Up Front

May 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story Brown v. Board Features It's All Political Dream or Nightmare? Gap Shrinkers Departments Getting Organized Spotlight Question & Answer ESP People Money Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Weigh in on Debate Topics Change your address Write a letter View past issues

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It's All Political

If you still don't believe what happens on Capitol Hill impacts your classroom, then look in your school's wallet. You'll discover the dollars dwindling for programs such as Title I, Head Start, and IDEA, not to mention the perennially underfunded Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the so-called No Child Left Behind law. All the more reason to keep an eye on Washington. And with the presidential election only months away, the time has never been more critical.

Fortunately, educators aren't the only ones who need—and want—to make sure politicians keep their campaign promises. More than 90 percent of parents say education issues influence their decision to support a political candidate, according to the National PTA. And school funding tops their list of concerns—85 percent of moms and dads believe the federal government needs to ante up for public education.

The findings were echoed in another new survey by the nonpartisan Public Education Network and Education Week, which found a majority of the public vowing to vote for candidates who make education a top

priority—and 80 percent saying they favor a presidential candidate who'd protect the federal budget from education cuts. Fueling some of the fire may be the growing disenchantment with ESEA. In the last year, the survey found, opposition to the law increased from 8 to 28 percent of voters.

Even students are beginning to take notice—and not just of education issues.

More than half of 15- to 26-year-olds think it's important to pay attention to government and politics, while two-thirds believe it's important to vote, according to a recent survey. Still, their interest remains relatively low compared with levels seen during the politically charged 1960s, when nearly two-thirds of college freshmen followed politics, says Linda J. Sax, UCLA education professor and director of an annual survey of college freshmen. But, that's likely just a sign of the times, she says. Back then, students generally believed their efforts would bring about change, says Sax, while today's students often encounter more cynicism when it comes to politics.

They can turn to educators for inspiration, however. Show them how to flex political muscle—and get results. Visit www.nea.org/lac to contact your congressional reps and urge them to support NEA-backed legislation to fix and fund ESEA. And in November, don't forget to vote.

Empty Pockets

It's not just a myth. Schools with lots of poor and minority kids really do get less money.

During the 2000–01 school year, the poorest school districts in 22 states received as much as $2,384 less in per-student funding from state and local sources. Meanwhile, districts with the highest percentage of minority students received as much as $2,073 less per student in 28 states.

"In too many states, we see yet again that the very students who need the most, get the least," says Kevin Carey, a school funding expert with Education Trust, a nonprofit education group dedicated to helping poor and minority children succeed.

Some states have tried to close the funding gap. New Jersey, notably, shifted from providing poor schools with $587 less per pupil in 1997 to providing $398 more per student in 2001.

By contrast, in Arizona the gap grew by $848 per pupil during the same period. That translates into a loss of about $36,225 a year to a high-poverty classroom.

Notepad Rigid Rule Revised Thanks to NEA's efforts, the U.S. Department of Education once again has seen the error of its ways. The Department has revised a rule under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that required schools to test at least 95 percent of their students in each subgroup and the overall student body in math and reading. Schools that missed the participation rate—even by a single student—failed to make adequate yearly progress. Now schools may average student data over a three-year period to meet the participation rate—a provision NEA recommended more than a year ago. This is the fourth time the Department has implemented ESEA changes suggested by NEA. And yet, "these changes are still merely tweaking the law, while leaving many of the fundamental problems unresolved," says NEA President Reg Weaver. The law still expects all schools to meet the same standard in the same time frame, without recognizing the progress students make along the way. The chief state school officers from 14 states have urged the Department to implement a more flexible "growth model" that acknowledges such improvements to determine which schools make adequate yearly progress, a model that NEA supports. Have a good tip? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

4 Ways To Cope with Year-end Madness

The countdown has begun! With just two months (or less) until the last day of school, you—and your students—are probably itching for summer. So as visions of beach balls bounce in your head, try these tips to survive the home stretch.

1. Hang with Nature. Warmer weather and longer days are the perfect excuse to have class outside. So take your ecology lesson to a nearby pond or let your art students paint the local landscape. The sunshine will do everyone some good.
2. Keep 'Em Busy. Have your students create a memory book documenting the school year or write letters to next year's class. Interesting and creative activities will keep them focused and help them burn some of that extra wiggly energy.
3. Party Hard. You've survived another year, why not celebrate? Treat your students to an end-of-the-year sundae party (with goodies supplied by your PTA) or a special awards ceremony. You've all earned it.
4. Think Calming Thoughts. When all else fails, remember—summer is only a few weeks away and soon you'll have three months to yourself (well, maybe).

Seal of Approval

So what will it take to truly leave no child behind? Providing students with National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) may be part of the answer.

A new study from the University of Washington and the Urban Institute finds that National Board Certification (NBC)—a voluntary advanced credential process—successfully identifies more effective teachers.

An analysis of three years of student test scores showed that students taught by NBCTs improved an average of 7 percent more on their year-end math and reading tests than students whose teachers did not attain the certification. Younger and low-income students saw even greater gains, improving by as much as 15 percent compared with their peers. The research did not show that the NBC process itself makes teachers better. But anecdotal information from Board candidates shows the process does affect their teaching.

"Thousands of people have said the process was transformative," says Susan Carmon in NEA's Teacher Quality Department. "Having a credential that distinguishes people who meet this high standard is important. But more important is the value of the process and what people tell us about how it's changed them."

Security Threat?

Earlier this year, President Bush's Secretary of Education carelessly labeled NEA a "terrorist organization." Now, his Secretary of Defense is treating an NEA affiliate—and its hard-won rights—as a national menace.

In a recent meeting with the Federal Education Association (FEA), which represents more than 9,000 educators in Department of Defense (DoD) dependent schools and other labor organizations, DoD officials announced plans to eliminate the bargaining rights of the Department's civilian employees. If FEA and other unions don't agree with the DoD's "bargaining" proposals, management will be free to impose them unilaterally, upon official notification to the unions.

But the assaults don't stop there. The DoD also plans to abolish the impartial bodies that settle federal labor disputes and replace them with a new Defense Labor Relations Board consisting mostly of Pentagon-controlled appointees. The Department also will have the power to scrap any existing negotiated agreements that "interfere" with new personnel policies or regulations and to reduce the right of unions to represent employees at disciplinary meetings.

NEA President Reg Weaver and FEA President Sheridan Pearce have urged Congress to call a hearing on the DoD's personnel plans. "By using 'national security' as a rationale for abrogating the rights of thousands of teachers," they write, "DoD officials have made it clear that unionized educators pose a threat to our nation."

To find out how you can help DoD teachers and ESPs preserve their rights.

Global Takes Where the Boys Are The United States isn't the only country looking for a few good men. China and Australia both report problems finding and keeping male teachers, especially for small children. Gender stereotypes, low salaries, and the status of teaching compared to other professions often get in the way. In one major Chinese city, for instance, only 14 of the 28,422 kindergarten teachers are men. Meanwhile, the Australian government plans to change its sex discrimination laws to allow male-only scholarships for would-be teachers with the hope that male teachers will help boys learn better, reports The Australian. Currently, only one in five primary school teachers down under is a man, which the government thinks is one reason boys don't perform as well as girls. Put to the Test Surveys suggest one-third of British 15-year-olds have smoked marijuana, according to the London-based newspaper The Observer. So the British government has announced that school headmasters (principals) will soon have authority to conduct random drug tests on their students. Headmasters would first have to get permission either from the students themselves or from their parents, though. Those testing positive would receive treatment and not face expulsion, a government spokesperson added. Got something to say? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

Lockdown on Lockers

For most students, a school locker is more than just a place to stow their books. It's a haven of self-expression, complete with photos of friends and pop idols, the ever-essential hair brush or backpack, and the occasional pair of smelly gym socks.

But at many schools, these steel sanctuaries sit empty, collecting dust, as administrators look for ways to reduce potential threats to school safety.

