RRU Member Orlisa Johnson Wins $1000 grant!
Red River United congratulates Pine Grove Elementary teacher and RRU Executive Board member Orlisa Johnson for her grant!
An elementary school teacher hopes to give her students a jump start on Common Core standards. Our latest One Class At a Time Winner comes to us from Caddo schools.
Pine Grove Elementary teacher OrLisa Johnson was completely surprised when she was presented with a one thousand dollar check this week.
The fourth grade teacher says the money will be used to buy materials for her Rrace to Excitement and Discovery” reading program.
It aims to increase the reading comprehension of her students as well as to expand their writing; language; and technology skills through the use of outside reading material.
“Thank you thank you thank you! It’s for books that I ordered. Each 9 weeks my children read chapter books when they’re getting ready for the LEAP test. So now every child will be afforded a book to have in my class to read,” said Johnson.
Congratulations again to Or’Lisa Johnson.
And many thanks to our “One Class At a Time” sponsors, Barksdale Federal Credit Union and Sudden Link.
National School Counseling Week: Feb 3-7 2014
Red River United honors counselors as part of National School Counseling Week!
National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), is celebrated during the week of February 3-7, 2014, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact that counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career
This video highlights the struggles our public schools face to address issues of security and mental health. Our counselors are on the front lines, and Red River United honors the selfless work you do for the boys and girls of Caddo and Bossier Parishes.
LFT Principles of Unity!
Breaking News: Louisiana Federation of Teachers Agrees to Principles of Unity
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers has endorsed a set of general principles that a number of public education stakeholders have pledged to honor in the upcoming legislative session.
“For the past six years, education reform has been defined by politicians, corporate profiteers and ideological extremists,” Federation President Steve Monaghan said. “The result has been an avalanche of unconstitutional laws, a raid on public education funds and baseless attacks on teachers in our public schools.
“The leaders of this bogus reform movement have manipulated data and used misleading statistics to justify the destruction of public education in Louisiana,” he said. “We are proud to stand with other public education stakeholders to correct the narrative touted by the current administration and offer real hope for our children’s future.”
In an invitation asking educators to adopt principles of unity, Louisiana School Boards Association Executive Director Scott Richard wrote, “We are experiencing unprecedented times during this era of ‘education reform’ in our state. It is of the utmost importance that we strive to work collaboratively as stakeholders in order to facilitate practical initiatives that truly work to improve student achievement.”
The principles adopted by the signers of the agreement include:
- United advocacy for prioritizing public education funding regarding the state funding formula.
- United advocacy for a more strategic and comprehensive transition to raising standards and adopting accompanying assessments.
- United advocacy for a non-punitive accountability system and a flexible employee evaluation system during the transition to higher standards.
- United advocacy for addressing issues regarding privatization of public education in Louisiana.
Win one of 6 $500 VISA Gift Cards with Share My Lesson!
Banish those winter blues!
Indulge yourself this New Year with a weekend away, a spa break, a designer handbag or enjoy a dinner in a top restaurant.
Share My Lesson is giving you the opportunity to win one of 6 $500 VISA® gift cards to treat yourself to a bit of luxury. Enter now for a chance to win…
What do I need to do?
It’s simple; upload your lesson plans and classroom materials before February 13. For each resource you upload, you will receive one entry into the drawing. The more resources you upload, the better your chances of winning!
Uploading is easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. This video shows you how.
What do I win?
You will be entered into a drawing to win one of 6 $500 VISA® gift cards which you can spend on that big screen TV or treat yourself to a designer coat. How you choose to spend the money is completely up to you!
So, get your resources ready; you have until midnight on February 13 to enter for a chance to treat yourself!
For more information, click here.
Screen Bully in your classroom or at your school, and receive a FREE toolkit!
The movie Bully has captured the hearts and minds of students and adults across the nation, offering a window into the damage bullying can cause. The Bully Project has a wonderful toolkit with materials and a DVD (including a version of the video that is appropriate for younger audiences).
Educators who thoroughly complete this short survey will receive a kit for FREE, while supplies last (feel free to share this survey with any AFT member who works with students).
FREE Resource: Share my Lesson: Olympic Winter Games Collection!
