Experts Available to Discuss GPS Puts Truants on Track for Class (From BusinessWire)

TOPIC:
As reported by the Orange Country Register, the city of Anaheim, California is taking truancy seriously. The Anaheim Union High School District has become the first in California to test GPS technology as a means of ensuring that students come to class.

Seventh- and eighth-graders with four or more unexcused absences during the school year are assigned to carry a hand-held GPS device and check in several times a day. Automated phone calls each morning remind them to come to class, and an adult coach calls them at least three times a week.
The policy has generated some interesting commentary, including these observations in the Washington Post and at MSNBC:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2011/02/should_schools_use_gps_to_trac.html
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/18/6081656-schools-use-gps-to-track-students-who-skip

Experts include Peter Gudmundsson of the Dropout & Truancy Prevention Network (www.DTPNetwork.com)

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Bill Tudor Interviewed by Scholastic Administrator

See below for an interview of Bill Tudor from Learning Plans on Demand by Scholastic Administrator magazine's tech editor, Ken Royal.

Bill discusses how his diagnostic tools are integrated into Learning Plans on Demand and now make it easier to pinpoint the exact skills students are missing on the learning ladder. Bill talks about how learning is a step-wise process. If a rung on the ladder is missing, then it is very difficult for students to stay up with their peers. Learning Plans on Demand is specifically designed to locate that missing skill (or skills) and provide all the tutorials and remediation necessary to get students back on track.

Brainchild's Jeff Cameron Interview at Scholastic Administrator

Ken Royal, the senior technology and products editor for Scholastic Administrator magazine, interviewed Jeff Cameron of Brainchild while we were at the Florida Educational Technology Conference. Click here for a four-minute introduction to Achiever! and the Study Buddy.

Case Study (DRAFT) - ESOL Student Assessment

We are in the final approval stages for a case study for Citrus County SD in Florida. They use Ballard & Tighe's IPT family of tests to get a read on English proficiency. What is most interesting, however, is the push for using this simple test to drive instruction.

I can't paste the link just yet but wanted to put the word out that it is coming soon. Here are snippets from the case study.

...One of the challenges all teachers face is not knowing about a student’s previous schooling. When there is a new student who speaks little or no English, then there is a substantial communication barrier that can make it impossible to know what the student already knows or can do. In keeping with the district’s focus on individualized instruction, Citrus County School District wants to give their teachers as much information about their ELL students as possible...

Johnson advises teachers to look at the item analysis that is generated with the IPT. “The IPT report
gives you an item-by-item analysis and tells you what learning level [Bloom’s taxonomy] the student is at,” says Mrs. Johnson. “It tells you the language and depth and cognitive skill that a student is drawing from.” With that amount of information, a teacher can adjust their instruction to fill in knowledge gaps and give a new student a chance to shine...

News Release - NEA's Member Benefits Corporation Selects Rapid Resources

Just out on PRWeb...

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) October 19, 2008 -- Members of the National Education Association (NEA) (www.nea.org) now have a special opportunity to purchase Rapid Resources - a proven, easy-to-use online tool for educators to build individualized learning plans. The NEA's Member Benefits Corporation (NEA MB), in partnership with International Learning Corporation, today announced that NEA MB has secured special members-only pricing that saves over fifty (50%) percent off the annual subscription rate of Rapid Resources. NEA MB has also secured a free 30-day trial use of Rapid Resources (www.rapidresources.com/nea) to test drive this unique software product. (more)


Go to this link for the full text, graphics and a 5-minute podcast (in various formats).
http://www.prweb.com/releases/rapidresources/nea/prweb1485774.htm

Also visit my site for the release, the mp3 file and link to PR Web http://www.jharrisonpr.com/clientNews.html

ELD/ELL Case Study: Assessment at Port Arthur ISD

Another case study for Ballard & Tighe, Publishers. Writers interested in speaking to the individuals quoted in this and other case studies may contact me at jennifer@jharrisonpr.com and I'll help you reach this district.


Port Arthur Independent School District (ISD) in Texas uses the IPT Assessment System from Ballard & Tighe, Publishers to accurately assess their students’ English proficiency. Limited English Proficient (LEP) students take the IPT in order for the Language Assessment Team to determine the level of English language support each student needs. Students who show a sufficient grasp of English may be ready for an English-only curriculum with no additional support. However, the district provides varying degrees of English support for students who do not show a sufficient grasp of English.

Click here for the link to the full case study: http://www.ballard-tighe.com/pdfs/ssPortArthurISD.pdf

English Language Development Case Study - Oak Grove Elementary SD

The following is a case study that I have written recently for Ballard & Tighe, Publishers. Ballard & Tighe focuses solely on the development of ELD products. Writers interested in speaking to the individuals quoted in this and other case studies may contact me at jennifer@jharrisonpr.com and I'll help you reach the teachers/administrators.


Oak Grove Elementary School District in San Jose, California is a midsized
district where 32% of the students do not speak English as their primary
language. The district established an aggressive five-year plan with shortterm,
intermediate, and long-term goals in various areas. One of those goals
is for English language learners to advance at least one proficiency level each
year, so the district purchased Carousel of IDEAS for Title I schools to test its
effectiveness. The results have been so positive, the district decided to offer
Carousel as an option to non-Title I schools, and now these schools also are
on target to meet their achievement goals for English learners.

Click here for the link to this case study: http://www.ballard-tighe.com/pdfs/carousel/carouselSS_OakGrove.pdf

English Language Development Case Study - Kodiak Island

The following is a case study that I have written recently for Ballard & Tighe, Publishers. Ballard & Tighe focuses solely on the development of ELD products. Writers interested in speaking to the individuals quoted in this and other case studies may contact me at jennifer@jharrisonpr.com and I'll help you reach the teachers/administrators.


Kodiak Island Borough School District in Alaska is clearly off the beaten track, but
it shares many of the challenges experienced by rural and urban schools alike. With
students speaking 20 different languages, a focus on fundamentals in ELD is critical
to success. Kodiak has adopted Carousel of IDEAS from Ballard & Tighe, Publishers
because it offers a structured, systematic, and standards-based approach to language
instruction that fits their instructional framework.

for more of this case study: http://www.ballard-tighe.com/pdfs/carousel/carouselSS_kodiak.pdf