Jacksonville Middle School in Texas, for instance, hasn't used lockers in years, even though the school has them. NEA member Kathy McCown, who teaches history at the school, says there were just too many problems with weapons on campus. Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona, meanwhile, never planned on having lockers. Instead, students receive an extra set of books to keep at home, eliminating much of the need for on-campus storage.

Among schools that do use lockers, many have opted for locker "islands" with shorter lockers in common areas instead of corridor lockers spread throughout the building for easier supervision, says Michael Hantel, an architect with an Illinois-based firm that specializes in K–12 buildings. At the same time, schools have beefed up their locker-use policies to maintain safe, weapons-free environments. A school safety report from the school of education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro recommends that schools inform students that lockers are district property borrowed for personal convenience. And they can—and will be—searched if reasonable suspicion arises.

All the more reason to make sure those sweaty gym clothes make it home.

—Chris Kotterman

Small School Solution

Small schools can be great at keeping students from falling through the cracks. But teachers at these schools often handle several subjects. And many run afoul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, even though the law's new name, "No Child Left Behind," has long been their mantra.

UNDER The law secondary school teachers must have a college or graduate degree in every subject they teach, pass a stringent assessment of content knowledge, or meet a state standard of "competency" in each field, which some states haven't finalized yet. That put teachers like Alyson Mike, Montana's 2003 Teacher of the Year, in a bind. Her bachelor's degree covers her for her biology classes, but not the physics and chemistry classes she also teaches.

After intense pressure from educators and state legislatures, the U.S. Department of Education reversed an earlier ruling and decided that if a state has a "broad-based" science certification that allows a teacher to teach multiple sciences, the feds will take the state's word for it. The Department is also allowing states to have a streamlined process called "HOUSSE" (High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation) for teachers of multiple subjects. HOUSSE lets experienced teachers demonstrate that they are "competent" to teach a subject if they have neither an academic major nor have passed a subject matter test. Teachers in rural and isolated areas will get more time to become "highly qualified" as well.

The new rule, however, won't help social studies teachers, who often teach history, geography, and government in small schools.

Not-So-Sweet Dreams

You probably didn't get enough sleep last night.

And, most likely, your students didn't either. More than half of all first through fifth graders get fewer than the 10 to 11 hours of sleep recommended for their age group, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Too much TV and caffeine could be partly to blame. Children who drink at least one caffeinated beverage a day miss out on three and a half hours of sleep a week compared with their caffeine-free friends. Those who have televisions in their bedrooms—43 percent of school-age children—lose more than two hours of sleep a week.

But kids aren't the only ones missing out on those precious z's. Parents and caregivers are paying the price for their sleepy little ones, averaging just 6.8 hours of sleep per night, slightly less than the seven hours per night most adults get. So go take a nap.

A Girl's Place?

More than 30 years after Title IX prohibited gender discrimination in school sports, girls still are struggling for a place on the field. In Boston, for instance, 36 percent of high school girls played on one or more sports teams in 2001, compared with 55 percent of high school boys, according to a report by the Harvard School of Public Health and the National Women's Law Center.

The reason? Plain old discrimination, says Neena Chaudry, senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center. Many female athletes don't have access to the same sports teams as boys. They also face lower quality facilities and harassment when they play on predominantly male teams.

"You can't say women are not interested if they are not given the opportunity," says Chaudry. "You could probably do that study anywhere and find the same types of problems."

Nationwide, girls represent just 42 percent of all high school and college varsity athletes, even though they make up more than half of the college population. Those who do play sports in college aren't exactly rewarded, either. Women playing on Division I and II teams received at least $133 million less in college scholarship money than men in 2000.

But a large college debt isn't the only concern they face. Women who skip out on sports are more likely to engage in sexual activity, smoke, use drugs, and become overweight. "It's a public health issue as well as a civil rights issue," Chaudry says.

—Deitrich Curry

[ Book Focus ]

Inside a Movement

"Too often, the teaching of the Civil Rights Movement—as a spontaneous, emotional eruption of angry but saintly African Americans led by two or three inspired orators—discounts the origins, the intellect, and the breadth that guided this complex social movement. Rather, strategic brilliance, logistical messiness, exalted joy, heart-gouging sorrow, sharp tactical conflicts, and near-religious personal transformations are all part of the very human story ending formal racial segregation in the United States."

So writes Jenice View at the beginning of Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching (Teaching for Change and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, 2004), a comprehensive teaching guide that moves educators past the headlines and into the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. This compelling collection of lessons, essays, interviews, poems, and art takes educators—and their students—inside the stories of the ordinary people who sustained the movement, with special attention paid to the contributions of women and youth.

Selections by Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Jackson, Malcolm X, Octavio Ruiz, Pablo Neruda, and several NEA members, among others, explore not only the experiences of Black Americans, but also of Mexican Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and women as they struggled for equality in this country. The interconnectedness of the different social movements plays a pivotal role in the various works.

The materials in the book—which meet or exceed national history and language arts standards—offer teachers the resources they need to present a more rounded and action-oriented history of the Civil Rights Movement and, ultimately, to empower "contemporary youth to understand themselves as the makers of history, not as passive customers."

Two-Minute Tips Oodles of Kudos Keep a file of all the positive correspondence, thank you notes, e-mails, and evaluations you receive from parents, students, administrators, school board members, and members of the community. When you have a bad day, just thumb through a few of the nice notes and kudos and you'll remember why you're a teacher. These materials also will come in handy to support you if a parent or administrator has a gripe against you. —Tom Hrbacek Temecula, California Proof of Purchase When a student receives a D or F paper in my class, the student must have a parent sign the paper. This lets parents know how their children are doing. When a child returns a paper with a parent's signature, the child earns one point toward his or her grade and I highlight the grade in my grade book. If a parent requests a conference and implies he or she did not know how poorly the student was doing, I can let the parent know exactly how many low grades the child received that were not returned with a parent signature. This "proof of purchase" quickly lets the parents know they need to talk with the student about the D or F papers. —Melanie Finotti Knox, Pennsylvania Got a story about your first year on the job? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

Mutual Understanding

It's been said it takes a village to raise a child. Well, members of the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) know it takes a group effort to educate one too—and to run the Association that advocates on the educators' behalf.

Photo by Caroline Joe

In a unique program designed to build new Association leaders, GAE brings together new teacher and ESP members for a weekend retreat. During the program, teachers and ESPs learn about the Association and the contributions each group makes to the education process.

Before Kathleen Thomason, an art teacher at Campbell Elementary School in Fairburn and new GAE member, attended the retreat, she didn't know ESPs could belong to a local affiliate. But, after sharing a room with a bus driver and learning about her Association involvement, Thomason understood the important role of ESPs. "They are part of the educational team," she says.

For Lea Ogozelec, a bus driver and paraprofessional for Sweet Apple Elementary School in Roswell, the retreat helped her appreciate the stresses teachers face—and the hours they spend grading stacks of papers. "It was a great way to talk about what was involved in each of our jobs," Ogozelec says.

Ultimately, the program strives to create lifelong relationships and leaders who can tackle educational issues from all points of view, says Mark Perez, the UniServ director who oversees the program. "We are strengthened because we are no longer divided."

—Deitrich Curry

[ Nobody Ever Told Me ]

You've Got Mail!

A new second-year elementary teacher in my building learned an important lesson about e-mail use this year. Our school's e-mail system is a bit different from the one she used in her previous school. It features a specific mailing list teachers can select to send a message to the staff at our school only, a feature her previous school did not have. We also can access a mailing list that will send a message to everyone in the district.

This teacher wanted to e-mail the staff at our school about her room's missing bathroom passes. So she typed up her message and clicked on the mailing list "All" thinking this would send the message to everyone in the building. Only later did she realize that the "All" list sends a message to the entire district. Every teacher in every elementary, middle, and high school, all of the secretaries, and even the superintendent were soon on the lookout for the missing bathroom passes.

This happened early in the school year and the teacher still is gently teased by people who tell her they are searching for her missing bathroom passes.

