CEP is committed to being your eyes and ears regarding the latest character education news in our nation’s capital. Here are some highlights:
• CEP’s President & CEO Mark Hyatt attended the Department of Education’s Anti-Bullying Summit on Aug 6 and 7, a fantastic opportunity for thought leaders in the field to build off of one another’s wisdom and experience.
• The Race to the Top: Districts competition applications are due October 30th, and this year Districts are offered a “competitive preference” if they “’integrate public or private resources in a partnership designed to augment the schools resources by providing additional student and family supports to schools that address the social, emotional, or behavioral needs of the participating students.” CEP is happy to help any applicant get these bonus points! The official program website can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/index.html.
• Representatives from CEP attended the Office of Safe and Healthy Students Conference on August 8th and 9th. CEP Board Member Linda McKay met with members of the Conditions for Learning Coalition and representatives from the Office of School Turnaround. Jon Terry, who leads the Coalition, held a follow-up meeting with Jason Snyder (Director of the OST), in which he advocated that schools working with the OST be encouraged to report data on school climate in their turnaround efforts. Mr. Snyder was supportive, but expressed a desire to see examples of how schools might collect this idea that aren’t too taxing on those preparing reports.
• Do you have examples of school climate data and assessments to submit to the Office of School Turnaround? Do you know of a model school who focused on measuring these issues in their effort to improve academic achievement? The Conditions for Learning Coalition is looking for both of these! Please send any leads to mjones@character.org.
