to ban some categories of student speech that are constitutionally-protected.

The policy defined harassment as "verbal or physical conduct" based on one's "race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation disability, or other personal characteristics" that had the "purpose or effect" of interfering with a student's education or creating a hostile environment.

The unanimous court found several defects with the policy. First, it prohibits harassing speech that merely has an objectionable "purpose." It's not enough, the court said, for the speaker merely to intend to offend others. Rather, schools can ban only harassing speech that causes or is likely to cause actual harm to a student, e.g. by interfering with his or her education or creating a hostile environment.

Also, prohibiting harassment based on one's "personal characteristics" goes too far because the policy defines that term to include making negative comments about one's "values." Such a ban, the court said, "strikes at the heart of moral and political discourse, the core concern of the First Amendment."

The court's decision is binding in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

--M.D.S.

New From the Professional Library
Books by NEA Members
TV Tips | Web Winners

Departments: Resources
It's Just So Easy To Cheat

Two NEA member-authors want educators to tackle the student cheating problem head on.



Student Cheating and Plagiarism In The Internet Era: A Wake-Up Call
By Ann Lathrop and Kathleen Foss
Libraries Unlimited: $30

There's no argument that high-tech gadgets such as cellular phones, pagers, and the Internet have made our lives easier. But according to authors Ann Lathrop and Kathleen Foss, both NEA_members, technology has also made it easier for students to cheat.

"Teachers and educators have always dealt with students who cheat," says Foss, a media specialist at Los Alamitos High School in California. "But it's a new game now."

Foss and Lathrop, a retired professor from California State University at Long Beach, collaborated on the book last year after a student at Foss's school turned in a plagiarized paper--downloaded from one of the many Web sites that offer pre-written papers to students. After countless hours on the Internet searching out the original source of the paper, Foss was floored by what she found.

"I was shocked at how easy it is to download papers and directly plagiarize from electronic information," she says. "I know educators know what might exist, but I don't think they realize the breadth and depth of just how easy technology makes it to cheat."

This book, she says, is meant to serve as a wake-up call for all teachers, administrators, and even parents.

"We wrote it to expose the realities of cheating today," says Lathrop, a 41-year veteran. "With knowledge comes power. If educators know what's happening, they'll know better how to deal with it."

Divided into three parts, the book --which is dedicated to honest students--serves as a useful guide for educators who want to reduce cheating and plagiarizing in their classrooms and at their school. It is a compilation of helpful ideas and practical strategies from dozens of authors and experts to counter both high-tech and more traditional "low-tech" cheating and plagiarism.

Part One, "A Wake Up Call: What's Going On," presents national research statistics, quotes from students about why they cheat, and an overview of just how students are using high-tech equipment such as handheld computers, programmable calculators, pagers, and other electronic devices to cheat.

Some recent statistics presented in the book: 80 percent of high school students admit to cheating, 95 percent of students who cheat say they don't get caught, and 34 percent say their parents never talk to them about cheating.

Part Two, "A Call to Action: What We Can Do," outlines what educators must do to counter the cheating epidemic--for example, ways teachers can use technology and Web sites to spot research papers downloaded from the Internet, ways to involve parents more fully in an anti-cheating curriculum, and suggestions for developing academic integrity policies and honor codes. The authors also offer useful advice and specific examples on how to handle students who are caught cheating.

And Part Three, "Taking Action: Making It More Difficult to Cheat and Plagiarize," points out indicators of possible plagiarism and offers teachers specific ideas for how to structure assignments in order to reduce plagiarism.

Throughout the book, Lathrop and Foss provide an abundance of Web sites for more information, reproducible lessons for students and faculty to help discourage cheating, and lists of online and print resources. They also include 20 "copy me" pages to share with others, including "High-Tech Devices Used for Cheating," "When Is Collaboration Okay," and "Research Portfolio Cover Sheet."

--Dina S. G�mez

Excerpt:
"We know students are cheating more often today; their cheating techniques are increasingly sophisticated, and many express guilt or remorse only if they are caught. Why do they cheat? The bottom line seems to be 1) it's easy, especially with new technologies, 2) fewer than 10 percent are caught, and 3) most of those who are caught get off without serious penalty. The byword appears to have changed from Don't cheat to Don't get caught."

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New from the NEA Professional Library

The Competent Classroom: Aligning High School Curriculum, Standards, and Assessment--A Creative Teaching Guide
Copublished by NEA and Columbia Teachers College Press
Allison Zmuda and Mary Tomaino
144 pp., $12.95 members $14.95 nonmembers #2084-7-00-FN

This enlightening book describes the cross-disciplinary journey of two high school teachers trying to align curriculum, assessment, and performance standards in their classrooms. With a focus on the importance of constantly inspiring students, the authors troubleshoot issues surrounding content standards, instructional objectives, and the aims of curriculum. The Competent Classroom contains valuable information that can be adapted for any grade level. Teachers will get practical advice on how to achieve greater success in the classroom while making learning meaningful to their students.