—Bob Griffith
Classroom Teacher, Longview, Washington

Busy Bees

Can it be that we have underestimated the value of the humble honeybee? Researchers—including two NEA higher ed members—at the University of Montana think so. These industrious insects responsible for pollinating most of the fruits and vegetables we eat also could be great environmental police. In fact, their foraging habits may be the key to sniffing out millions of buried land mines.

Last year, entomologist Jerry Bromenshenk, a professor at the University of Montana, and fellow NEA members Colin Henderson and Steve Rice, teamed up with explosives experts and the Department of Defense to train bees to follow certain colors and scents, such as the chemical plumes discharged by buried land mines. Traditionally, teams have used bomb-sniffing dogs to detect such explosives, but it is slow and dangerous work. Bees can be equally effective, hovering over areas that emit key scents. They also are quite efficient, says Bromenshenk, covering one mile in just four minutes.

"We don't anticipate that bees are going to replace dogs any time in the near future, but they could be a very helpful adjunct to reducing [the size of] areas searched and setting priorities," he says.

Land mines exist in 90 countries outside of North America and, according to a recent study, maim or kill 15,000 to 20,000 people each year. Scientists estimate that it could take as long as 500 years to locate and disarm all land mines around the world. But, the Montana team believes that with sufficient support for research and development, bees could help get the job done in just 50 years.

A Safe Place To Learn

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students say they still find school an unwelcoming place—and that undermines their academic progress.

A majority of students surveyed say they experience verbal harassment in school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and some are even subject to physical attack, according to findings of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) biannual survey of middle and high school students. Such violence, or even the fear of violence, ultimately takes its toll in the classroom. Students who find the school environment hostile generally have lower grade point averages (2.9 versus 3.3), and 13.4 percent say they do not plan to go to college. Meanwhile, students harassed because of their sexual orientation are twice as likely to report depression or serious thoughts of suicide, according to a study published by the California Safe Schools Coalition and the 4-H Center for Youth Development at the University of California Davis.

"Most disturbing to me is that 83 percent of the time, when hateful things are said to these students, teachers don't do anything, which is seen as an endorsement of the behavior," says Kevin Jenkins, a former teacher and president of GLSEN. Teachers tell him they aren't sure what to do. Jenkins says that school standards against bullying must clearly include sexual orientation and teachers must receive guidance on how to intervene.

Smile During a lesson on the amendments to the Constitution, my sixth graders were eager to share their knowledge. One boy recalled that one amendment gives Americans the right to bear arms. I praised him and encouraged him to explain. He proudly replied that Americans have the right to dress however we want, including with bare arms. —Karen Finnegan Cleveland, Ohio As usual, my kindergartners were running late, so I sighed and repeated, "Hurry up, boys and girls!" The majority of the group formed a wiggly line, but Cindy sat contentedly completing her artwork. Time was ticking away. So, I took another deep breath and in my most pleasant teacher voice I said, "Come on, Cindy! Get speedy! Our line will be leaving soon!" Confident that she would join the group, we started our journey down the hall. As requested, Cindy joined us at the end of the line. As I did my customary backward walk down the hall, I noticed that Cindy was having some difficulty. Much to my surprise, she was carrying a cage that contained our class hamster, Speedy. I started to laugh as innocence knocked me in the head. Apparently my interpretation of "get speedy" was a little different from Cindy's. —Nancy Dembkowski Mt. Prospect, Illinois Have a funny school story, anecdote, or vignette you'd like to share? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

Ready To Read

When it comes to teaching a child to read, focusing on the student's individual needs makes all the difference. That's something you probably already knew. But, new research from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education has the numbers to back it up.

A three-year study comparing the highly scripted Direct Instruction (DI) reading program with more flexible methods found that students who received DI scored significantly lower in overall reading achievement, decoding, and reading comprehension. Those results remained consistent in urban and suburban school districts and across grade levels. Teacher involvement also played a critical role in student success, says Randall Ryder, a literacy professor and head of the study. Teachers who maintained a steady pace of instruction, set high expectations for their students, and encouraged student independence had classes that performed better. Simply put, teachers need to support the reading methods they use, Ryder says, and, consequently, deserve greater input on curriculum decisions.

"There needs to be a more balanced approach in how we look at reading instruction, maintaining the flexibility to do what's in the best interests of the child," Ryder adds. "That's the focus. It has to be the focus."

And the Winner Is...!

When you've won the NEA Fitness Challenge, can Survivor be far behind?

Nine months ago, NEA members across the country formed alliances with fellow co-workers to compete in NEA's first-ever national fitness competition. With advice from a team of experts—including a personal trainer, nutritionist, stress reduction specialist, and meditation teacher—Challenge participants huffed, puffed, and sweated their way to better health and buff bods. The results? Awesome. One team lost a total of 143 pounds. How will they stack up against the competition? Which team will win the grand prize—cash for their school? To get the skinny on the Challenge champions, check out www.neafitness.org, where we'll announce the winners on May 17. And don't miss the September issue of NEA Today, which will feature an in-depth profile of our champions.

State Report

May 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story Brown v. Board Features It's All Political Dream or Nightmare? Gap Shrinkers Departments Getting Organized Spotlight Question & Answer ESP People Money Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Weigh in on Debate Topics Change your address Write a letter View past issues

Advertise in NEA Today!

Two states have funded campaign laws to reduce the influence of special interest money and promote electoral competition—by folks just like you.

Photo by Michael York

Maine state Rep. Jackie Norton says she isn't some "professional politician" pursuing power or money. Nope, she's a 38-year high school math teacher who sacrifices part of her annual income to represent the citizens of her Bangor district, and whose highest ambition is—honest—to improve the lot of public school teachers and students.

"I'm very pro-public education," says Rep. Norton, who belongs to the House Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, "and I believe that happy, healthy teachers make for happy, healthy students."

And that's not all. This Maine Education Association (MEA) member answers only to her constituents, because her last campaign was publicly funded under Maine's "clean election" law. Passed in 1996, the law was designed to reduce the influence of special interest money in politics and to increase electoral competition.

Four states have passed clean election laws, but just two of them, Arizona and Maine, have fully funded them. In those states, clean election candidates for state office agree to forgo self-financing and private contributions, except for a token amount of "seed money." The hopefuls must then submit a set number of petition signatures and five-dollar checks from registered voters to qualify for public matching funds.

The jury is still out on the ultimate value of these laws, but politically active folks in the two clean election states report that this process is steadily yielding these results:

More time to campaign on the issues. Arizona state Treasurer David Petersen, a conservative Republican who ran "clean" in his last election, told the U.S. Government Accounting Office: "In previous elections, I had to spend one-third to one-half of my time raising money. Clean elections made me become more of a grassroots candidate."

Maine Rep. Norton, a Democrat, agrees. "When I ran [as a privately funded candidate] for my first term," she recalls, "I spent as much time trying to raise money as meeting constituents, and I'm not in the habit of asking for money. This law freed me up to knock on doors and to ask constituents how they feel—to educate me to the issues."

More education-friendly politicians. "Most of the candidates we supported in 2002 were clean and most won," points out Arizona Education Association (AEA) staffer Jim Lewis. "The House and Senate are better on public education, relatively speaking, than they were before."

Arizona's foremost "clean" incumbent is Gov. Janet Napolitano, who won a tight race two years ago with $3.2 million in public campaign funding. "She's a wonderful governor and a tremendous education advocate," says AEA President Penny Kotterman, "and she's proposing another progressive state budget this year."

Gov. Napolitano even joined 4,000 AEA members and other education stakeholders at a March 3 state Capitol rally to promote her budget—which advocates everything from all-day kindergarten to a boost in educator pay—and called on Congress to pay for the mandates of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the so-called No Child Left Behind law.

Fewer pressures on politicians. The Maine clean election law, which also limits special-interest political action committee (PAC) donations to $250 per candidate, has shielded Rep. Norton from some pretty compromising situations. "It would be horrible," she says, "to have special interests pay my way, to have to deal with them when it comes time to push the button to vote!"

