Dear Catholic Secondary School Educator:

Welcome to the November edition of E-News! This newsletter is brought to you by the Secondary Schools Department with generous support from FACTS. The information supplied in this newsletter aims to inform Catholic high school administrators, faculty, staff, and students on professional development opportunities, curriculum resources, and relevant news stories. Please contact Christiane Connors at cconnors@ncea.org  with any newsworthy information about your school community’s development that may benefit your colleagues across the country.

This edition of E-News features:

Department Updates

• LAST Call for Department award nominations
• Call for new regional associate applications
• Membership renewal drive
• Online resource library

Curriculum Opportunities

• Top-pick online resources for Education Technology coordinators and instructors
• Host a teacher of a foreign language teacher and receive $5,000 from the State Department funded Teachers of Critical Languages Program.
• Smithsonian Institution’s Global Sounds offers first-class educational materials to teach and promote cultural understanding through music
• Is someone at your school a pro at integrating Google’s geospatial tools in curriculum?  If so, encourage them to apply to Google’s Ancient Rome 3D Curriculum Competition!

Professional Development Opportunities

• Agents of Positive Change: A Leadership Conference for Deans and Administrators Responsible for Student Affairs and School Culture, San Francisco, CA, February 11 to 13, 2009
• Special Needs Learners conference, Charleston, SC, January 18 to 20, 2009
• Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education
• Moody's Mega Math Challenge offers high schools in New England and Mid-Atlantic states up to $80,000 in scholarship prizes
• The Catholic School Leadership Institute 2009

Public Policy Update

• NCEA’s Presidential election education position
• Information about Department of Education resources and policy regarding E-Rate and technology instruction

In Other News

• Private School Students Exceed National ACT Averages
• A new Emergency Preparedness Project Toolkit available for high school students 
• Student-run bank in New Jersey teaches teens to manage money
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation unveils new plans to expand education initiatives in the United States
• Art mixes well with marine science while sea creatures come alive in student work to teach science

Department Updates

Take full advantage of NCEA’s professional development opportunities and register today for a conference.  Also, check out the Department’s instructional leadership publications.

LAST Call for Department Award Nominations: Every year the Department recognizes five to six outstanding secondary school educators.  These awardees are nominated by someone in their school based on their contributions to the school community.  Past recipients have included teachers, administrators, coaches, directors and individuals who reflect the promise of Catholic education today and into the future.  The nomination guidelines and application are on the Department webpage.  Nominations must be received by Tuesday, December 2, 2008.

Call for new regional associate applications:  The Department requests members to consider submitting an application to become a regional associate.  The deadline is January 5, 2009.  Regional associate position is integral to the NCEA’s mission to provide a clear and audible voice for Catholic education.  Regional associates help the Department function in so many ways and their involvement in turn keeps them in tune with national Catholic education concerns.  Apply online today!

Membership renewal drive: If you haven't done so already, it is time to renew your NCEA membership for 2009.  In addition to our national convention on April 14 – 16, 2009 in Anaheim, California, NCEA sponsors a number of conferences and workshops to meet a variety of your needs. We are also proud to offer a varied selection of timely publications, assistance in areas such as faculty faith formation, and support for administrators and leaders in Catholic education. For more information, please visit our website at /membership/index.asp

Online resource library: In keeping with its strategic plan, the Department proposes a new member benefit by creating an online resource library.  The online resource library will facilitate the sharing of knowledge, best practices and quality initiatives among Department members from across the country.  The Department recognizes that its members represent rich and diverse sources of ideas and information and with the proposed online resource library, the Department will maximize the exchange of ideas among members.  The online resource library will expand the Department’s in-house efforts by creating easy access to externally produced resources.  Look for more information about this exciting new member service in the next NCEA NOTES newsletter.

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Curriculum Opportunities

Education Week recently featured top pick resources for Educational Technology coordinators in their fall 2008 edition of Digital Directions:

1. http://www.thesnorkel.org/: The Snorkel features a “Tech Leaders Toolkit” that links educators to general ways to use school technology effectively.  This site is full of useful and free information including: freeware and shareware tools; online articles, tools, and a listserv of experts in the edtech field; an anti-spyware guide and more.
2. www.newtechfoundation.org: New Technology Foundation is for educators interested in technology-driven project-based learning.  This site helps instructors integrate collaborative, tech-driven teaching and testing techniques.  It also features model schools across the country that have successfully incorporated project-based technology instruction.
3. www.teachertube.com: TeacherTube features a YouTube-like interface that allows teachers to share class projects, lesson plans and other classroom activities via video.  Video rankings and comments help teachers filter through the high-volume of sharing. 

