Tuesday, January 22, 2019

1/22 EdConnection: Understanding Each Child, Our Future - Excellent Educators and Instructional Practices

EdConnection Simple Banner
Jan. 22, 2019
Each Child, Our Future

Understanding Each Child, Our Future: Excellent Educators and Instructional Practices

Each Child, Our Future is Ohio’s five-year strategic plan to ensure each student enjoys a bright future thanks to an excellent preK-12 education experience. This is the seventh in a series that walks EdConnection readers through the plan. This week we take a closer look at strategies 1-3, which focus on ensuring excellent educators and instructional practices.





















Saturday, January 19, 2019

1/14 EdConnection: Understanding Each Child, Our Future - 10 Priority Strategies

EdConnection Simple Banner
Jan. 14, 2019
Strategic Plan

Understanding Each Child, Our Future: 10 Priority Strategies

Each Child, Our Future is Ohio’s five-year strategic plan to ensure each student enjoys a bright future thanks to an excellent preK-12 education experience. This is the sixth in a 12-part series that walks EdConnection readers through the plan. This week, we are providing an overview of the 10 priority strategies that will drive the Department’s future actions.



















Friday, January 18, 2019

Upcoming Webinars!

Join us for an upcoming school health webinar!

We have six informative webinars coming up in the second half of the 2018-2019 school year, so mark your calendars!

Students to Superintendents: Key Stakeholders’ Qualitative Perspectives and Experiences with Local School Wellness Policies

Wednesday, January 23, 2019 3:00 ET, 2:00 CT, 1:00 MT, 12:00 PT (60 minutes)

This presentation will outline the key qualitative findings from the National Wellness Policy Study’s stakeholder focus groups and interviews. We will describe stakeholders’ experiences and perspectives related to school nutrition and local school wellness policy implementation and evaluation. Stakeholders included food service directors, high school students, superintendents, and parents of middle school students from states across the U.S. Findings will include recommendations for schools and school districts to facilitate stakeholder engagement, implementation, and ongoing sustainability of wellness initiatives. Hosted by Jamie F. Chriqui, PhD, MHS Professor, Division of Health Policy and Administration, Co-Director, Health Policy Center, Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Register now.


2019-2020 School Grants for Healthy Kids – Parent-led School Grant Webinar

Tuesday, February 19, 2019 2:00 ET, 1:00 CT, 12:00 MT, 11:00 PT (45 minutes)

Thanks to our partners, Action for Healthy Kids is pleased to offer grants for the 2019-2020 school year as part of our School Grants for Healthy Kids program. Join this webinar to learn more about our parent-led grants that support physical activity and nutrition programming. $1,000 grants are available. In this webinar, you'll learn specific grant details, eligibility requirements, and receive helpful tips for applying. Register now.
 

2019-2020 School Grants for Healthy Kids Game On Grant Webinar

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 3:00 ET, 2:00 CT, 1:00 MT, 12:00 PT (60 minutes)

Thanks to our partners, Action for Healthy Kids is pleased to offer grants for the 2019-2020 school year as part of our School Grants for Healthy Kids program. Grants for $1,000 or more are available. In this webinar, you'll learn specific grant details, eligibility requirements, and receive helpful tips for applying. Register now.
 

2019-2020 School Grants for Healthy Kids – School Breakfast Grant Webinar

Thursday, February 21, 2019 4:00 ET, 3:00 CT, 2:00 MT, 1:00 PT (60 minutes)

Thanks to our partners, Action for Healthy Kids is pleased to offer grants for the 2019-2020 school year as part of our School Grants for Healthy Kids program. Join this webinar to learn more about our School Breakfast grants that support alternative breakfast programming. $2,000 and $3,000 grants are available. In this webinar, you'll learn specific grant details, eligibility requirements, and receive helpful tips for applying. Register now.
 

Engaging Your School Community with Every Kid Healthy Week

Wednesday, February 27, 2019 3:00 ET, 2:00 CT, 1:00 MT, 12:00 PT (60 minutes)

Action for Healthy Kids is proud to partner with schools nationwide to host Every Kid Healthy Week™ – an annual celebration and promotion of school health accomplishments. This special week shines a spotlight on the great efforts schools are making to improve the health and wellness of their students and the link between nutrition, physical activity, and learning – because healthy kids are better prepared to learn. Action for Healthy Kids and schools across the country will celebrate Every Kid Healthy Week during the last week of April (April 22-26, 2019) and throughout the spring with events that encourage students to eat better and be active every day. Join this webinar to learn more about how you can engage parents, families and your entire school community by hosting an Every Kid Healthy Week event and joining the national movement. Register now.
 

National Principal and Parent Surveys 2018: Findings on Active School Environments

Thursday, March 21, 2019 3:00 ET, 2:00 CT, 1:00 MT, 12:00 PT (30 minutes)

The national Active Schools movement is committed to making it easier for schools to provide an active school environment, which is 60 minutes a day of physical education and before, during and after school physical activity. Our current target audiences are principals and parents, so in 2018 we conducted two nationally-representative surveys on principals' and parents' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about active school environments. Learn about the findings and how they will drive Active Schools' messaging, calls to action, tool development, and other activities. Register now.
 

Archived

You may also find some of our past webinars useful, so check out the archives for some of our most popular, previously recorded webinars.

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic...and Recess!, 2018
Recess is more than just fun and games; it helps kids think creatively, make friends, share and resolve conflicts. We need parents to be champions for recess. Learn more about why recess is important and how you can advocate for better recess in your schools.