Fewer electoral barriers to educators. Because of Arizona's clean election law, "new and more people" are running for office, "including our members, whom we train how to run 'clean,'" reports AEA's Lewis. There are fewer new faces in the Maine legislature, adds MEA staffer Steve Crouse, but he predicts that will change over time and the result will be "good quality legislators, if not better, than what we have now."

More quality lawmakers, perhaps, like Jackie Norton—who thinks good educators make good political material. "They're good at dealing with people and they're fairly well-informed and patient in educating people," she says. And, yes, "They're plainspoken and honest."

—Dave Winans

For more on clean election laws.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) lobbyists and members helped persuade legislators to create the state's first new revenue stream to public education in 14 years. A new law taxes and regulates the state's thriving Native American gaming industry, and is expected to yield at least $70 million in new revenue in the first year alone.

Other hopeful news for recession-battered OEA members: Gov. Brad Henry introduced a five-year plan to boost teacher pay to the regional average and fully pay teachers' individual health care premiums. "It's terrific to have someone with some vision for education in the governor's mansion," says OEA President Roy Bishop.

South Carolina

"I like truth in advertising," says Gary West, director of computing services for Greenwood School District 50. That's why West has carefully documented a disturbing fact: The two-year-old South Carolina Education Lottery has only shared 4.1 percent of its revenue with K–12 public schools since January 2002, or about 14 percent of the lottery money designated for "education."

Since the scheme began, gas stations and convenience stores have received almost $53 million more in lottery revenues than K–12 schools.

There are other losing numbers in this big game. While the lottery has hauled in some $1.8 billion, the state has cut K–12 funding by $372 million since the end of the 2000–01 school year, slashed per-pupil spending by 11.2 percent, and underfunded its own mandate-laden education accountability law.

Washington

In the last legislative session, the Washington Education Association (WEA) won increased state funding for health care benefits and a 1 percent state increase for education support professionals, starting next year.

WEA also gained legislation improving the Washington State Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) examination process. One measure allows students to retake the 10th-grade WASL four times, while another calls for a review of WASL cut scores. In 2008, passing the WASL or an alternative process will be a state graduation requirement.

WEA's ultimate goal: ensure that no single test is used to make high-stakes decisions about students and schools.

Florida

Volunteer lobbyists from the Broward Teachers Union (BTU) joined hundreds of other Florida Education Association (FEA) members and thousands of students at a March 17 rally to save the state's lottery-funded college scholarship program from budget cuts.

"It was a wonderful event, very well-organized," says BTU First Vice President Bernie Schutz. While FEA mobilized K–12 and higher education members, Republican legislative leaders organized rally logistics—even inviting the Florida A&M marching band—and provided key speakers, including the state senate president and the current Miss America, Erika Dunlap.

Maine

The Maine Education Association (MEA) has begun to help its local affiliates document and quantify "job creep" among teachers. MEA defines this phenomenon as the continuous "expansion of responsibilities, committee meetings, assessments, and reports that are adding to the workday and workweek."

Louisiana

Members of the Lafayette Parish Association of Educators (LPAE) signed a group grievance urging their district to rethink Project Lift, an instructional method in which educators teach a concept for a week, then test students on the concept to ensure they have learned it.

"I wish they would give us flexibility," LPAE President Rick Bailey told the local newspaper. "The teachers need to be trusted to teach. We feel like Lift has violated our classrooms."

Tennessee

Five Tennessee Education Association (TEA) members told the state House Education Committee about the overwhelming paperwork that teachers face and the interruptions that detract from valuable teaching time, everything from fund-raising to bus and car duty.

The educators made several recommendations to "win back" teaching time. Chairman Les Winningham vowed to make this issue a committee priority.

Arizona

Even paraeducators in the middle of the desert must become "highly qualified" under federal law—not so easy when the nearest college is two hours away.

That's what brought eight unorganized paras to the Hayden-Winkelman Education Association. HWEA signed them up, then brought in a para test preparation workshop designed by the Arizona Education Association (AEA).

The paras took care of logistics and AEA did the rest, using NEA's test prep manual and training help from Tucson para Carol Kirkland. "We got very positive feedback and they invited us back!" said AEA staffer Jeff Thomas.

"We can help people, but they need to join the union," said HWEA President Laura Lopez. "We can call in whatever it takes to solve your problem."

Spotlight

Super-Subs

What makes 1,000 Angelenos, many with strong résumés, line up to substitute teach?

Photos by Bob Riha, Jr.

Los Angeles substitute teacher Robert Rivers uses a technique for controlling unruly classes that could have been inspired by Hollywood: He phones home. One recent day teaching sixth grade, he had to resort to his cell phone three times. No parents were there, but he talked with two brothers and a grandmother, seeking help to make a child stop disrupting the class.

"Even when it doesn't get that student to behave, calling home helps me keep order because the other kids don't want me to pull out my phone," he explains.

Rivers—tall, solid-looking, with a baritone voice and a powerful presence—gets less lip than most substitutes. But even he struggles to keep the lid on a room full of students who know they won't have him next week.

Rivers has held responsible jobs in the Navy, the Urban League, and IBM. Why take so much grief? Because he loves to see a student light up with understanding. "If I reach one kid a day, I'm happy," he says.

L.A.'s substitute legion in-cludes former aerospace engineers, curriculum designers, and authors. And there are 1,000 more on a waiting list, eager to tackle L.A.'s tough classes.

Elsewhere, school systems are beating the bushes and lowering standards to find warm bodies to work as substitutes. The Substitute Teaching Institute at Utah State University says 90 percent of districts have trouble finding enough.

What's different about L.A.?

Two words: pay and benefits. A day-to-day substitute in Los Angeles makes $156 a day, or $211 after 21 days. Those who work 100 days a year get full health insurance the following year.

That's probably the best package in the country, says Doug Provencio, a veteran Oakland, California, substitute who leads NEA's Substitute Teachers Caucus. A government survey of large school districts found that their average substitute pay was $87.50 a day last year. Most substitutes get no health insurance. Utah State reports that a majority of states only require a high school diploma for a substitute.

But the substitute teacher is a critically important educator. The Institute estimates that from kindergarten to high school graduation, students spend a full year with substitutes.

In L.A. and some other communities, substitute teachers belong to the educators' union—in L.A., it's United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), a joint NEA-AFT affiliate. Their pay and conditions are bargained collectively. That's why the pay package is attractive to people with strong credentials, says Leonard Segal, the substitutes' representative on the UTLA board of directors. Unfortunately, he adds, most local teachers' unions leave substitutes to fend for themselves.

Caucus president Provencio says a good contract requires that a substitute who works a certain number of days with one class be paid like a permanent teacher. That way, administrators are not tempted to fill positions with long-term substitutes.

Some unions have bargained training for substitutes into their contracts. In Wisconsin, the NEA-affiliated Wisconsin Education Association Council runs its own course for substitutes, covering everything from protecting yourself from blood-borne pathogens, to what to do when you can't find the permanent teacher's lesson plan. The course has graduated thousands since it was founded in 1996 with a grant from the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education. More than 150 have completed a new, online version.

Respect is another vital condition for getting and keeping good substitutes. "I wish more teachers understood that substitutes want to be treated like staff," says Dorothy Hearn, a substitute in Montgomery County, Maryland, who was a permanent teacher for six years. "There are times when you go into the staff room and nobody will talk to you." Other times, she does feel appreciated by teachers and by her students. Once, at the end of a day with a sixth-grade class, she'll never forget how "all of a sudden students started standing up. I thought there was some kind of trouble. Then they all started applauding!"

—Alain Jehlen

For more: Visit NEA Substitute Teachers Caucus; and the National Substitute Teachers Alliance. "Standing in Your Shoes," by Doug Provencio (NEA Professional Library), helps permanent teachers prepare for a substitute, and helps substitutes do their job well.

Resources

The NEA Foundation's June and September Grants

What creative ideas would you like to try in the classroom? How can you and your colleagues grow professionally?