Smithsonian Institution’s Global Sounds offers educational materials to teach and promote cultural understanding through music:  Discover this treasure chest of free tools, ideas and resources for educators to inspire students with music from around the world.  These resources will enhance any history, geography, language arts, social studies, visual arts and of course, music and dance course!  Explore Smithsonian Global Sound’s offerings at http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/teaching_activities.aspx.
BONUS: Nobel Voices for Disarmament, 1901-2001, is a stirring collection of recordings by prominent advocates for peace during the 20th century.  For a limited time, online listeners can stream the entire album or individual tracks free, plus download lesson plans to accompany Nobel Voices. 

Google’s Ancient Rome 3D Curriculum Competition: While Google's suite of geospatial tools--Earth, Maps, SketchUp, and Sky--are used daily around the world by educators hoping to bring a fresh perspective to lessons, every once in a while a new product feature comes along that we believe will knock the socks off teachers and students alike! The Ancient Rome 3D Curriculum Competition invites K-12 educators in the United States to highlight their creativity and technical know-how by combining this brand new Google Earth content with classic classroom curricula. Curricula from all grade levels and K-12 subject areas including art history, math, social studies, physics, and philosophy are welcome. Teachers submitting the top sixexamples alone or in teams will be honored as Google educators online and enjoy amazing prize packages.  Get started by following these steps:

1. Explore the new Ancient Rome 3D layer
2. Build your curriculum in any electronic format
3. Register individually or as a team
4. Upload your entry before February 9, 2009

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Professional Development Opportunities

Special Needs Learners conference, Charleston, SC, January 18 to 20, 2009:

Agents of Positive Change: A Leadership Conference for Deans & Administrators Responsible form Student Affairs & School Culture, San Francisco, February 11 to 13, 2009: Deans and administrators of student affairs have the daunting task of shaping a school’s culture. While the challenges and rewards associated with this role are many, these administrators must respond to situations as they occur while thinking quickly and critically about decisions with lasting consequences.  This leadership conference will allow leaders in these administrative positions to develop innovative ways to address school culture, discipline, policies, technology, and much more at this interactive and resource-rich conference. Participants will learn about leadership techniques that will help his or her school meet the intellectual and social development needs of their students. 
Meet the facilitators!  Check out the draft agenda!  Register for this conference!

Applications for the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education Due December 1, 2008.  The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society are seeking applications for the 2008 Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education.  The prize program was created in 2003 to raise awareness of the growing importance of international knowledge and skills for U.S. students and annually awards prizes totaling $150,000 in five different categories. Applications are being accepted in the following four categories: elementary/middle school, high school, district/state, and media/technology prizes.  Applications are due Monday, December 1, 2008.  Don’t miss this incredible opportunity for your school, state/district, or organization to win $25,000!  For more information and to access the online application, please visit http://asiasociety.org/gsfprizes.

Applications to host an exchange teacher of a critical foreign language in the 2009-10 school year are now available:  The American Councils administers the Teachers of Critical Languages Program through the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  In the past, Catholic high schools have participated in this program with stunning results.  Applications are welcomed from all schools in the U.S., secondary and elementary, public or private, and those with critical foreign language programs and those developing them.  In all cases, TCLP provides a range of benefits to enable schools to implement their visions for their foreign language programs.  It provides exchange teachers' monthly stipends (over $2500 net/month), health insurance, J-1 visa support, round-trip airfare, and a $300 professional development fund so they can purchase materials for their US classroom.  Additionally, participating schools receive access to $5000 grant opportunities to initiate foreign language projects, and American Councils provides substantive, integrated, and extended training to its exchange teachers before, during, and after their academic year of service.  This is an opportunity not to miss.  Download applications at www.tclprogram.org, or contact Benjamin Dunbar at Dunbar@americancouncils.org.

Moody's Mega Math Challenge offers high schools in New England and Mid-Atlantic states up to $80,000 in scholarship prizes: Online registration for the 2009 Moody's Mega Math (M3) Challenge, an Internet-based applied mathematics contest open to high school juniors and seniors in states from Maine to Washington, D.C, is now open. High schools in eligible areas may register up to two teams of three, four, or five juniors and/or seniors with one teacher serving as the team's coach. Conducted annually by The Moody's Foundation and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) as part of their shared commitment to increasing students' interest in studying and pursuing careers in applied mathematics, the M3 Challenge spotlights applied mathematics as a powerful problem-solving tool, as a vital contributor to advances in an increasingly technical society, and as a viable and exciting profession. For more information, visit http://m3challenge.siam.org/.   

