In this month's teacher's toolbox (click on each heading to view full article)
	Topic of the Month: Reflection Upcoming Events in Professional Development Your JSkyway Community A Better You

Topic of the Month: Reflection

The Condition of Education Report: Proof that your hardwork is paying off Recognizing that reliable data is critical in guiding efforts to improve education in America, "The Condition of Education 2004", published each year on June 1st by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), presents indicators of important developments and trends in American education. Recurrent themes underscored by the indicators include participation and persistence in education, student performance and other outcomes, the environment for learning, and societal support for education. Some key information from the report "Many factors are associated with school success, persistence, and progress toward high school graduation or a college degree. These include student motivation and effort, the expectations of students, encouragement from others, and learning opportunities, as well as various student characteristics, such as sex and family income. Monitoring these factors in relation to the progress of different groups of students through the educational system and tracking students' attainment are important for knowing how well we are doing as a nation in education. The proportion of 10th- graders who expected to complete a bachelor's as their highest degree nearly doubled between 1980 and 2002, and the proportion who intended to earn a graduate degree more than doubled. Rising aspirations were also notable among students from families with low socioeconomic status: about 13 percent of such students intended to earn a bachelor's degree in 1980, but this figure had tripled by 2002 (indicator 15)." http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section3/indicat or15.asp Health and Education: A Strong Correlation It is shown that the better educated you are, the healthier you are likely to be. "Education and health are positively related. In the National Health Interview Survey, the National Center for Health Statistics annually surveys people concerning their health. One question asks respondents to rate their own health. In 2001, the better educated a person was, the more likely that person was to report being in "excellent" or "very good" health. Among adults age 25 and above, 78 percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher reported being in excellent or very good health, compared with 66 percent of those with some education beyond high school, 56 percent of high school completers, and 39 percent of those with less than a high school education." http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section2/indicat or12.asp

Upcoming Events in Professional Development

Announcing JSkyway Fall Courses! Looking to learn more about Assessment and joining a network of your peers working in Jewish Schools? Check out our Fall Course Assessment Strategies: Beyond Grades and Quizzes at www.jskyway.com JSkyway Fall Courses October 21 - December 23, 2004 Teaching with Technology: Enhancing and Embracing New Practices Effective Classroom Strategy: From Skills to Success Teaching Jewish Values Using BabagaNewz Assessment Strategies: Beyond Grades and Quizzes Register online at www.jskyway.com CAJE Conference Will you be "Making Connections" at the Early Childhood and Day School Conference at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, from June 27 - 30? Will you "Listen and Learn" -- Shema ul'mad -- at Hofstra from August 15 - 19 at CAJE 29? To register for either of these Conferences, just go to www.caje.org. Remember to check with your central agency of Jewish education to see if there are subsidies available. Many agencies have advised us that they have such funds available. Attending CAJE in June? Visit our booth at Expo and enter to win a $100 gift certificate to Barnes and Nobles! We look forward to seeing you there. PEJE Leadership Assembly October 11-12, 2004 Day school professional and volunteer leaders are invited to this national event in Boston featuring expert-led workshops and opportunities for networking throughout the day school movement. Topics include: fundraising, leadership & governance, educational excellence, advocacy & marketing, and admission. Contact Bunny Shuman at bunny@peje.org for more information.

Your JSkyway Community

Teacher Success Stories "How many times have you had to explain to jealous friends that teachers don't really have the whole summer off? Most teachers I know have to spend a good amount of time revising old lessons, designing new units, or otherwise trying to improve their skills. This summer, because I'm working at a new school, I have three new courses to write. I haven't had to work this hard since I was a first year teacher! Thanks to my experiences with JSkyway, I'm going to do a lot of things differently. From Skills for Effective Teaching, I'm going to apply what I've learned about active learning, and from Models of Assessment, I'm going to be thinking about assessment goals first. I've already organized my work by designing rubrics which I'll use to assess my students' learning. Now I just have to figure out how to get them to the point where they'll be able to get to those top levels on my rubric. When I made the decision to work at this new school, I made sure that the administration would support my efforts at self- improvement; I was pleased to find out that (because of my experience with JSkyway), I would be asked to mentor some younger teachers as well. I'm going to encourage them to learn from JSkyway, just as I have." ~A JSkyway Participant We would love your feedback! The JSkyway Community section of our eNewsletter is dedicated to you and the many special communities you are a part of. We encourage you to send us teacher success stories, community news, professional development highlights or anything else you feel is relevant; it is up to you. Email content to emyerson@jflmedia.com

A Better You

Book Review Summer is here so there is no excuse not to relax and catch up on your reading, for pleasure that is! For this month's choice book, we are stepping away from the wonderful world of fiction and into the world of truth, with an interesting twist. Below is an excerpt from a review to shed some light on a book that might just make its way to your beach bag in the near future! American Judaism By Jonathan D. Sarna "If those who try to predict the fate of American Jewry can be divided into pessimists and optimists, count Jonathan Sarna emphatically among the optimists. In this succinctly written and cogently argued history of American Judaism, the well-known Brandeis University historian makes a strong case that Jews on these shores have a promising future as well as a storied past." "To clarify what Sarna's book is not: It is not an account of all aspects of American Jewish history. That would be well nigh impossible in only 375 pages of text. Rather, it is a history of the Jewish religion in America- what American Jews have believed about God and about their traditions, which religious rituals they have practiced (or stayed away from), and how they have organized themselves religiously. The reader wishing to learn about anti-Semitism in corporate America, or the rise and fall of the Yiddish theater, or Jews in electoral politics, will have to delve into those important topics in other places. Sarna's concern here is belief and practice." To read more of this review, go to: http://www.jbooks.com/nonfiction/index/NF_Groner_Sar na.htm Taking Care of Yourself This Month's section contains helpful hints to make common annoyances disappear! Ever wonder how to get bubblegum out of hair? Want to cut onions without crying and smelling like them for hours? Click on the following link to find out how and much more. http://members.tripod.com/~Barefoot_Lass/ Any feedback or helpful hints of your own are always welcome! Email your ideas to emyerson@jflmedia.com for future issues.