Whatever your needs might be, The NEA Foundation's Innovation and Learning & Leadership Grants can help. Even though the school year is coming to a close, there's still time to get your application in by the June 1 review date. Or, if you're already looking ahead, the first review date of the new school year is September 15.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing, year-round basis, so it's never too late to apply. Grants fund activities for 12 months from the award date. NEA members just like you have applied for and received over a thousand grants throughout the years. Read about their projects and then submit your own idea. Innovation Grants and Learning & Leadership Grants are available for all subjects, including the arts, literacy, science, and technology.

All members who are practicing public school teachers in grades K–12, education support professionals, or higher education faculty and staff at public colleges and universities are encouraged to apply. We now offer bigger and better grants—up to $5,000 per project—to fund your BIG ideas.

Applying for a grant is easy, so why wait? Visit NFIE today for more information, including guidelines and an application, or call 202-822-7840.

Month of the Young Adolescent Art Contest

The National Middle School Association is seeking student artwork and writing for a 2004 Month of the Young Adolescent celebration. Art entries will be used on the group's poster and bookmark and winning essays will be featured in their online publication Expressions from the Middle, which features original artwork, short essays, and poems written by young adolescents (ages 10–15). To enter, artists must create an original piece that represents the theme "Expressions from the Middle," while writers should submit an original short essay or poem in less than 500 words using one of four provided topics.

Artwork used on the 2004 Month of the Young Adolescent poster will receive a $100 cash prize and entries selected to appear in the electronic publication will receive a $25 cash prize. Here's more information. The deadline for entries is June 4, 2004.

Community Grants from Target

Target offers grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 to community groups and schools in the areas of the arts, early childhood reading, and family violence prevention. Grant applications will be accepted at all Target stores between March 1 and May 31, 2004 (applications will be released starting March 1). Applications are reviewed as they are received and all funding decisions will be communicated no later than September 30, 2004.

National Geographic Society Teacher Grants

The National Geographic Society Education Foundation awards teachers grants to facilitate their work in the classroom, school, district, and community. Projects with an emphasis on cultural connections and that promote understanding of and respect for differences between cultures, as well as exploration of students' own heritage are preferred.

The Foundation encourages high-impact projects that engage students and encourage them to understand the power and relevancy of geographic skills, the uses of geography, and a spatial perspective. Teacher Grant applications are accepted in the spring from any current teacher or administrator in an accredited K–12 school within the United States or Canada.

Applications for the 2004–05 school year or summer 2005 must be received by close of business (5 p.m. ET) June 10, 2004. Awards will be announced by August 31, 2004.

Department of Education's Funding Forecast

If you've applied for a grant from the Department of Education, or are just thinking about applying, this site lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards for FY 2004. It provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The list consists of charts, organized according to the Department's principal program offices.

Note: The document is advisory only and is not an official application notice of the Department of Education. Updates will be provided to this document through July 2004.

Take Note

Reducing Class Size: A First Step

Educators know that smaller class sizes mean higher quality education, but how do you convince politicians of this all-important truth? The first step is gathering accurate data. In October 2003, NEA began requesting class size information from State Departments of Education, but this data collection is a new effort for many states. In order to collect, store, and disseminate "actual" class-size data—not just misleading pupil-teacher ratios—states may have to implement a data collection process requiring new computer software development, data collection scheduling, and minimal training of staff. A starting point for this process would be for state boards and legislatures to enact legislation authorizing collection of actual class size data.

What can you do to ensure that this happens?

• Contact your local and state school board representatives and legislators to let them know how important it is to develop a systematic way to capture actual class-size data throughout each state. This data would be reported to NEA each December, showing actual class sizes as of October 1 each year.
• Encourage legislators to draft legislation for accurate data collection. Legislation might read: "The state department of education of _______ shall collect class size data annually using the designated form and report such information to the Legislature no later than December 1 of each year. This statute shall be in full force and effect upon publication."

For more, contact Helen Pate-Bain at 251-540-7012, or Helen Wise at 814-422-8207 or visit the Reduce Class Size Now Web site.

Live Webcast on the Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary

On Monday, May 17, at 12 p.m., ET, NEA invites educators and students to watch a live Webcast on Court TV, a special 90-minute commemoration of the historic Supreme Court Decision, broadcast from Topeka, Kansas. Classrooms and schools nationwide are encouraged to log on to www.courttv.com/ brown to see the programs that include:

• interviews with education and government leaders—including NEA President Reg Weaver and Cheryl Brown Henderson, as well as actor Ossie Davis, among others
• a historical look at the legal proceedings, including taped interviews with individuals who played a key role in shaping the class-action suits, such as the Honorable Robert Carter
• a moderated discussion between students and high-ranking officials about the history of Brown v. Board of Education, the current state of public education, and solutions for closing the achievement and financial gaps.

Court TV will provide links to Brown v. Board of Education educational resources and will make 30- and 60-second interviews available for use in classrooms.

Technology in Education: What Do the Candidates Think?

As an education employee, you know the value of having up-to-date technology in schools. As a voter, it's up to you to help find out what this year's candidates think about this critical issue. How do you do that—and also raise the visibility of education technology in this election cycle? Start by visiting www.nctet.org, the Web site of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training, a nonpartisan coalition of education organizations and technology companies. The site offers suggestions on how to best contact candidates, a sample letter you can send to candidates, and supporting resources that demonstrate the effectiveness of technology in raising student achievement.

"Athough recent efforts have significantly raised the level of technology access in our schools," says NEA staffer and NCTET board member Barbara Stein, "many classrooms still appear to be relics of previous eras. All of our students deserve access to the tools that will help them succeed in this century."

Threshold Magazine

NEA collaborated with Cable In the Classroom to produce the spring issue of CIC's quarterly magazine, Threshold: Exploring the Future of Education. The issue focuses on the problem of teacher retention and includes articles that examine the root causes of America's "teacher shortage," what it takes to build a strong professional community that engages teachers, and an introduction co-authored by NEA President Reg Weaver and CIC's Peggy O'Brien.

Free Shakespeare Kits

The National Endowment for the Arts, as part of the Shakespeare in American Communities program, will provide 25,000 high school teachers with print, audio, and video resources to assist in teaching Shakespeare. The kit includes such items as a Shakespeare for All Time video, Teacher's Guide to Shakespeare's Life and Times, and a Teaching Shakespeare audio CD.

Banking Basics

Give students, from fourth grade to adult, money management skills with financial literacy lessons from Wells Fargo Bank. Educators can call 866-650-6228 to order the free CD-ROM "Hands on Banking/El futuro en tus manos," which contains commercial-free banking and financial management information and activities grouped by grade level and available in English and Spanish. The lessons meet national standards in math, literacy, and economics, and the program can be run on either a Windows-compatible or Macintosh computer. Accompanying teacher's guides, as well as the lessons themselves, can be found online at www.handsonbanking.com or www.elfuturoentusmanos.com.

Building Media Literacy

The Center for Media Literacy has created a MediaLit Kit for educators interested in helping students conquer media culture. Built around "five key questions" to use when evaluating media messages, such as determining the motive, content, or sender of the message, the kit also includes a collection of free handouts in PDF format, a free 25-page orientation guide for educators, and a series of eight laminated color classroom posters available for purchase.

Save Our History

The History Channel introduces Save Our History, its program to encourage local historical preservation. The program includes a free manual with a curriculum and activities for students in grades 2–12 relating to preserving historical landmarks and documenting oral history, among other projects. Anyone who participates in a Save Our History activity can receive a patch and a certificate from The History Channel.

Stopping Gun Violence

Coaches Against Gun Violence, a nationwide public education campaign of the Alliance for Justice, encourages high school coaches, athletic directors, principals, and educators from around the country to dedicate one game a season to the prevention of gun violence. To help with planning, Coaches Against Gun Violence has published a step-by-step organizing manual, Coach's Playbook: A Guide to Organizing a Game Dedication, to walk coaches through the steps in organizing a game dedication. Contact the Coaches Against Gun Violence staff at 866-347-7866 for more information.