The Catholic School Leadership Institute 2009:  Open to both high school and elementary school personnel, the Institute provides ongoing formation and support for new principals and at the same time reinvigorates those experienced principals who have faced the daily challenges of administration. Those teachers who are considering the ministry of administration have found the program a valuable opportunity to share their ideas and learn from those who are already in administration. The Institute will be held at Vallombrosa Retreat and Conference Center in Menlo Park, CA (between San Francisco and San Jose) beginning at 4:00 p.m. June 29 and ending at noon on July 1, 2009.  Institute site, brochure and application available at: /departments/elementary/CatholicSchoolLeadershipInstitute.asp.

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Public Policy Update

NCEA’s Presidential election education position: “From the earliest settlements of this country, Catholic schools have served the common good of the nation and will continue to do so in a manner which recognizes that all children have an inalienable right to a quality education that is responsive to the rights of parents as the primary educators of their children.  In 1925, the United States Supreme Court, in Pierce v. Society of Sisters, established as a fundamental principle of liberty that the child is not the mere creature of the state and excluded any general power of the state to force children to attend public institutions, consequently upholding the right of parents to choose other means of educating their children.  As Catholic educators, the NCEA membership believes that all children are entitled to attend any school, religious, private or public, which will help them to achieve their full potential and that such choice is a universal parental right regardless of race, creed, neighborhood or the ability to pay.”  Read the full statement online.

Information about Department of Education resources and policy regarding E-Rate and technology instruction: At the recent CACE (Chief Administrators of Catholic Education) Conference, two funding related issues surfaced and generated requests for additional information/materials.

1.  Federal Programs Update:
Two highly recommended booklets from the US Department of Education are available to principals at no cost. They are (1) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Benefits to Private School Students and Teachers, and (2) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Provisions Related to Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools.  Both publications provide concise information that has proven to be very helpful during consultation sessions with local public school officials.  Order free copies at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/index.html

2.  Outline for E-Rate and Technology Plan Applications:
HR 6356 - Barton, Joe (R-TX) is a bill, that among other changes, would transfer responsibility for the administration of the E-rate program from the current USAC to the US Department of Education.  Such a change would require consultation with local public school officials similar to the requirements already in place for No Child Left Behind and IDEA.  The bill was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on June 24, 2008.  To date no further action has occurred.  (Several participants in the workshop expressed concern about such a change and are interested in tracking the progress, if any, of the bill).
Questions or comments can be directed to Sr. Suzanne Bellenoit at sbellenoit@usccb.org, 202-541-3148 or to Sr. Dale McDonald at dmcdonald@ncea.org, 202.337.6232.

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In Other News

Private School Students Exceed National ACT Averages:  The Council for American Private Education (CAPE)recently reported that on average, non-public school students are significantly better prepared for college-level coursework than public schools.  Based on data compiled by ACT, “79 percent of 2008 graduates of religious and independent schools who took the ACT met or surpassed the test’s college readiness benchmark score in English, compared to 67 percent of ACT-tested public school graduates.”  Read the full report on CAPE’s newsletter.

Is your school ready for an emergency?  The America Public Health Association has recently compiled an Emergency Preparedness Project Toolkit for high school students. This resource is related to its "Get Ready" public education campaign (www.getreadyforflu.org), which seeks to help individuals, families and communities prepare for public health emergencies such as natural disasters and pandemic influenza. Contact Nicky Bassford at nicky.bassford@apha.org, 202-777-2513 or check out the toolkit at: http://www.getreadyforflu.org/clocksstocks/GetSetHighSchoolKit.pdf

Student-run bank teaches teens to manage money: “In an effort to help educate young people about financial planning and to introduce Newark students…to careers in finance, Capital One opened a bank branch at West Side High School today.”  Read the full article by Kasi Addison of The Star-Ledger.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation unveiled new plans to expand education initiatives in the United States.  “A year and a half ago, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation asked itself a question: What else, besides the foundation's work in education, should it do to increase opportunity in the United States?  It looked at health care, housing, poverty and financial services for the poor, said Hilary Pennington, hired to help answer that question. It considered what other foundations were doing and where the Gates Foundation could fill gaps and have a substantial impact. In the end, it circled back to schools.”  Read the full article by Linda Shaw of The Seattle Times.

Art mixes well with marine science while sea creatures come alive in student work to teach science:  In some high school marine science classes, teachers are teaching marine science through a blend of art and science instruction.  “Integrating the mystery of the ocean with writing, painting, and drawing, they believe, creates a learning experience that helps spark their students' interest in science and also taps into their imaginations. Melding art and marine studies also offers a way to slip in instruction on both these subjects.”  Read the full article by Alexandra R. Moses of Edutopia.

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