In partnership with the Urban League of Greater Miami, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released "Teacher Quality Roadmap: Improving Policies and Practices in Miami," an in-depth study of the work rules Miami-Dade teachers. This look at the state of teacher policies in Miami-Dade County Public Schools explores the…

School has become a high-stakes environment for K-12 English language learners (ELLs) who are increasingly taught in mainstream classes where they are expected to meet grade-appropriate standards developed for fluent English speakers and where they must demonstrate achievement through standardized tests in English. The mainstreaming of ELLs, along…

As the 21st century's first decade draws to a close, America's public school students are participating in online academic classes in increasingly large numbers. More than one million K-12 public school students took online courses in the 2007-2008 school year, according to an estimate in a recent Sloan Consortium survey. This represents a 47…

The Academic Training in Aging for Florida Educators (ATAFE) Project is a federally-funded education program for beginning teachers, designed to promote more positive attitudes toward aging and older persons among youth through the inclusion of aging education in the preparation of elementary and secondary school teachers. ATAFE provides beginning…

K-12 schools are broadening their curriculum offerings to include audio, video, and other multimodal styles of communication. A combination of savvy digital natives, affordable software, and online tutoring has created a perfect opportunity to integrate professional level video and videoconferencing into curricula. Educators are also finding…

This document is designed to show the connection among several initiatives of the Florida legislature in calling for changes to bring about reform at the school level and improvement in the delivery of social studies instruction at the classroom level. The document provides a picture of how this program of study can meet the goals of the Florida…

The League of Women Voters/Tallahassee responded to an opportunity to research the concerns of Florida's judiciary following the disrupted general election of 2000. It received a grant for the Judicial Independence Project, a project supported by a grant from the Program on Law and Society of the Open Society Institute, from the League of Women…

This document features lesson plans for teachers and students on Florida's water resources. The guide is divided into four grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each grade level includes objectives, guides, and five lesson plans. K-2 lesson plans include: (1) "We Are Water"; (2) "Why Water is Extra Special"; (3) "Water's…

The manatee is known for its gentleness and uniqueness and has become a symbol of human concern for endangered species. This guide provides current information on the West Indian manatee as well as strategies for teaching about this endangered animal. While focusing on the manatee, this guide points out the importance of interdependencies within…

Online learning is growing rapidly as states and districts are creating new online schools, and existing programs are adding new courses and students. The growth reflects the spreading understanding that online courses and programs can serve a wide variety of students and needs. These include: (1) Creating opportunities for small and rural school…

Written in a reader-friendly style for busy faculty members and school administrators with little or no prior knowledge of statistics, this comprehensive model is designed to create fair, valid, and reliable assessments of teacher knowledge and skills. Evaluation experts Judy Wilkerson and Steve Lang provide detailed guidance for the complete…

Folklore and folk arts encompass the body of traditional knowledge learned and artifacts produced outside of formal institutions as a result of participation in folk groups. A great portion of daily life and culture is folk. Folklore and folk arts acquire distinctly local characteristics through the influences of geography, history, or talented…

Fifteen maps of Florida, each containing errors to be corrected by students, are presented for use in teaching Florida geography. Among the error maps included are Florida's borders today, the rivers of Florida, cities in the Grapefruit League, and Florida's European explorers. Teachers are encouraged to reproduce the maps and students to use the…

Findings are presented from a 2-year experiment exploring ways to reduce energy costs and improve the learning environment in Florida's 25,000 portable classrooms. Improvements were made in two highly instrumented portable classrooms in the following areas: installation of a T8 lighting system with electronic ballasts; a high efficiency heat pump…

This guidebook is a resource to help teachers and administrators sort through options in implementing local law-related education programs. The guidebook provides course outlines, lessons for classroom use, and descriptions of ancillary components as well as general information. The ancillary components, lessons, and linkages to Florida's Sunshine…