To order, call 1-800/299-4200, or check the Web at www.nea.org/books.

Excerpt:
The four components of a competent classroom are:

• essential questions
• content standards and instructional objectives
• assessments
• performance standards

When all four are in alignment, the learning environment becomes a more dynamic, exciting, and enriching place for both teacher and student: They feel competent in the classroom. Every component interlocks with every other component, producing a classroom with a consistent sense of purpose and direction.

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Books by NEA Members

Can We Eat the Art?
Incredible Edibles and Art You Can't Eat
By Paula Guhin
A gumball as the Earth's core and vanilla wafers as the crust, with custard and fudge in between? This is just one of the ideas you'll find in Can We Eat the Art? From edible paints and clays, to painted toast, potato sculptures, gelatin sticker glue, and flour batik, South Dakota high school art and photography teacher Guhin provides dozens of "kid-tested" projects for grades pre-K-8, along with safety and sensitivity tips and games and ideas for linking the art to other content areas. $9.95 plus $4 s&h, from Incentive Publications, 800/421-2830 or on the Web at www.incentivepublications.com.

Caring and Capable Kids
An Activity Guide for Teaching Kindness, Tolerance, Self-Control, and Responsibility
By Linda Williams, Dianne Schilling, and Susanna Palomares
Caring and Capable Kids combines short stories, sharing circles, and songs with dozens of writing, research, art, and other projects in eight developmental units: kindness, tolerance, respect, service to others, responsibility, self-control, peer pressure, and ethical decision making. The songs used are also available on a cassette that can be ordered separately. For primary and middle grades. $24.95 plus $5 s&h, from Innerchoice Publishing, PO Box 2476, Spring Valley, CA 91979, 800/662-9662.

How to Organize Your Classroom
By Katherine Ruggieri
This reference guide by multi-grade elementary teacher Ruggieri gives concrete tips for organizing the primary classroom, from arranging desks and designing bulletin boards and storage space, to handling fire drills, assemblies, field trips, restroom passes, and roll call; keeping track of and displaying student work; communicating with students, parents, and staff; and dealing with paperwork. Also includes specific suggestions for teaching math, reading, and language arts. $11.99 plus $3 s&h, from Fearon Teacher Aids, Frank Shaffer Publications, Inc., 23740 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505-5927, 800/421-5565.

Daisy's Bayou Tales
By Daisy Howard-Douglas
Storyteller and retired elementary teacher Howard-Douglas shares stories and recipes from her childhood in a Louisiana island village. Try Daisy's island gumbo recipe or Mama Julia's island pecan pie, or read about Daisy's Tiger Island. For ages 7-12, with woodcut illustrations by Dennis Winston. $18 plus $3.50 s&h, from Daisy Howard-Douglas, PO Box 37, Sandy Point, VA 22577-0037.

Speaking to Think, Thinking to Speak
The Importance of Talk in the Learning Process
By Virginia O'Keefe
"Since speaking to ourselves and others is the primary way we learn throughout our lives, when we [minimize classroom talk], we handicap our learners." So believes veteran teacher O'Keefe. The author discusses the theory and research behind the philosophy that student talk helps shape their learning and thought processes. She includes strategies for teachers to use in managing discussions. $27 from Boynton/Cook, 88 Post Road West, PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881, 800/793-2154.

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TV Tips

American High
PBS
Wednesdays, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

The lives of 14 suburban Chicago high school students over the course of a school year are profiled in this observational documentary that looks at how they deal with such everyday issues as love, the pressure to succeed, self-discovery, divorce, and family conflicts. Video diaries supplement the story of the students and their interactions with parents, teachers, and friends. A companion Web site at www.pbs.org includes an interactive yearbook, video diaries, discussion boards, quizzes, and behind-the-scenes footage, along with outreach materials for schools.

Body Story
Discovery Channel
April 1, 7:00-11:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

This four-hour program explores the human body's response to trauma and stress, from head injury to weight loss. As the cause of each stressful incident is explained, special effects illustrate the body's reaction. How the body reacts to such biological events as birth, puberty, and food poisoning is also examined.

Wives and Daughters
PBS, Sundays
April 1-22, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Based on the 19th century novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, this four-part Masterpiece Theater presentation chronicles the development of two young women brought together by their parents' marriage. The women's relationships with young and eligible men take place under the watchful eyes of their village and within the hierarchy of mid-Victorian society. Support materials are available at www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece.