2014 Olympic Winter Games
From February 7-23, all eyes will be on Sochi, Russia, as it hosts the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The Sochi Olympics marks the first time the Olympics have been held in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This year, there will be 98 events held in 15 different sports, and some events, such as women’s ski jumping and ski half-pipe, will be held for the first time.
The Share My Lesson team has highlighted some free lesson plans, activities and classroom materials that you can use to bring the Olympics into your classroom. From presentations about Russian history to videos about the science behind different Olympic events to hosting your own mini-Olympics, we’ve got everything you need to present a gold medal-worthy lesson.
Resources about Russian history
Russian history
Learn about the history of Russia with this PowerPoint presentation and handout.
Russian revolution
Review key events of the Russian revolution with your students.
Cold War
Learn about the events that led up to the Cold War with these activities.
Olympic-themed activities
Elementary school resources
Sesame Street and Team USA
Figure skater Sarah Hughes and Elmo discuss the word “persistence” and what it takes to be a Team USA Olympic athlete.
Mini-Olympics
Use these fun activities to hold your own Olympics in PE class.
Olympic medals
Learn more about gold, silver and bronze medals with this resource.
Competition suits
Find out how speed-skating competition suits help improve athlete performance by reducing friction and improving aerodynamics in this lesson from NBC Learn and theNational Science Foundation.
Snow and the Olympics
Discuss how humidity and temperature help form snow, a very important part of the Winter Olympics.
Secondary school resources
Greek legacies: Ancient Greek Olympics
Students learn about the Ancient Greeks and the Olympic games they made to honor Zeus in this lesson from 21st Century Lessons: A Boston Teachers Union Initiative.
Design your own Olympic team
Get your students into the Olympic spirit by having them create their own Olympic teams.
Science of ice
Find out what makes ice slippery enough for speed skaters in this NBC Learn and National Science Foundation resource.
Engineering the half-pipe
Explore how engineers create the half-pipe to enable athletes to get more air time and perform complicated tricks.
The physics of slope-style skiing
Learn the physics behind slope-style skiing, a gravity defying freestyle skiing event debuting in Sochi.
Figure skating
Find out how the center of mass – a physics concept – controls balance and stability, both crucial to figure skaters.
Bobsleds
Learn about the engineering challenges associated with making sleds faster and tracks safer.
Stability in alpine skiing
This lesson from NBC Learn and the National Science Foundation describes how advanced materials and engineering help reduce unwanted vibration, optimizing the performance of athletes.
Dealing with Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom- Workshop 2/8/14 9:00 AM
Red River United President’s Message- 1/28/2014
With No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, COMPASS, and Common Core, we now have a decade of top down test based schooling behind us. So, let’s assess — how has that worked for us?
Well, according to PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment, which occurs every three years and ranks schools worldwide, the results would probably tell you– not so good.
The latest results, released in December, show the US scoring below average in Math and close to average in Science and reading. More importantly, there has not been any significant growth in the United States rankings since 2003.
So, we have to wonder, what will work if testing ad naseum and vilifying and sanctioning educators, all while underfunding and starving schools, closing neighborhood schools, selling them for pennies on the dollar, and creating private for profit charter schools have not worked for the past decade?
Just look at the top tier nations, what are their priorities? In stark contrast to our policies, the top tier countries do not have a fixation on testing. They actually respect public education and work to ensure their teachers are well prepared and supported. Their students have curriculum and standards, but they also have the resources needed to meet them. They consider equity issues and insure that students who need extra resources to succeed get them.
Here locally, in Caddo and Bossier parishes, top tier thinking means elevating our approach by working together to ensure that every student in Caddo and Bossier has a school that is a safe and welcoming place for teaching and learning. Top tier thinking means making sure that policies and practices mirror the commitment that all of our teachers will be well-prepared, supported, and have the time they need to plan and collaborate. It means continuing to insist on the arts and music in our curriculum. It means ensuring that there are resources available for all children to have access to Pre-k education with extended day, extended year, and wrap around services. These steps mirror the top tier nation approaches that have been proven to work.
Let’s have the collective courage to say no to failed policies. The only ones to be angered are the ones with their hands out. Let’s instead embrace a steadfast and earnest approach in insuring that our priorities stay our priorities – our children, each and every one of them. That is Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education.
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