The Literacy Architects’ Post

🌟 Spotlight on the Special Education Legislative Summit! 🌟  This annual summit, organized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)  and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Council for Advancement and Support of Education , brings together experts in special education to promote laws that support our students. This week, they'll be speaking to Congress about critical issues like IDEA funding, mental health in schools, and addressing educator shortages. Why should you care? 🤔 💰 Funding for Programs: Ensuring adequate funding means better resources for your classrooms and improved support for your students. 📢 Advocacy: CEC’s efforts help shape policies that directly impact your work as special education professionals. 📚 Professional Development: Learn from and connect with other educators and advocates who are passionate about making a difference. What issue(s) do you feel will have the most critical impact on your work in the 2024-25 school year? Comment below and let your voice be heard! #specialeducation #iepteam #specialeducationteacher #schoolslp #spedteacher #schoolbasedot #schoolbasedpt

California, as the fifth-largest economy in the world, has a significant opportunity to lead in the creation and support of lifelong learning systems. The opportunity lies in designing and maintaining systems that serve people across their entire lifespan—from prenatal care and early childhood education through ongoing skill development in adulthood, and even learning opportunities in later stages of life. Let’s talk about: Early Learning and K-12 Education: Investing in high-quality early childhood education, universal preschool, and expanding family engagement to ensure children start school ready to succeed. Community Colleges and Higher Education: Leveraging the California Community Colleges and the UC/CSU systems to create flexible, accessible programs that cater to lifelong learners, especially for those who need to reskill or upskill. Workforce Development: Partnering with industries to create apprenticeships, internships, and continuous education programs that allow workers to adapt to new technologies and job markets. Civic and Community Engagement: Expanding community-based learning that encourages civic participation and engagement throughout one’s life. Aging and Continuing Education: Creating policies and programs that support education for aging populations, ensuring access to technology and community resources for older adults to continue learning and contributing. Let’s learn from what other states and counties are doing and start working on this now in benefit of our future! Tony Thurmond, Dr. Stefan Bean, Edwin Gomez, Ed.D., Gloria Ciriza, Ed.D., Josh Newman, Avelino Valencia, Tina Arias Miller, Ed.D., Lou Correa

How do you align the company's vision with training goals? Our expert shares a unique approach: taking policies that impact education and creating on-ramps for diverse populations and beliefs. By doing this, we create a space that allows everyone to accept policies and programs that they may have previously rejected. This approach ultimately supports the success of the 1.6 million public school children in New Jersey. #TrainingGoals #Education #DiversityAndInclusion

A fascinating article. Let's hope we see more higher level decisions made in this vein. A lot seems to be happening at grass roots level, individual teachers and departments, but this is an example of what really needs to happen. #cognitivescience #cogsci #scienceoflearning #effectiveteaching #studentsuccess

As your school board member, I will : 🇺🇸PRIORITIZE LITERACY As the ONLY teacher in this race, and as your school board member, I will be fiscally responsible by directing resources and helping our superintendent to implement science-based reading methods as our standard, not just an option. Together, we will raise up our entire community, especially the most vulnerable members. 🇺🇸EXPERIENCE My children attend a Title 1 school, so I am heavily invested in making sure children from ALL walks of life succeed. I am the only candidate that has walked the walk in a community that has struggled with literacy, felt the effects of bus driver shortages, and teacher shortages. 🇺🇸FREEDOM FOR FAMILIES I support educational freedom to choose public, private, charter, homeschool, or a hybrid. I also have hands on experience in making failing schools an excellent choice too. Every neighborhood needs excellent public school options. 🇺🇸GRASSROOTS & LOCAL SUPPORT I am supported by local families and community members, NOT more politicians, and political groups. #ortongillingham #ocps #momforliteracy #literacy #voteforjeni #thescienceofreading #ocpsmeanssuccess #change #righttoread #naacp #blackliteracymatters #civilrights

Summer is over for teachers, meaning a return to the classroom. Or perhaps not. Many teachers did not just leave the classroom for the summer — they’re leaving the profession entirely. Dr. Alexander Rohrer, DSocSci, Community School Director at Burrowes ES, shares a column with LNP on teacher burnout and attrition in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s teacher attrition rates hit record highs in recent years, with 6.7% of teachers leaving in 2023-24. In Lancaster County, the rate stands at 6.3%, with teachers of color facing the highest turnover rates. The primary culprit? Burnout. With teachers wearing many hats—from educators to security personnel—demands are soaring. To address this crisis, communities must rally to support teachers, reduce demands, and foster connections to reignite the passion that brought them into the classroom. #Education #communityaction #community

"The barriers we have explored are not immutable. We need to break down the walls between educators and families as well as the ones between educators themselves. The ruptures can be repaired and stronger bonds can be developed. Many of us are hungry for these changes and know that, as Audre Lorde put it, 'Without community, there is no liberation.' When we as educators create a place where families of diverse backgrounds can thrive, it makes our schools safer and more effective for all students. It shows that, no matter who you are, what language you speak, or what your skin color may be, our schools care about you. This goes far beyond closing the achievement gap. It is about opening our hearts to each other and making our communities stronger and more welcoming to stakeholders of different backgrounds and perspectives." In honor of the launch of my book On The Same Team: Bringing Educators and Underrepresented Families Together, this is one of a few quotes I’m sharing this month. My book highlights many of the learnings from hundreds of collaborative gatherings that center family voices and offer a proven structure for creating more equitable schools. #schoolimprovement #familyengagement #schoolleadership #teacherleadership #equityineducation Solution Tree NAFSCE (National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement) National Center for Community Schools National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) TalkingPoints

The California Public Schools are mandated to have a Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) tasked with reviewing and commenting on the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). In San Francisco Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco is attending a meeting being held by San Francisco Unified School District on February 16 at 12:45 pm, focused on families who identify as Latino/e/x and thier ideas about launching the Latino/e/x PAC. The 2023 #CASchoolDashboard shares 31%, that's 15,105 students are Latino/e/x. With such a large representation of students, our organization's advocacy and engagement in school board-level meetings, and with parent/community advisory groups are critical to supporting parents to develop the skills necessary for #building, #accessing, and #navigating community support systems. Our 2022, Impact shared that 91% of parents felt stress was #mitigated and relationships with the School District and System were #responsive. If you are a family that attends SFUSD and you identify or want to support Latino/e/x students come to this important meeting! Read our blog: Parent Advisory Committees are Critical to the Local Control Accountability Plan, about what the LCAP and the PAC are and who they are intended to engage and serve. https://lnkd.in/g5vRpmpE Leg Source: EC Sec 42238.01

What does it really mean to offer inclusive, equal education to every child? Don’t Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms seeks to support early childhood educators in recognizing, addressing, and eliminating bias. You'll learn practical, responsive, anti-bias strategies to ensure that trauma is not being revisited upon the children you want to protect, nurture and educate. Get your copy here👉 https://bit.ly/3xHixeB National Education Association edc.org EdTrust American Council on Education Council for Advancement and Support of Education #AntiBiasEducation #EquityInEducation #BreakTheBias #InclusiveClassrooms #InclusiveEducation #AllMeansAll #InclusiveTeaching #DiverseClassrooms #EquityInSchools #EquityMatters

Dr. Antwan Jefferson answers three questions about Our Field Notes Series 🎓 Dr. Antwan Jefferson gives the lowdown of what to expect from our Field Notes series. We’re on a mission to amplify community voices on issues related to education and education policy. Our hope is to help close the feedback gap between decision makers and the people directly experiencing public education.  Please enjoy and let us know what you think! #DJEC #Denver #Journal #Education #Community #DenverEducation #StudentVoice