Initiative for Community Engagement

Ed Graff, superintendent of Anchorage School District, received CASEL’s prestigious Mary Utne O’Brien Award for Advancing the Evidence-Based Practice of Social and Emotional Learning. ASD is one of eight large U.S. school districts partnering with CASEL through its Collaborating Districts Initiative, a national effort to support implementation of systemic, evidence-based social and emotional learning.

AASB/Alaska ICE is proud to have provided ASD with ongoing support for its emerging SEL efforts that resulted in ASD’s national prominence in the SEL field. Congratulations Ed!

Teachers across America believe that social and emotional learning is critical to student success in school, work and life, according to a new national survey released today at the 2013 CASEL Forum.

The survey, highlighted in “The Missing Piece,” a report by Civic Enterprises with Hart Research for CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, also found that teachers believe social and emotional skills can be taught, and that the development of those skills in all students should take far more priority in U.S. schools and state learning standards than they do today.
(View the survey here)

AASB’s School Climate and Connectedness Survey provides Alaska districts with an  effective, research-based tool to measure SEL.  AASB has supported districts’s SEL efforts with training/coaching and SEL resources and materials.
Click here for more information on SCCS

An infographic from the National Association of Sport and Physical Education depicts the missed opportunities for increasing physical activity in schools. Take a look at which states are taking important steps to create a culture of physical activity and which are not giving students ample opportunities to move!

See the full infographic, here.

The American Educational Research Association released a thorough new analysis on the state of bullying research in the United States. The report includes several action items for improvement, aimed at both scholars and schools.

Each part addresses a specific aspect of bullying, with 11 parts in total.
Here is a brief summary, item by item. (from www.edweek.org)

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

View her TED talk here.

The pounding of nails, honking heavy equipment horns and buzzing of metal-cutting saws made an educational ruckus at the Soldotna Sports Center parking lot on Tuesday, where students from area high schools were getting a hands-on education in various Alaska construction fields.

More than 350 students from Kenai Peninsula schools attended Alaska Construction Career Day.
Continue reading at Anchorage Daily News.

An article from the Washington Post discusses the importance of social emotional learning and character education in school and the positive influence on student success.

Read the article here.

From casel.org:
The Benefits of SEL
SEL and Academics

Do you know a student who would like to become a writer or hone their writing skills? ASD, the Alaska Writers Guild and the Cook Inlet Literacy Council are hosting a free Young Writers Conference for middle and high school students. The purpose of the conference is to give interested students the opportunity to meet Alaskan authors and create their own writing.

This free conference is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 at Clark Middle School. For more information and to register, click here.

How is a dog sled race like a classroom? Students learn about relationships and teamwork by handling a team of dogs.

Read the full story by Peggy Bruno, a teacher in Huslia, at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner website.

Through understanding how students’ brains actually work and using that knowledge to benefit classroom learning, we may be able to positively influence classroom education and prepare students to better face unknowable futures. Here are nine scientific insights that educators might want to keep in mind. (from the Greater Good Science Center)