EGG, the arts show
PBS
Fridays, 10:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

This new series focuses on the excitement, diversity, and raw energy of arts across the country. Each weekly episode of this new arts show takes a theme--happiness, body language, and flight, among others--and explores it through the prism of the arts, from bonsai to dance. A companion Web site can be found at www.pbs.org.

The Weather Classroom: Weather and Water
Weather Channel
Mondays and Thursdays in April, 4:00-4:30 a.m. ET, check local listings.

The Weather Classroom looks at water as a central element of the weather during the month of April. The program examines the various manifestations of H2O, including rain, clouds, mist, fog, dew, vapor, and humidity. A Web site for educators can be found at www.weather.com/education.

The Writing on the Wall
Fox Family Channel
April 10, 4:00-5:00 a.m. ET, check local listings.

When three teenage boys are caught defacing a local synagogue and the homes of two Jewish community members, they must restore the damage and participate in community service. As part of their sentence, the boys undergo instruction from the synagogue's rabbi, who decides to let them learn what life was like for Jewish teens during the Holocaust. Each boy relives the experiences and emotions of his subject, with unforgettable results. Study guides produced by KIDS-NET for middle school educators are available online, along with a bulletin board forum. Visit www.foxfamilychannel.com or www.KIDSNET.org.

Diplomats for the Damned
History Channel
April 12, 6:00-7:00 a.m. ET, check local listings.

During World War II, diplomats from more than 25 countries risked their lives by secretly issuing unauthorized visas, falsifying papers, and making covert deals to rescue people from Nazi death camps. This presentation of The History Channel Classroom profiles the stories of four diplomats who worked in different ways to help thousands of Jews flee Europe. For support materials, visit www.historychannel.com/classroom.

Varian's War
Showtime
April 22, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

This dramatization of the life of Varian Fry tells the story of his courageous efforts to rescue individuals persecuted by the Nazis in France during World War II. Under his own initiative, and without aid from the U.S. government, the New York-born Fry created an underground rescue network that saved some of the most influential cultural figures of the 20th century, including Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, and Heinrich Mann.

CNN Newsroom:
Fuel Alternatives CNN
April 23, 4:30-5:00 a.m. ET, check local listings.

Tom Haynes examines the issue of fossil fuel depletion and talks with experts about energy alternatives, including solar, nuclear, wind, and other sources. Also in April, CNN Newsroom looks at allergies and new advances in combating this health problem, and CNNfyi.com presents an interactive Web cast that explores the past, present, and future of space travel and technology. For more information, or to access CNN Newsroom classroom guides, visit www.cnnfyi.com.

Investigative Reports
A&E Classroom
April 23-27, 7:00-8:00 a.m. ET, check local listings.

A&E Classroom looks at issues facing schools, teachers, and students in this week-long focus on education. From the problem of bullies in school and the exodus of teachers from the classroom, to the pressures faced by student athletes and the problem of hazing, these documentaries delve into experiences common to American education. Visit www.aande.com/classroom for schedules and support material.

Ocean Wilds
PBS
Thursdays, April 24-May 24, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Orca, humpback, and sperm whales, along with giant manta rays and equatorial penguins, are the focus of this five-part series that concentrates on some of the world's most fascinating ocean animals. Diver, naturalist, and cinematographer Feodor Pitcairn weaves the series' narrative together with scientific facts and personal observations.

Understanding Evolution
The Learning Channel
April 27, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Although published more than 140 years ago, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution remains controversial today. This program considers the scientific evidence that has emerged in support of Darwin's theory, including work on the Human Genome Project, and looks at the future evolution of the human species.

Redwall
PBS
April, check local listings.

This new series brings Brian Jacques's magical world of Redwall Abbey to life, introducing young viewers to a mythical, medieval land populated by woodland creatures who embody the positive and endearing qualities of humor, companionship, and courage.

A Walk in Your Shoes
Nickelodeon & Noggin
check local listings.

This half-hour program takes people from completely different backgrounds and places them into each other's lives. Upcoming exchanges include an only child who switches places with a teenager with seven siblings, two girls from India and America who take over each other's lives, and a blind girl who teaches a sighted boy what it is like to be visually impaired. The exchanges provide an exploration into a wide range of people, places, and ways of life, and they allow viewers to see similarities that exist between people who may initially seem very different.

KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D. C., provides these listings. For more information, go to www.kidsnet.org.

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Web Winners

All about Harry
There's a rich new sector that's hatched in cyberspace: where the Hogwarts Express whisks visitors to magically inspired destinations.

Ecologically Sound
How polluted is your environment? Are local plants and animals at risk? Type in a ZIP Code and find out.