Pumping Up PE: Get Sweaty (Moderate to Vigorous PE Strategies), 2017
Are you looking for ways to pump up your physical education class to include more moderate to vigorous activity? Explore the research, recommendations, and strategies around moderate to vigorous physical activity to ensure that at least half of your class time is maximized!  
Eat Better at School! Creating a Healthier School Food Culture, 2017
Learn about policies and regulations related to the school food environment, and come away with project ideas and resources for healthy fundraisers, celebrations and family events, healthy snack programs and non-food rewards.
Rock School Health Like A Boss, 2018
Action for Healthy Kids and the National PTA discuss the information you need to help school administrators and school boards understand the importance of school health to academic success.






Monday, January 14, 2019

Understanding Each Child, Our Future: Four Learning Domains | Ohio Department of Education

source: Ohio Department of Education



Each Child, Our Future is Ohio’s five-year strategic plan to ensure each student enjoys a bright future thanks to an excellent preK-12 education experience. More than 150 Ohio-based partners helped develop Each Child, Our Future, with feedback from 1,200 Ohio parents, caregivers, preK-12 and postsecondary educators, employers, business leaders, community members, state legislators and students.
 
This is the fifth in a 11-part series that walks EdConnection readers through the plan. Last week, we covered the plan’s vision and one goal. Now, we explore the four equal learning domains, or the four areas in which we want each Ohio student to develop knowledge and skills for success beyond high school. Find the four equal learning domains on pages 12-13 of the plan, which is available in its entirety by clicking here.
 
Foundational Skills and Knowledge
For our students to be successful in a rapidly changing economy, we must equip them with foundational knowledge and skills that support lifelong learning. Each child must know how to read and write critically (literacy), work with numbers (numeracy) and use technology to take the best advantage of future learning experiences.
 
Well-rounded Content
Beyond foundational literacy, numeracy and technology skills, students need exposure to a broad range of subjects and disciplines to help them pinpoint their passions and become lifelong learners. These include social studies, science, world languages, arts, health, physical education and career-technical education fields, among others.
 
Leadership and Reasoning Skills
Success depends on more than academic knowledge. Students must be able to show leadership skills. Among other things, these include learning from mistakes and improving for the future, listening to others and working to achieve a common goal, and giving and receiving feedback. Success through reasoning skills means students know how to draw on many disciplines to synthesize information, develop creative solutions and generate new ideas. These reasoning skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, design and computational thinking, information evaluation and data analytics.
 
Social-emotional Learning
Research shows that being part of a community improves life satisfaction and health. Doing this successfully means understanding the importance of social interaction and personal feelings. Social-emotional learning includes skills like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, collaboration, empathy, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Social-emotional learning gives children the tools to become resilient and persistent in life.
 
Next week’s EdConnection will feature an overview of the 10 strategies for achieving the vision and goal outlined in Each Child, Our Future.
















Sunday, January 13, 2019

Growing Our Membership Every Month

Source: National PTA / IVELISSE CASTRO

Membership is a year-round effort.  It never ends.  As PTA ambassadors, leaders are to constantly promote the value of PTA, and with it, ignite interest in our mission for people to join in.  Our PTA voice is more powerful, and our PTA advocacy is stronger the more members we have.
 The new year is full of additional opportunities to invite everyone to join PTA this second half of the National PTA membership year (7/1-6/30.)  What are those opportunities?
  •  To begin with, all of your remaining meetings and activities in your PTA calendar for this year.
  • To continue, all National PTA programs and activities to celebrate Take Your Family to School Week (TYFTSW). Choose one of the National PTA program categories (Health & Safety, Literacy, Digital Learning, STEM) to plan your event and create a theme for your week.  On February 17, 2018, PTA celebrates 122 years of existence advocating to improve the education and well-being of all children.  At your Take Your Family to School Week activities, enthusiastically and confidently invite everyone in your community to “Be part of our PTA history and join our PTA.”
  • In March, take advantage of our PTA Family Reading Experience resources available at PTA.org/FRE to celebrate National Reading Month. This is a great opportunity to work with your local librarians to get families (adults and children) to visit their local public libraries, encourage them to sign up to obtain their library cards and borrow books to read at home. In the process, don’t forget to invite all families and community members to support similar PTA efforts by joining your PTA.
  • Our PTA Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit and the PTAKit.org guide for organizing a PTA Program are great resources to help you plan and celebrate national awareness on issues such as:
 These are only possible ideas for which multiple resources are already available.  In the end, all will depend on what the needs of your students and school community are, as PTA you want to be relevant.  If your families need to be empowered to help their children with test taking, that should be your focus at that time; look at our PTA resources on assessment and coordinate with your school administrators. Making our PTA mission relevant to your students and your community by responding to their needs should be the north that guides the focus of your work.

Just remember to always have a way of inviting all to support our PTA work with their PTA membership.  And then, share your work with your state congress PTA. They have multiple ways to recognize your membership and mission advancement efforts.  So, reach out to them, and share and celebrate your accomplishments with all of us for the benefit of all children.
Thank you for all you do to grow membership “To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.”





Thursday, January 10, 2019

National PTA Resources

January 24th 2019 at 7:30 EST
Advocate for Health:  Immunization and HPV - Why is it All Necessary?

February 28th 2019 at 7:30 EST
Prescription Opioid Epidemic: Know the Facts 

March 28th 2019 at 7:30 EST
Healthy Lifestyles and the Importance of SHACs

May 23rd 2019 at 7:30 EST
Strategically Planning for a Mission Focused Year