Last week, more than 275 educators from around the country convened at the first PARCC Educator Leader Cadre meeting, held in Chicago. Over the course of three days, the educators participated in state team lunch meetings, English- and math-specific workshops, additional plenary sessions, and a panel discussion – all for the purpose of developing ELC members’ expertise on the Common Core State Standards and leading them in the implementation of the standards in their states.

Educators in attendance were also encouraged to share their experiences online. Below are a few examples:

• Rhode Island school administrator Jay R. Masterson is starting a series of posts on his personal blog about what he learned at the meeting. Over the next three weeks, he will post relevant information for other teachers about mathematics and the new PARCC assessment. Follow him on Twitter @JayRMasterson

• Boston-area math teacher and LTF Trainer Darren Burris has been chronicling PARCC activity for a while now on his blog PARCC in Massachusetts, but in the wake of the ELC meeting, he has been posting specific information about the PARCC assessment system. Follow him on Twitter @dgburris

• On her blog, I Teach Bay, Char Shryock, the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Bay Village City Schools in Ohio offers a more personal view of the conference by sharing her experiences as they had happened last week. Follow her on Twitter @edtechgirl

I hope you enjoy these posts, and if you attended the ELC meeting and blogged about it too, please share your stories with us! We would love to highlight your adventures and information here on the LTF Blog. 

Laying the Foundation will soon be bringing its teacher development program and teaching strategies to the elementary level (grades 3-5), and leading this movement is Freddie Kendrick, director of elementary content and development.

With a rich background in educational leadership that ranges from science facilitator for the Arlington Independent School District to Irving Independent School District’s staff development coordinator, Freddie is prepared to expand LTF’s rigor and training to the foundational levels. “To ensure college and career readiness, we want to have students on the proper trajectory from the beginning,” she says.

Freddie believes that by exposing elementary teachers and students to LTF Training and by using an integrated and systematic approach to further implement Common Core, LTF will empower young students to become critical thinkers, which she believes will have a positive impact on educational programs and student outcomes.

“I want to create an addition to the Laying the Foundation program that is a recognizably valuable building block for the Pre-AP and AP programs,” she says.

To meet these goals, for the remainder of this summer LTF plans to conduct needs assessments and form a network of focus groups, which will aid in the development of an integrated framework for the elementary grade levels. This framework will reflect the Common Core State Standards and serve as the bridge to Pre-AP and AP courses. From there, LTF will use the gathered data to systematically develop the training and curriculum materials needed for participating schools.

Freddie is excited about the opportunity to bring her expertise in elementary education to the LTF team. “Working with educators is a true pleasure,” she says. “Learning from and sharing with others energizes me.”

Welcome, Freddie!

This week is the 2012 AP Annual Conference, the country’s largest gathering of AP and Pre-AP communities. During the four days of workshops, panel discussions, presentations, and exhibits, educators will sharpen their skills and develop innovative strategies to use in their classrooms.

One of the major organizations involved with this year’s Orlando-area conference is the National Math and Science Initiative. Several NMSI representatives will be leading sessions on critical topics such as closing the achievement gap and bridging the gap between Pre-AP and AP courses. NMSI will also have a booth at the conference – Booth 305 – and representatives at the booth will be giving away free lessons.

Here are the sessions in which NMSI members are participating or directing:

Thursday, July 19: 1:15pm – 2:30pm

Equity & Access Colloquium: Underrepresented Students and Closing the Achievement Gap

Southern Hemisphere, Dolphin

Dale Fleury, National Math and Science Initiative

Mary Bohem, A+ College Ready, Alabama

Tommie Sue Anthony, Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science 

Mort Orlov, Massachusetts Mass and Science Initiative 

Persistent gaps in student achievement and participation in rigorous college readiness courses suggest that we are not preparing all of our students to be able to participate in the 21st century global economy. This session will discuss the "Elements Of Success" utilized by the six "pioneer states" of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) over the past three years to dramatically increase participation and success of traditionally underrepresented students in AP math, science, and English courses.

Friday, July 20: 10:45am - Noon

Using Social Media to Improve AP Writing

Dolphin-Ballroom Level-Northern Hemisphere-A2

Aubrey Ludwig, Fairfax County Public Schools, McLean, Virginia
Emily Richardson, Naperville North High School, Chicago, Illinois

Educating digital natives in the AP classroom requires that technology not be a novelty but be used to create meaningful writing, critical thinkers and global citizens. Learning multiple applications and technologies for classroom use can be harrowing for both teacher and student. In this session, participants examine Schoology, the social networking and learning management application, as well as the microblogging platform Tumblr. They explore model posts and pages that synthesize student writing and create classroom collaboration. By the session’s end, participants gain a working knowledge of both programs and develop a series of practices to improve student writing.