Lizards, Pandas
Project Panda celebrates the return of giant panda bears to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. A companion of the Animal Planet cable channel, the site also features lizards of the world and the animal of the week.

Best School Web Site?
You can nominate your school's Web site for the "School of the Week" award, or get answers to frequently asked questions or ideas for student projects from HomeworkSpot. You can also take an online tour of the White House, get the national and international news, and see the winners of children's book awards, and more.

Being Eloquent
A.Word.A.Day teaches its free subscribers the definition and pronunciation of English words one word a day.

This Is a Test
The Foresight Exchange offers a new form of entertainment--a place where you can test your ability to predict the outcome of future events against other players.

Help for People in Crisis
Kidsrights publishes helpful materials for children, adolescents, their families, and the professionals who work with them in crisis. Its new Web site has valuable resources for helping the healing process.

Cyber Playground
This is a helpful resource for teachers, parents, and librarians, and even those with little or no online experience, to use the Internet effectively to aid teaching.

For Young Readers
The National Children's Literacy Project publishes Kid's Courier, a free newspaper for students in grades 2-5. Its Web site has interactive games, study aids, cartoons, stories, and other fun stuff.

Get the Scoop On the Best Books
Experts in a variety of fields offer reading recommendations at Breakthrough Books, a site listing works that have defined a particular area of thought. Examples include American cinema, nuclear weapons, dance, the Internet and World Wide Web, reading, opera, medicine, Victorian studies, and many more.

More on Black History
Learn about Negro League baseball; civil rights milestones; biographies of notable government officials, scholars, educators, actors, musicians, sports figures; and more.

White House for Kids
Find out about different aspects of the White House and the Presidency from the children who grew up there to the pets who slept in the Oval Office. Learn about the unique and fascinating history of the White House, past first families, the first ladies, and White House facts. You can even take a historical tour of the White House at this site.

Shipwrecks--A Link To the Past
Using underwater archaeology, learn about the past from maritime finds--shipwrecks, dwellings, and ports. Thousands of ships have perished worldwide, most yet to be located. This virtual museum guides you through the basics of underwater archeology, with exhibits on the Titanic, the world's oldest ships, and more.

Disaster Aid
Here's a way to use the Web and generate money for worthwhile causes. Each time you visit, you generate a small bit of funding for disaster victims.

Search Engines
Photos of the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley" in Palo Alto, California, and more than 800 specialized Web search engines are on CNET Search.com.

On Location in Mexico
Join volunteers in a real-time Web documentary project as they work to heal children with cleft lips and cleft palates during this volunteer medical mission to Mexico. Each day, reports, photos, and multimedia from the mission in and out of the operating rooms are uploaded to this Web site as a live, virtual mission project.

All about Books
The Children's Web Guide is an extensive guide to literature for children and young adults. This site includes book reviews, online forums and links to book awards and authors.

Introduction to Ballet
Enter the American Ballet Theater Web site to see performance dates, a ballet dictionary, and more.

Science Buffs Take Note
Learn about the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission, the first of NASA's Discovery missions and the first mission ever to go into orbit around an asteroid. View NEAR Eros descent images, images of Eros from orbit and approach, and science results from Eros. The site also contains detailed NEAR spacecraft and mission information.

Decisions, Decisions
Here's an excellent resource for teachers who want to get their students discussing current events. Students have to evaluate arguments on either side of an issue, then vote on them.

Applications on a Shoestring
This Web site is designed to acquaint middle school teachers with economical multi-media tools and ideas for Web-based educational activities that they will be able to use or adapt in their classrooms.

Lively Lessons
A collection of over 450 free lesson plans organized by subject and grade level for teachers to use in their classrooms. Teachers can add their own, too.

Reader Services Archives NEA Today Table of Contents: Apr 2001 Cover Story s ESP to the Rescue s Debate News s First in Quality, but 50th in Pay s Heroes & Zeroes s Moving to the Front of the Bus s Playing a Supporting Role s Do-er's Profile s Rights Watch s Interview Learning s Innovators s Problems & Solutions s Reading s Inside Scoop s ESP on the Team s Tips for the Wired Classroom Departments s Letters s President's Viewpoint s My Turn s Health and Fitness s Money s People s Resources s In the Light Lane s Masthead

Reading
Jailed Mothers Read to Kids

Iowa members help mothers in prison bond with their children through books.

Project Storybook promotes literacy in students whose mothers are in jail.





Even though prison moms in Iowa don't get to cuddle with their children before bedtime, they do get to read them bedtime stories, thanks in part to members of the West Des Moines Education Association.