In Print

What You Should Know

Living up to its ambitious title—What Every Teacher Should Know—this 10-volume set offers a concise, practical training curriculum for teachers, especially those seeking certification or re-certification. Each of the paperback books tackles a different topic, such as diverse learners, classroom management, student assessment, the profession and teaching politics, etc., and includes assessment pre- and post-tests, resources, and content for urban learners. Donna Walker Tileson, a 27-year veteran teacher, wrote the set. $149.95 for the set, $18.95 per volume from Corwin Press. To order, go to Corwin Press.

Grading Students with Disabilities

Solving the Grading Puzzle for Students with Disabilities is a much-needed assessment on how to determine the grades of students facing challenges. In this ground-breaking work, Dennis Munk evaluates the psychological, ethical, and practical complexities about grades. With numerous case studies and reproducible grading adaptation tools, this book equips readers with the skills necessary to render accurate, effective, and meaningful grading systems to students with disabilities. 191 pp. $34.95 from Knowledge by Design, Inc.

Assessing Students with Special Needs

A useful manual for general education teachers struggling with how to assess special education students, Classroom Assessment for Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings considers the whole child and provides a comprehensive guide to authentic, pragmatic assessment, as well as IEP planning and programming. The book covers a wide range of informal methods of evaluation, including how to develop, administer, score, interpret, and match results to the curriculum. Written in a user-friendly format by Cathleen G. Spinelli, this resource links theory to practice with real-life examples and gives detailed explanations regarding how, when, and why to assess. It is accompanied by an Instructor's Manual. 588 pp. $65 from Prentice Hall.

Help Kids Feel Safe

With the war in Iraq, the September 11 attacks, and Anthrax scares, students may be left feeling anxious. Feeling Safe, Talking to Children About War and Terrorism, is a Child Magazine guide for parents to help their children cope with frightening current events. Educators will also find the easy to read question and answer format helpful for their classrooms. Read how children in war torn countries keep peace of mind while the world around them is falling apart. 128 pp. $7.95.

Prayer for Rain

Written for ages 4–8, with bold and colorful art, Jeanette Winter's Elsina's Clouds tells how a young girl follows the traditions of her Southern African heritage. For generations Basotho women have decorated the walls of their houses as a prayer for rain, and now it's Elsina's turn to paint her first house and wait for the ancestors to hear her request. 40 pp. $16 from Frances Foster Books. To order, call 888-330-8477.

Making Baskets

Circle Unbroken by Margot Theis Raven portrays how the tradition of making sweetgrass baskets unites a family's past, present, and future. A grandmother shares the history of basket-making with her granddaughter, telling her the role this art form has played in the lives of their ancestors and the role it will play for the girl now that this wisdom has been imparted. 48 pp. $16 from Melanie Kroupa Books. To order, call 888-330-8477.

History with Primary Sources

Uncovering Our History: Teaching with Primary Sources offers practical ways to use a more direct method of teaching history. Author Susan H. Veccia introduces the Library of Congress's American Memory Web site and explains how teachers can navigate the information to learn when, where, and how to incorporate these online primary documents into their curriculum. 143 pp. $35 from The American Library Association. To order, call 866-746-7252 or visit www.alastore.ala.org.

On TV

Searching for Asian America

Photo by Martin Bautista

PBS, May 5, 10 p.m., ET, check local listings. This groundbreaking television series brings fresh and contemporary Asian-American stories to U.S. audiences in a 90-minute special. A co-production of NAATA (National Asian American Telecommunications Association, www.naatanet .org) and PBS affiliate KVIE (Sacramento), the series explores the lives of four very different individuals: Gary Locke, the Chinese-American governor of the state of Washington;

Martin Bautista and Jeffrey Lim, Filipino physicians living in rural Oklahoma, and Lela Lee, a young Korean-American actress and the creator of the popular Web comic "Angry Little Girls." Through the details of their lives, the program examines the larger universal issues of identity, family, work, citizenship, and community. Educators can find accompanying classroom materials.

In the Mix: Iraq Unplugged

PBS, May 1, check local listings for times. Witness a second videoconference exchange between a group of Iraqi teens from Baghdad and their peers from a Connecticut school just weeks after the Bush Administration declared an end to major combat in Iraq. This episode of In the Mix offers a unique insight on post-Saddam Iraq through the eyes of the teens who lived through the war. They openly talk about their experiences, their attitudes about the U.S. role, and their hopes for the future.

World Odysseys

Photo by Chris McLennan/DCI

TRAVEL, May 2 and 3, 2:30 a.m., ET. Explore New Zealand—a land of lush green pastures, active volcanoes, and geysers—in this 30-minute episode of the series that travels to different locations around the world to explore cultures, history, art, and nature. Can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.

Power Builders: Leaders and Cities

Discovery Channel, May 3, 9 a.m., ET. This packed show covers Europe's feudal system, the significance of St. Petersburg in Russia, the harsh working conditions in America described by Upton Sinclair in The Jungle, and the building of New York City—all in an hour. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.

The Golden Gate Bridge

PBS, May 3, 9 p.m., ET, check local listings. The bridging of San Francisco's Golden Gate is chronicled in this fascinating documentary using archival footage, interviews, and dramatic re-creation of events. The "Gate" refers to the mile-long opening in San Francisco harbor, where the rivers from the north meet the Pacific Ocean and where shipping is threatened by gale-force winds and dense fog. But engineer Joseph Strauss recruited exceptional talent to work on the team, including architect Irving Morrow, who contributed the column design and the bridge's unique color, "international orange." Strauss gave up his own design in favor of a rival's, Leon Moissieff, who conceived of a suspension bridge that could withstand the force of high winds. When the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in May 1937, it became known as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Investigative Reports

A&E, May 6, 7 a.m., ET. Take a look at the ever-increasing problem of obesity among America's kids and its consequences, ranging from diabetes to premature death in "The Supersized Generation: Kids and Obesity," part of a series hosted by Bill Kurtis and co-produced by A&E Network and the BBC. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for two years with teaching materials available at www.aetv.com/class.

Beyond Brown

PBS, May 12, check local listings for times. This show examines the impact of the Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, its achievements and shortcomings, as well as modern issues of student tracking, high-stakes testing, school financing, and busing.

Brown v. Board of Education: 50 Years Later—The Legacy of School Integration

NOGN, May 17, 9 p.m., ET, check local listings. This documentary examines the state of race relations and integration from a teen perspective by following a group of students as they try to eliminate the self-segregation present at their high school. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year. Teaching materials are available at www.courttv.com/choices.

TV Science Classics Weekend

The Science Channel, May 21 and continuing through the weekend, 8 p.m., ET, check local listings for individual show times. The Science Channel takes viewers back to the era of classic television, with a retro weekend marathon featuring some of television's most venerated science series. The weekend kicks off with a salute to Mr. Wizard, who first made science accessible to the masses through his weekly series that spanned two decades. Also featured are legendary series such as James Burke's Connections, The Ascent of Man, Walter Cronkite's Twenty-First Century, Secret Life of Machines, and The Day the Universe Changed. The marathon ends Monday, May 24, at 6 p.m.

National Geography Bee

National Geographic Channel, May 26, 5 p.m., ET. With the success of the documentary Spellbound, teachers may want to direct students to watch a similar endeavor on May 26. Some 15,000 elementary, middle, and junior high schools participated in the opening rounds of this competition earlier this year, and the top 10 in grades 4–8 will square off in front of live cameras at the National Geographic headquarters. Winner takes all—and a $25,000 college scholarship.

On TV listings are provided by KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D.C. and by Cable in the Classroom's Access Learning magazine.

[ Diversity Calendar ]

May

May 1–31—Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

The month to celebrate the collective accomplishments of Asian Pacific Americans, who include many ethnic groups with diverse histories, languages, and cultures. For more, visit the Asian Pacific Americans web site.

May 1–31—Better Hearing and Speech Month

A month to raise awareness about how to identify, prevent, and treat speech, language, and hearing disorders. Sponsored by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association..

