There'll be golf...great presentations...fellowship with colleagues ... and the Arkansas Association of Rural Educators will name the Superintendents of the Year during its Summer Conference in Eureka Springs July 8-10.
What's more, the organization will honor two scholarship recipients -- Austin Eskola from Magnet Cove and Tyler Blasdel from Yellville -- as well as retiring superintendents.
First Class Communication is looking forward to all the fun!
Welcome to Our Message ... chockfull of news, tips and fun things to know.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Quote of the Week
Love this quote in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by Larry Schleicher, the new principal at Little Rock's Hall High School:
"I'm going to challenge students to do things that they have never done before, and I'm going to challenge teachers to do what they have never done before. I promise you every decision we make will be based on data. The answers are in the data, and that data has to be turned inside out and upside down. My goal is to make Hall the best school -- period."
We wish you great success, Mr. Schleicher!
"I'm going to challenge students to do things that they have never done before, and I'm going to challenge teachers to do what they have never done before. I promise you every decision we make will be based on data. The answers are in the data, and that data has to be turned inside out and upside down. My goal is to make Hall the best school -- period."
We wish you great success, Mr. Schleicher!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
See you at AREA!
We're looking forward to our second Arkansas Rural Education Association summer conference in Eureka Springs next month.
We'll be back with our First Class Communication special-recipe cookies, of course. But we're most excited about presenting to some of you on Tuesday afternoon (July 9).
Our session will deal with the importance of branding your school district in this new age of school choice as well as developing media relations that work to your marketing advantage.
Feel free to send any thoughts or questions you'd like us to cover to julie@firstclasscommunication.com. We'll be sure to address them!
Our session will deal with the importance of branding your school district in this new age of school choice as well as developing media relations that work to your marketing advantage.
Feel free to send any thoughts or questions you'd like us to cover to julie@firstclasscommunication.com. We'll be sure to address them!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Recommended Reading
Memphis teacher Casey Jones writes an inspiring story in Education Week Teacher. In short, she says teachers can make a difference, despite a student's impoverished background.
No doubt it's hard work.
Jones, who teaches in an alternative environment, goes above and beyond everyday. She calls parents to regularly make sure their children will be present at school. She grades revised essays nightly to provide students' with immediate feedback.
It's paid off for her students. Many who had almost given up have graduated. Younger ones have mastered Common Core skills.
As she says, "Students, teachers, and administrators cannot use poverty as an excuse. We have to see through it and teach students how to maneuver around their obstacles. Our optimism becomes their hope."
Teachers like Jones are, indeed, our hope.
No doubt it's hard work.
Jones, who teaches in an alternative environment, goes above and beyond everyday. She calls parents to regularly make sure their children will be present at school. She grades revised essays nightly to provide students' with immediate feedback.
It's paid off for her students. Many who had almost given up have graduated. Younger ones have mastered Common Core skills.
As she says, "Students, teachers, and administrators cannot use poverty as an excuse. We have to see through it and teach students how to maneuver around their obstacles. Our optimism becomes their hope."
Teachers like Jones are, indeed, our hope.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
What a great idea!
Loved reading about the new Arkansas Teacher Corps in this morning's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (there's a paywall).
It's Teach for America with improvements.
True, everyone loves TFA's contributions to schools and students -- especially in those areas of the state that have a difficult time attracting licensed teachers.
But, many folks also point out that relatively few of TFA's bright, young teachers remain in the classroom after their two-year stints. While the lauded teaching program is an opportunity for recent college grads to "give back," it often proves a short-lived stepping stone to the rest of their lives.
That leads to high turnover for districts. And, it took up a teaching slot that might have been filled by an individual who wanted to devote his or her live to educating students. TFA can be costly, too, with fees paid to the program in addition to the teachers' salaries.
The focus of the Arkansas Teacher Corps, on the other hand, seems to be to attract these same bright, energetic, enthusiastic college graduates to the classroom so they can stay there.
As the dean of the UA College of Education and Health Professions told the newspaper about the program, "We're identifying and recruiting young adults who are extremely capable, extremely bright, who didn't necessarily think they wanted to be a teacher when they started to college, but at the end of their college careers are looking for different opportunities."
One corps member interviewed has a doctorate in chemical engineering; one was a pre-med major and yet another graduated second in his class with an English degree. All now say they are committed to careers as educators.
What's more, schools pay salaries, but no fees.
Gotta say it again. What a great idea!
It's Teach for America with improvements.
True, everyone loves TFA's contributions to schools and students -- especially in those areas of the state that have a difficult time attracting licensed teachers.
But, many folks also point out that relatively few of TFA's bright, young teachers remain in the classroom after their two-year stints. While the lauded teaching program is an opportunity for recent college grads to "give back," it often proves a short-lived stepping stone to the rest of their lives.
That leads to high turnover for districts. And, it took up a teaching slot that might have been filled by an individual who wanted to devote his or her live to educating students. TFA can be costly, too, with fees paid to the program in addition to the teachers' salaries.
The focus of the Arkansas Teacher Corps, on the other hand, seems to be to attract these same bright, energetic, enthusiastic college graduates to the classroom so they can stay there.
As the dean of the UA College of Education and Health Professions told the newspaper about the program, "We're identifying and recruiting young adults who are extremely capable, extremely bright, who didn't necessarily think they wanted to be a teacher when they started to college, but at the end of their college careers are looking for different opportunities."
One corps member interviewed has a doctorate in chemical engineering; one was a pre-med major and yet another graduated second in his class with an English degree. All now say they are committed to careers as educators.
What's more, schools pay salaries, but no fees.
Gotta say it again. What a great idea!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Practicing what we preach
You need a look. You need a color palette. You need catchy copy.
These are the things we tell -- okay, preach to -- our clients.
But, ugh, it's taken us a year-plus to put our own look together. Truth is, we got busy with projects. And that's a good thing. A really good thing!
But we needed to tend to our own garden, as they say. So we're very proud now to have a look that's ours, a color palette (no longer just cyan and red), catchy copy....
You can get a sample of it with our new website. (If you use a Mac like I do, check your "zoom" settings if things seem to overlap too much on the pages.)
If you'd like to see more, contact us and we'll be glad to send our one-page fact sheet, promo cards about our services or our full-blown portfolio. Just shoot us an email to info@firstclasscommunication.com.
These are the things we tell -- okay, preach to -- our clients.
But we needed to tend to our own garden, as they say. So we're very proud now to have a look that's ours, a color palette (no longer just cyan and red), catchy copy....
You can get a sample of it with our new website. (If you use a Mac like I do, check your "zoom" settings if things seem to overlap too much on the pages.)
If you'd like to see more, contact us and we'll be glad to send our one-page fact sheet, promo cards about our services or our full-blown portfolio. Just shoot us an email to info@firstclasscommunication.com.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)