Last fall, the Association joined hands with "Project Storybook," an outreach program for the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women run by Lutheran Social Services. Mothers choose new books, record themselves reading on tape, then mail both to their children at home. Nearly 130 inmates, who must belong to a mother's support group to participate, send packages each month.

"As a mom and teacher, the project just called out to me," says Association liaison Marilyn Clauss, a second grade teacher at Westridge Elementary School. "Hearing mom's voice on tape makes kids feel secure and provides them emotional support. If we can help strengthen that critical bond between mother and child and promote literacy at the same time, it's an educator's dream come true."

The program has done wonders for more than 1,700 inmates and their children since 1998, says Joyce Binder, prison ministries coordinator for Lutheran Social Services. The children love getting tapes in the mail, and their school reading scores have improved because the tapes have motivated them to read. The books and tapes also provide mothers a way to "break the ice" when the children come to visit.

The impact at the community level is truly touching, adds Clauss. In just a few months, Association members collected 270 new and gently used children's books, 226 tapes, cash, and mailing envelopes--enough to sustain the project for three months.

"After articles appeared in the local newspaper, parents and community members showed up at our schools with handfuls of books and tears in their eyes," says Clauss. "A mother of twins donated 26 books, saying her kids couldn't even imagine not having her there to read."

The story also touched Anne McNew, a teacher more than 200 miles away. "When I read about WDMEA's efforts, I knew what I wanted to do," says the primary reading specialist at Crestwood Elementary School. In June, McNew will retire after 29 years of teaching first grade and reading. But before she does, she'll donate more than 2,000 of her classroom books to Project Storybook on behalf of the Association.

--Dina S. G�mez

For More: WDMEA is still accepting books and tapes. Contact Marilyn Clauss at 515/226-2694 or via E-mail at Claussm@home.wdm.k12.ia.us.

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How To ...
Link Reading and the Visual Arts

There are natural links between reading a book and "reading" a painting or sculpture, says Barbara Kapinus of NEA's Teaching and Learn-ing unit. Help students make the connection with questions based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in Reading:

• General understanding. In both reading and art, a starting point is often to ask students what a book or story, painting or sculpture is about. What's the main idea? What point or effect does it make? Point out that details "add up to" an idea in art as well as in reading.

• Developing interpretation. Students make inferences about what's happening in a story as they read. Likewise, when looking at art, students can make inferences about what they think the artist is trying to communicate or express. Discuss their various points of view as a class.

• Reader-text connections. Students connect text with what they already know from experience. Ask students how they relate to a piece of artwork or writing--what they already know helps them understand it. How do their experiences resemble or differ from what the artist or writer is expressing?

• Critical stance. Have students respond to a story or art by thinking about what went into creating it. Talk about techniques such as word choice in writing or brush stroke and color choice in painting. Ask what mood they think the work suggests. Why did the artist or writer include or omit certain details?

  Think aloud as you respond to a piece of art or writing. Then, encourage students to practice this technique themselves. When students learn to respond to text and art, they'll likely come away with a greater understanding and appreciation of both.

Reader Services Archives NEA Today Table of Contents: Apr 2001 Cover Story s ESP to the Rescue s Debate News s First in Quality, but 50th in Pay s Heroes & Zeroes s Moving to the Front of the Bus s Playing a Supporting Role s Do-er's Profile s Rights Watch s Interview Learning s Innovators s Problems & Solutions s Reading s Inside Scoop s ESP on the Team s Tips for the Wired Classroom Departments s Letters s President's Viewpoint s My Turn s Health and Fitness s Money s People s Resources s In the Light Lane s Masthead

Learning:
A Shoulder To Lean On

A new Illinois student mentorship program asks: Who better to bridge the gap between teaching theory and practice than recently retired teachers?

Student teacher Kerri Gawlik depends on the personal support and practical knowlege of mentor/retiree Keith Hauge.





Every student teacher could use a shoulder to lean on, a personable source of information to answer questions and address concerns. Kerri Gawlik, president of the Illinois Education Association Student Program, has had that kind of great support over the last year in Keith Hauge, a 38-year classroom veteran and now an NEA-Retired member.

The two are part of a new IEA program that pairs hundreds of student teachers with mentors who are retired members. "It's been wonderful," the 21-year-old Gawlik says of her relationship with Hauge. "Keith helps explain little things my teachers don't, so I'll be better prepared for the classroom. He gives all the free advice I can ask for."

The student/retired mentor program is the brainchild of Tina Nicpan, former state student Association chair, who saw an opportunity to tap into the vast wealth of practical knowledge of IEA's active retirees.

"I wanted--needed, really--to supplement what my professors were teaching in the lecture hall," says Nicpan. "Then it came to me: Who better to both bridge that gap and offer students lessons in reality than recently retired teachers?"