May 1—Día del Trabajo

Mexico celebrates its labor day on this date, as do many other countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, and Costa Rica.

June

June 13—Race Unity Day

Sponsored by followers of the Bahá'í faith, this day promotes racial harmony and understanding and always takes place the second Sunday in June.

June 15—Magna Carta Day

On this day in 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta, which became known as the first charter of English Liberties. For more, visit the British Library.

June 19—Juneteenth

This day commemorates the emancipation of slaves in Texas by General Gordon Granger in 1865. Their emancipation came two-and-a-half years after slavery ended in other areas of the South.

Books by NEA Members

Mrs. Grimes Does Barbie and Other Kindergarten Adventures

By Ruth Wright

A retired veteran teacher shares stories from her more than 40 years of teaching in this often hilarious, often touching collection. Some stories are just plain funny, such as the cake decorating incident the book takes it title from; other stories stem from darker times and places, such as the Alaska hospital where Wright taught Eskimo children hospitalized with tuberculosis in the 1950s. All reveal a keen understanding of teaching and of children. 195 pp. $20.99 from Cabodolphin Books.

Auto Upkeep: Basic Car Care

By Michael E. Gray

Originally written for an automotive consumer course, this book walks students (and adults) through the fundamentals of car ownership: buying a car, choosing insurance, safely working around and on an automobile, paying expenses, and doing preventive maintenance and basic repair. Comprehensive, yet easy to read, the guide also includes a CD-ROM with activities for students and study questions. 106 pp. $23.95 from Rolling Hills Publishing. Educators receive a discount by ordering from the publisher.

E-Teaching: Creating Web Sites and Student Web Portfolios Using Microsoft PowerPoint

By Jay D'Ambrosio

Learn how to create, design, and publish your own Web site painlessly with a step-by-step method that doesn't rely on complex Web design software. This guide assumes readers have little or no prior knowledge of Web design and is therefore easily applied in the classroom. Part One focuses on Web design using PowerPoint, while Part Two gives information on assisting students in creating their own sites to use as electronic portfolios. An ancient civilizations teacher, the author has won awards for two of his Web site designs. 120 pp. $44.95 from Linworth Publishing or call 800-786-5017.

The Physical Educator's Big Book of Sport Lead-up Games

By Guy Bailey

More than 240 games fill this book—all designed to help children develop skills important to performing a variety of team and lifetime sports. Arranged by major sport and clearly labeled for grade level, the book is user-friendly, includes a glossary for each section, and written by an experienced physical educator and coach. Games include "Three-team Basketball," "Outside Billiards," and "Push-up Hockey." 316 pp. $29.95 from Educators Press or call 800-431-1579.

See more books by NEA Members.

On The Web

Consumer Info for Students

A quick stop provides several classroom activities that the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) has put together to introduce students to the wealth of consumer information available on the Web. For example, The Consumer Scavenger Hunt sends middle school students on a hunt for basic consumer information, while The Car Chase Scene tunes high school students in to the true cost of owning a car. Teachers can also use the FCIC's information to create activities tailored to their students.

BookPALS

Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools (PALS), a program of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation brings us BookPALS, a collection of digital videos available via an online streaming digital program that feature well-known actors reading popular children's books. Readers include former Senator and Presidential candidate Al Gore and The Lord of The Rings' Elijah Wood. Additional activities and lesson plans accompany each 10-minute video.

Sign Language Tutor

Learning sign language has become easier with a new online database. MySignLink is a searchable online sign language dictionary with more than 17,000 English words. Developed by AASD Media/Technology, the program links words to nearly 2,500 video clips showing signs in action. Just type in a word, click ok, and watch a short video of the corresponding sign.

Test Your News Knowledge

Newsmania is an interactive news game for kids ages 5–14. Students may test their knowledge of current events, headlines in history, sports, and entertainment through three levels of difficulty. When they score 70 points or higher, they are awarded an all-access "Press Pass" that can be printed from the Web.

An American Tradition

Baseball: As American as Apple Pie is an annotated collection of Library of Congress resources about America's pastime. The site includes early baseball pictures, baseball songs and stories, baseball cards, online lesson plans for high school students, and letters by Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play major league baseball.

FBI Youth

Invite students to take the "special agent challenge." Through the site, they can spend a day in the life of an FBI employee, follow a case through the FBI lab, learn about investigations throughout the world, and read up on FBI history.

Online Science-athon

This site invites elementary and middle-grade students to discover the science in their daily lives. Presented as various challenges, the science-athon asks students to investigate their world in ways that are engaging and easy for educators to incorporate into their teaching. Each activity generates class data that are submitted to a central database, and questions are produced from the student-generated information.

Bug Your Students

Students can learn about common household pests and how to prevent them from entering their homes by logging on to PestWorld for Kids. Created by the National Pest Management Association, the site gives information on pest behavior via interactive learning games and lesson plans for grades K–5.

[ Read Across America ]

Read with a Hero

Looking for another way to connect your school with community members and provide students an opportunity to share reading with adults? Participate in the "Read With a Hero" program.

The "Read With a Hero" program was created by teachers in Lafayette, Indiana, to honor the memory of the heroes who lost their lives, as well as those who came to the aid of thousands on and after September 11, 2001.

Now an annual event held on September 11, "Read With a Hero" honors the local heroes that are a part of every community (including police officers, EMTs, firefighters, military personnel, veterans, and others) by inviting them to read to students in classrooms. Local heroes can share stories about bravery and courage with students in your school and can also demonstrate to schoolchildren that courage and bravery comes in many forms and many walks of life.

Mark your calendars now for Read With a Hero Day.

Heads Up From NEA Member Benefits

Where Your Hospitalization Insurance Leaves Off—the NEA MemberCare® In-Hospital Plan Picks Up!

Anyone who's borne the cost of a hospital admission knows that even the best medical plans don't pay for everything. It's the hidden costs—like deductibles, television and telephone charges, travel and parking fees, extra childcare, and pet boarding expenses—that can catch you unawares.

The NEA In-Hospital Plan is designed to help pay these unanticipated expenses. Sign up for guaranteed coverage and choose a $20 to $120 per day benefit amount. No matter how much you receive from your hospitalization insurance, you get the full daily benefit amount for each qualifying day you're in the hospital. Learn more about the NEA In-Hospital Plan by calling 800-637-4636.

Life Insurance...

...is all about protecting the future well-being of our loved ones, and the NEA Members Insurance Trust® has made it even easier for members and their families to obtain comprehensive coverage.

Spouses can now apply for up to 100 percent or more* of the member's coverage amount on the NEA Preferred Term Life plan, and up to 100 percent on the NEA Term Life Insurance plan. And the age cap on applying for the Preferred Term Life has been extended from 70 to 80 years of age. More good news—a medical exam isn't even required for the NEA Term Life Insurance and Guaranteed Issue Life plans!

Act now to increase your family's security. Visit the NEA Member Benefits' web site.
*In most states

What's Up at HIN

HIV/AIDS is Still at Work

With more people living and working with HIV, the workplace is aggressively addressing discrimination, return-to-work, and employee morale issues associated with the disease. To help, HIN, along with the CDC-sponsored Business and Labor Responds to AIDS Initiative, has developed a Web site where you will find information and tools to assist you in making your workplace a safe and productive environment for everyone. Check out www.hivatwork.com or www.neahin.org/programs/reproductive/index.htm#hivaids for more information.

NEA Scores a Win for Gun Safety!

NEA and HIN scored a victory for school and community safety in March after collaborating with police chiefs, sheriffs, hunters, PTA leaders, and educators to support measures that fight gun crime. In the groundbreaking win, the U.S. Senate approved amendments to renew the assault weapons ban and make gun show sales safer before the underlying bill was defeated. The assault weapons ban, prohibiting the manufacture of specific military style, semi-automatic guns, will expire in September unless Congress takes further action. The amendment to close the gun show loophole would require unlicensed sellers at gun shows to make the same safety checks as licensed sellers. Learn more about the HIN Gun Safety Project.