Saturday, July 21: 10:45am - Noon

Bridging the Gap Between Pre-AP and AP Courses

Dolphin-Lobby Level-Asia 2

Paulette Granger, NASA, Houston, Texas
Curtis Brown, Laying The Foundation, Dallas, Texas

Participants examine strategies for the Pre-AP Algebra I class that help to bridge the gap between Algebra I and AP Statistics. Participants review an Algebra I lesson developed by NASA and other educational specialists to show how AP concepts can be introduced in a Pre-AP class. The lesson uses real NASA data, which students can apply to high school math content that aligns to both National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and Common Core State Standards requirements. Participants are directed to numerous classroom-ready lessons.

Saturday, July 21: 2:45pm – 4:00pm

Underrepresented Students and Closing the Achievement Gap

Swan-Lobby Level-Swan 9-10

Dale Fleury, National Math and Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas
Joanne Lang, Advance Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Mary Boehm, A+ College Ready, Birmingham, Alabama
Cam Vautour, Project Opening Doors, Hampton, Connecticut
Paul Nichols, Virginia Advanced Study Strategies, Williamsburg, Virginia
Mort Orlov, Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts
Tommie Sue Anthony, Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science, Little Rock, Arkansas

Persistent gaps in student achievement and participation in rigorous college readiness courses suggest that we are not preparing all of our students to be able to participate in the 21st-century global economy. This session discusses the Elements of Success utilized by the six pioneer states of the National Math and Science Initiative over the past three years to dramatically increase the participation and success of traditionally underrepresented students in AP math, science and English courses.

Genes may affect behaviors linked to academic success. In a recent study released by the APA, researchers identify three genes that are linked to behaviors that can potentially influence educational achievement.

Higher standards, lower scores. Passing rates on the new STAAR exam were lower than expected; however, the TEA shows pass rates would have held steady had students taken the TAKS exam instead.

Brighter futures predicted. Thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, undocumented students brought into the country as youth are granted a “deferment of removal proceedings for two years, with the possibility of renewal.”

Education and health care. Part of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act is likely to have direct implications for education and could open the door for lawsuits related to the requirements attached to federal funding.

Paying it forward. Community-owned power company Austin Energy plans to let users contribute $1 of their utility bill to go toward the electric bills of the eight school districts it serves.

More college graduates. The U.S. Department of Education has released updated numbers showing a half a percentage point increase in the number of 25-34 year olds who hold some kind of postsecondary degree from 2009 to 2010.

Click here if you would like to subscribe to our email updates.

Need something to do during the last month of summer break? From now until August 26, Udacity – an online education provider – is hosting a challenge for high school students across the nation to see who can complete the most courses. All of Udacity’s courses focus on STEM subjects such as programming and physics, and you can find a full course listing here.

“The challenge is all about learning,” says Professor Sebastian Thrun, co-founder of Udacity. “You get to learn something new and really exciting... and not just learn for yourself, but get other people to learn something online.”

The winners of the challenge will receive a free trip to Silicon Valley and a ride in a self-driving car (however, an alternate prize will be determined if the winners are unable to travel).

For those interested, here are the rules listed on the company website:

• If you are a high school (secondary school) student, pair up with a friend from your school. You two will be the team leaders (having a co-leader is optional).
• Visit the Udacity contest page, sign up, and create your team name.
• Sign up as many people as you can to take online college classes with you. These can be classmates, relatives, and even your teachers. You'll have a special code for the sign-up so that your team members can identify themselves as members of your team and get your team credit.
• Recruit your friends and encourage your team members to recruit their friends too.
• Your team members then take as many classes as they wish; all courses are free. Any course unit that is successfully completed before August 26 will count as one point for your team. The goal is to get as many points as you can!

Supporting the contest is Battelle, the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization, along with The Conrad Foundation’s Spirit of Innovation Challenge.

All of the classes provided by Udacity are as demanding as college-level courses, and they are completely free – you don’t even have to purchase a textbook. Everything you need to complete the course is available online.

So what are you waiting for? Join the challenge! It’s never too late to achieve success.