Nicpan took her idea to IEA-Retired and received immediate support. After both groups secured grants, the students and retirees paired up in teams. Today, more than 1,300 student members work with retired mentors on a weekly basis through phone calls, E-mail, and in person. Pairs remain together until the student graduates.

Gawlick and Hauge are typical of the helpful, caring relationships that have evolved. A student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Gawlik hopes to become a math teacher. Hauge, who's 76 and taught drafting and woodworking, serves as vice-chair of IEA's Retired Program.

"I've called him at late hours when I have a paper to do and no idea where I'm going with it," says Gawlik. "Or, depending on the kind of day I had, I can vent or gloat."

Gawlick also says she appreciates the opportunity to moan and complain, things she'd never do with her supervising teacher. Mentor and mentee have a high level of trust, and their conversations are held strictly between them.

Currently, Gawlik is doing the last of her "clinicals," during which she observes an eighth grade teacher in action. Combining the clinicals with the mentoring, Gawlik believes, gives her a much better chance of being successful when she takes over her own class.

For his part, Hauge says, "I give her options, two or three different things to try. I provide insights on what might work and what might not."

They talk about everything from invidualized education programs, to getting along with colleagues, to dealing with school boards. They don't talk about things Gawlik covers in her education classes, and that's just fine with her.

"What's in the book is entirely different than learning from what people have actually lived," she says.

Adds Hauge: "We go out of our way to stay hands-off the subject matter. She has professors to help her with that stuff. It's the 'side effects' of teaching that we work on. It's my job to counsel the whole person."

How are mentors paired? Living relatively close together can help. Subject matter isn't so important, but grade level may be. A mentee who definitely wants to teach elementary probably would not be paired with a mentor who taught only high school. The two also should have similar computer skills.

The program benefits both sides, Hauge notes.

"This is a form of volunteering, butbetter, because we can relate to it more closely," he says. "Also, it's fun. Students are so much better prepared than when I graduated in 1949. The courses these kids take are just amazing. This program helps me stay young and keeps my mind going."

Gawlik has no plans to discontinue the relationship after she finishes school.

"Keith is going to be at my graduation and my wedding, and we'll stay in touch until it's not possible anymore."

--Tom Nordby

For more: visit www.ieanea.org/iear/srmentor.html

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Dilemma
How do you get publicity for your school's success stories?

During the course of a school year, both good and bad news happens. We must be prepared to deal with both as gracefully and intelligently as possible. Here are a few tips for dealing with media:

Don't wait for them to come to you. Call, or write them and ask them to visit your school. Invite them to lunch in the cafeteria.

Think of projects you can do together. Hold a writing, drawing, or photo contest sponsored by the newspaper.

Field trips to newspaper plants or broadcast media offer a multitude of opportunities for close encounters.

Prepare a press release about a special activity or display at your school. Make sure to include the name and all contact information of the person in charge of the project, whatever it is.

Be prepared for the worst. The day everything breaks loose is the day your relationship with the media becomes more valuable than gold. When you hear the voice on the other end of the line say, "Before we print these allegations, we'd like to run them by you," you'll be grateful you took time to build bridges with the media.

Gwen "Lisa" Kaneshiro
Fifth grade teacher
Kamuela, Hawaii

When I asked Julie Martin, managing editor of the Asheville-Citizen Times newspaper, this question, here's what she had to say. You can increase print coverage of school news by making it easier for reporters to talk to teachers and staff. Designate a school contact person to maintain open lines of communication between school personnel and reporters.

Often reporters are "put off" by attitudes of teachers and staff who don't want to talk about a topic. Inviting reporters to a public relations staff development at the school would help break negative attitudes and help administrators and teachers feel more comfortable in talking to reporters about school news.

Carol Fabrey
Vocational teacher
Asheville, North Carolina

Getting publicity for the good news in schools is easy for us because teachers and students do the reporting in this rural county. Our media consists of one weekly newspaper and one radio station. Both have welcomed news items from our schools.

Teachers and students submit articles and photos for publication, sometimes via E-mail. High school students produce a weekly news show. Both forms of media have showcased accomplishments of individual students and teachers, as well as the activities of classes and student organizations.

The key has been for us to take the initiative and do some of the reporting work. It also helps to invite the media to attend special events.

Mary Sue Burns
High school chemistry and physics teacher
Dunmore, West Virginia

Our district has a publicity committee (one representative each from eight schools) responsible for obtaining positive items and interesting events about our schools. As our school's representative, I send "news flashes" to my list of local media. If a reporter or photographer can't attend, I send a story and photos to print. Remember, the media doesn't know what we're doing unless we tell them.