State Association Crisis Response Team Training

Is your state Association ready to assist members who experience a traumatic event? The California Teachers Association will host a training for Association staff from any state interested in serving on a Crisis Response Team, May 11–14, at CTA headquarters in Burlingame. Training will be delivered by experienced staff from HIN and other state Associations and Marleen Wong, M.S.W., whom the Wall Street Journal identified as one of the "architects" of school safety programs. Here's more information.

Share Your Story in RA Today!

Are you a 2004 RA delegate with an interesting or inspirational story around an important health issue? If so, HIN wants to share it in an issue of RA Today! Stories around health issues such as indoor air quality, bullying and harassment, mental health, cancer, physical activity/nutrition, sexual health, or crisis response are welcomed. If you would like to participate or know of someone that may be interested, please contact Kristy Grammer or call 202-822-7729 on or before May 14.

Memory Lane

Dream OR Nightmare?

Promenade Down Memory Lane

If your school turns into Rydell High before every prom, you may feel like you've all seen Grease one time too many. Are your students frantic about finding a date? Worried about what they're going to wear? Too stunned by what it's going to cost to concentrate on algebra? Teach them that x (ex-prom date) plus y (why did I spend a fortune on my dress/tux?) doesn't have to equal a disastrous prom night. NEA members courageously share their own prom stories as living proof that there is a morning after.

A One-Act Tragedy, 1989

Couple stands in line for pictures. It's his school's prom on a Friday night. Her prom is Saturday, but she's decided to go to only one: Saturday morning's track meet and two dances might be too much. Her friend enters and excitedly approaches the couple.

Friend (to girl): Hi! Wow, that dress is beautiful! Is that the same one you're wearing tomorrow night for our prom?

Cut to shot of boy who suddenly realizes his date is going to two proms, but only one with him. Cut to shot of girl whose face strangely matches the emerald green of her dress. Fade out as oblivious friend walks away.

John Hayward
Communications Art Teacher
Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Illinois

Ooops! 1991

White dress, white shoes, white gloves, white stockings, and RED punch! Luckily, I was cheap and didn't spend a lot of money on my dress.

Stacy Paleen
Math Teacher
Park High School, Cottage Grove, Minnesota

Who Are You? 1967

The week before my prom, I showed my long, pink gown to long-haired Paul. He showed me his black tux. When Paul came to take me to the prom, I literally fell down the stairs when I saw he was not only bald, but wearing a red tuxedo!

Barbara Rice
Japanese Language Teacher
Clarkston High School, Clarkston, Michigan

A Date Is a Date, 1976

Spring 1976. U.S. government class. As we wait for class to start, I complain to a friend that no one has asked me to my junior prom. Suddenly, the nice, but slightly geeky, guy who sits in front of me asks if I'd like to go with him. I pause for only a minute before accepting; a date is a date.

Fast-forward to another spring day when out of the blue the same boy calls the same girl to see how life has treated her. They haven't spoken in 19 years. This time the magic happens. In December, I will have been married to my junior prom date for six years.

Vicky Rossander
Computer Science Teacher
Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa

Happy at Home, 1972

Mine was the prom that wasn't. Back when you needed a date to fit in, I asked two girls and was turned down by both, the second laughing heartily in my face at the fact I'd asked her in the first place. It turned out my best friend had landed in the soup, too, and we both spent the night eating a deluxe pizza, watching our favorite NBA team, and saving hundreds of dollars apiece! Epilogue: We both survived to marry, have children, and lead normal, healthy, productive lives. I often tell this story to stressed-out teenagers who are trying to find boutonnieres and corsages, rushing to appointments at the beauty parlor, and wondering how they're going to look to their friends.

Thomas M. Sobottke
World/U.S. History
Mukwonago High School, Mukwonago, Wisconsin

Prom 101 Shelly Fryer's "Economics of Prom" class has become a big hit with the students at South High School in Torrance, California. Students look forward to the spring project all year long, when they learn how to prepare prom budgets that cover attire, transportation, tickets, accessories, and any other expenses that might come up on the big night. "Depending on what region of the country you're from," says Fryer, "proms can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars." Fryer decided to teach the class when she realized how many of her students were being "taken for a ride" around prom time, like renting unlicensed limos that took the kids' money but didn't show up. Fryer also gives an electronic slide presentation on prom etiquette, safety, sobriety, and safe sex. Students say the lessons they learn in the class help them make better decisions at prom time. Looking for prom advice to share with your students? Check out Fryer's Web site. You can also visit www.promadvice.com.

Fool for Love, 1966

I spent the entire night of my prom sitting at my girlfriend's kitchen table drinking coffee with her mother while in the back bedroom all my girlfriend could do was scream and cry about her hair. It was after midnight before she came out of the bedroom!

James Bauernfeind
Criminal Justice Teacher
Mt. Juliet High School, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee

A Night To Remember, 2003

With the help of teachers, parents, chaperones, and other benefactors, all 13 students from my life skills support class were able to attend their senior prom last year. Many of my students come from "financially challenged" homes, and attending the prom was a once in a lifetime opportunity. With $1,000 from a mini-grant, we arranged for limousines through a connection with a local business, received a big discount on tuxedo rentals, and either purchased gowns or used gowns donated by volunteers. The kids absolutely loved the prom. For everyone involved, it was a night to remember.

Eileen Karwaski
Life Skills Support Teacher
Marple Newtown High School, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

Hopelessly Devoted, 1959

The cutie in blue is his date We in white friends
Who’d wished him our mate.
Lust and love had divided us
But this night united
One prom picture
could we create.

Joan Strasser
Resource specialist Grant Elementary School,
Richmond, California

All's Well that Ends Well, 1970

I was a "nerd." I didn't know you were supposed to plan where to sit before the prom or make dinner reservations for afterward. Luckily, my date and I found a table at the prom and a restaurant with an available table afterwards. In the car while driving home, he said, "Here!" and threw me his high school ring. Thirty-four years later, he's a bit more romantic; I get flowers weekly. But, more important, he cleans dishes and bathrooms!

Sue Ptak
Kindergarten teacher
Bryant School, Harvey, Illinois

Carrie: The Sequel, 1966

It wasn't quite Carrie, but it was a fear-filled night. I didn't know anyone at my date's school--with one exception: her former boyfriend. He had previously indicated his displeasure when he arranged for his brother to drive me home one night with a thinly veiled threat to my health. I spent the entire prom looking over my shoulder, totally convince that night would be my last. Fortunately, I was saved, and some years later, she and I were married.

Maurice J. Moran, Jr.
English/Theater Arts/Video Teacher
Verona High School, Verona, New Jersey

Get Shorty, 1986

My date was shorter than me--and sensitive about it. His first words on prom night were, "You're too tall." On HIS feet, however, were scruffy sneakers. His formal shoes hurt, he explained. I spent the prom slouching, trying to look shorter, while my date danced comfortably in sneakers!

Diana Gano
Chemistry Teacher
CB West High School, Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Better Late Than Never 1980

"What!" my sister screamed the morning of my prom. She was upset because my date had the nerve to wait until the day of the prom to ask me to go and I accepted. I wore a borrowed bridesmaid's dress (my sister's) and had a wonderful evening. To this day, my sister can't quite forgive her brother-in-law.

Mary Barron-Traut
Language Arts/English Teacher
Apollo High School, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Prom Fiasco, 1988

My junior prom was a disaster even before it started. One week before the prom, my boyfriend asked another girl to go as his date, so I asked a coworker, whose girlfriend was not pleased and spied on us from outside (I didn't even know he had one!) As I dressed, I found a mysterious, large stain on the front of my dress. Flowers from my corsage left an even bigger stain on my borrowed dress. There was no room at my friends' table, so we sat with strangers, who were unsympathetic when I broke a heel during the only song I danced to. Afterwards, I broke two toes playing miniature golf barefoot, in my second-hand frock with my back-up date.

Jill Ocone
English Teacher
Manchester Township High School, Manchester, New Jersey

President's Viewpoint