Sophia Ramdass
Seventh grade math teacher
Lake Zurich, Illinois

Getting publicity takes time. But a fax or E-mail isn't enough. The personal touch is necessary. It's essential to follow up with a phone call. Politely ask if the reporter received the fax or E-mail and if the paper might send a reporter or photographer to your event. Your chances of gaining coverage increase if you send the initial request up to two or three weeks early and then follow-up. If your request is denied, ask to send a photograph and a short paragraph about the event once it's taken place. Should the item run in the paper, be sure to call or E-mail to thank the editor.

Hope Blecher Sass
ESL teacher
Clark, New Jersey

Got an Answer?

How do you keep students from losing ground over the summer?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@neatoday.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Please include your name, city, state, and job title. Published respondents will receive an NEA Today mug!

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Idea Exchange

A Musical Heads Up
My K-6 music students play the familiar "Heads Up, Seven Up" with music. After they choose the person who tapped them, students must name a music symbol flash card or line and space to take their place among the "Seven Up."

I use large flash cards so children can see them from the back of the room, and I use identifying songs or quarter, half, or whole notes with young students.

The game is fun for inclusion students because you can give an easy card or play a song you are sure a child will know. That way, everyone's successful.

Students can also play this game by themselves while you are helping another student individually.

Garnet Tremble
Maysville, Kentucky

A Yummy Lesson
To teach process writing, I send a letter home to parents asking them to help their child select a favorite homemade dish.

Parents provide the child with the recipe and, when possible, actually make it together. The student writes out the steps to making the dish in paragraph form and explains why it is a favorite. The student also includes any memories associated with the dish in the story.

We publish our recipes and stories in a book and give it to parents during the holidays.

David Grider
Louisville, Kentucky

The Power of Reading
To help improve reading comprehension and expository writing, have students read and write their own poems and short stories, then invite parents to a classroom Reader's Theater. Challenge students to create their own word problems with an explanation and make entries in their math journals. Create bulletin boards of the class's favorite story and author, and invite an author to speak to the class.

Debora Davis
Bridgeport, Connecticut

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Operation Reading Rescue

Maryland educators overhaul their total approach and rescue one district's readers.

Intensive instruction in small groups was a key to helping struggling readers, says first grade teacher April Guard.





Low test scores confirmed what teachers already knew--something had to be done to rescue Somerset's struggling readers. Reading scores in the close-knit Eastern Shore district had remained flat while other Maryland districts had shown improvement since 1993, the year state accountability testing began.

"Across the board, very few of our students were reading at grade level," says Patti Monk, a fifth grade teacher at Marion Sarah Peyton School. "When we tested, we realized we really had a problem in reading."

Teachers diagnosed the problem in a variety of ways--from a reading series that had gotten away from reading awareness and basal series techniques to an influx of new teachers who'd only been trained in whole language.

"Teachers were saying that students weren't reading as they had before and that comprehension was dropping," says Whittington Primary first grade teacher April Guard. And because all five elementary schools in the district were using the same curriculum, they were experiencing the same difficulties.

Three years ago, Superindent Michael Thomas took the first step to making a change. With the support of district educators and the school board, Thomas brought in a private reading consultant. Working together over the next two years, Somerset County teachers and administrators helped devise a comprehensive plan to rescue the district's young readers.

Their efforts paid off fairly quickly. In September 1999, 90 percent of the district's fifth graders read below grade level. By November 2000, that number had plummeted to only 5 percent. And scores were comparable in the lower grades, with a near 90 percent of third graders in 2000 reading right on target.

"Once we started the intervention program in the spring of 1999 we saw a tremendous development in the children," says Viola Bivins, a second grade teacher at Whittington. This school, with 360 pre-K through second graders, was one of two pilot sites.

For three months, reading consul-tant Peter Dewitz--a former elementary and higher ed teacher--observed classes, interviewed staff, and reviewed curriculum.

Somerset's reading crisis, he concluded, was more a problem of a poorly designed system than poor instruction. The schools had a weak program for teaching basic phonemic awareness. Teachers were getting mixed messages about right reading methods, and they tended to teach in large groups. Kids read texts assigned by grade instead of reading ability because of publisher recommendations. And, says Dewitz, the schools had no assessment system for tracking results.

The research-based intervention plan that resulted is a hybrid of reading recovery and phonics. Change took place at every level. How staff was apportioned was addressed early on.

"We added a reading specialist in each elementary school," says Monk, whose school has about 250 third through fifth graders. "Before that, we didn't even have one for the entire county."

Another big change was increasing reading instruction to at least 120 minutes a day in first and second grade. In a typical class of 24 students, half attend a reading lab for 45 minutes while the others remain in class with a teacher, a reading specialist, and a special education teacher. Working in groups as small as three or four students, grouped by reading level, teachers focus on word attack skills, fluency, and accurary.

Meanwhile reading lab students engage in reading enrichment activities aimed at building vocabulary and listening and comprehension skills.

"We read anthology books, write, learn about authors, play phonics and word games, and do lots of hands-on activities," says Guard.

Training was also revamped. In the summer of 1999, for two weeks, 120 teachers, administrators, and principals taught a small group of reading camp students for 90 minutes a day to apply techniques they learned in morning sessions. Even the superintendent took part. In the second year, teachers taught each other through specialized seminars. There is ongoing training by grade level once a month and periodic in-service training during and after-school.

Cautiously optimistic at first, teachers changed attitudes quickly when kids started making progress. Kids were tested four times a year, and when teachers saw their kids jump up a grade level, the excitement really began.

"It was like a light bulb came on," says Guard. "Before the program, we never got that light bulb."

Bivins will retire at the end of this school year. But she adds: "I'd want to come back just for reading intervention."

--Michelle Y. Green

For more: Contact Guard at 410/968-0747 or E-mail Pdewitz@cstone.net.

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How do you get students to complete their homework?

We have an active business/education partnership. To stress the importance of meeting deadlines, the business community sponsors pizza luncheons for students in grades 4 through 6 who have turned in every assignment for an entire quarter. You should see the faces of the kids who didn't make the luncheon when the pizza deliveryman comes.

At the end of the year, all fifth and sixth graders who turned in every assignment for the entire year get treated to a special breakfast emceed by a local TV personality.

Nancy Everson
School-to-work coordinator
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

During preschool conferences we introduce "Team Day" to parents and students. At the end of every Friday, we take students who have completed their homework and maintained appropriate behavior during the week outside for 20-30 minutes. In bad weather, we use the gym or bring in board games. Usually only one teacher has to stay with students remaining inside. When students catch on that this is a privilege they control, they really work so they can go out for "Team Day." It's also wonderful to share in the accomplishments of students who stayed in before when they get to go out the next week.

Tawana Seets
Language arts teacher
Roxboro, North Carolina

As students do warm-up exercises and write the day's objectives, I check homework by walking around the room. If they haven't completed the homework at all, they sign the "I did not do my homework" list and check off the "did not do" column. If the homework is not completely finished or work is not shown, they check off the "incomplete" column. This has made students accountable and created a positive peer pressure to stay off the list. This system also gives me supporting paperwork for the homework portion of their grade. "No homeworks" have dropped from about 40 percent in the beginning of the year to about 20 percent.

Mary Anne Pratta
Eighth grade math teacher
Pitman, New Jersey

I assign two levels of homework--practice assignments (PAs) and graded assignments (4Gs). The 4G is due the day after we've gone over the PA. True to form, few do the PA, and almost all complain about the 4G, insisting it's unfair for me to actually grade homework for accuracy and procedure. Most do the 4Gs, however, and performance and grades have both improved significantly.

Katherine Harris
High school math teacher
Ashland, Virginia

Got an Answer?

How do you deal with a student who has poor hygiene?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@neatoday.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Please include your name, city, state, and job title. Published respondents will receive an NEA Today mug!

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How I Did It

Ceil Freda
Middletown High School librarian
Middletown Township, New Jersey

A bulletin board match game tests viewers' skill in identifying famous faces of the century.

What do Amelia Earhart, Adolf Hitler, Marie Curie, and Martin Luther King, Jr., all have in common? They all had their faces posted on our "100 Famous Faces from the 1900s" library display at Middletown High School South.

Library assistants and volunteers helped set up 12 six-foot art panels featuring photos of influential people from the 1900s. Due to the debate over when the new century actually began, we decided to honor individuals who lived, but were not necessarily born in the 1900s; who had an influence on the world; and who died before December 31, 1999.

We solicited suggestions of which individuals to include from faculty, students, and family members. In making the final selection, we took care to balance the photos in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and various fields of endeavor, such as arts, sports, and politics.

Once completed, we conducted a contest to see how well people could identify our bulletin board celebrities. Each participant was given a sheet with an alphabetical listing of the 100 figures on display with a brief, written "clue" about each person.

The contest challenged viewers to match the correct image with the correct name. Several hundred students and adults participated, and winners received prizes donated by the Parent Faculty Association and local businesses.

The project was a great way to incorporate history, current events, research, and technology. But it also was a fun, informative way for Middletown High School to put its best face forward.

For more information, contact Ceil Freda at 732/706-6111, ext. 2146.

Reader Services