In This Issue
President's Message
In the Teachers' Lounge
News You Should Know
Teacher Tools & Resources
 
  
SAVE THE DATE:
Representative 
Assembly Meeting

McKinley Technology High School
Tuesday, March 12th
4:30 p.m.
TICKET GIVEAWAY:
An Evening With 
Patti LaBelle 
Ticket Giveaway


At next week's Representative Assembly meeting WTU will hold a drawing for three sets of Patti LaBelle concert tickets to support the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

Members must be present to 
participate in the drawing.

Kennedy Center
Monday, March 25th
7:30 p.m.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Teachers' Center Spring Professional Development Institute  
 
When:
 Monday, April 1 at 9:00 AM -

 Friday, April 5 at 5:00 PM

 

Where: Whittier Education Campus 
and 
Anacostia Senior High School
 
Courses offered:
  • Art and Museum Integration Across the Curriculum
  • Sign Language
  • IMPACT 3.0
  • Building Blocks Toward Your Career
Click here to register
 
CLASSROOM FUNDING:
  
Adopt-A-Classroom
 
Adopt-A-Classroom matches donors with teachers so you can have funds to purchase critical resources and materials for your classroom.

By registering, your classroom will be posted on the Adopt-A-Classroom website available for donors to select. When adopted, you will have full discretion to purchase items that meet your unique classroom needs. 

 EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE:   
Educational Seminars Program 
   
Travel to Brazil or Portugal through this U.S. Department of State-funded exchange to learn more about your exchange's country, educational systems, teaching methodologies, culture and society, and initiate collaborative projects with international partner schools and communities.  
 
Applicants must:
  • Be a U.S. citizen
  • Currently be an educator and have a minimum of 3 years as an educator in U.S.
Deadline: April 1, 2013
For more information and to apply,
CALLING ALL TEACHERS:
Make your voice heard!  
 

If you are interested in blogging about a certain education topic or issue, sharing school news or providing advice to fellow teachers, we want you!

 

There is no long-term commitment

 and posts can be submitted anytime. 

Anonymous submissions are accepted. 

 

For more information contact: 

Jasmine Berry
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Nathan Saunders  
 

Good Evening, as you know, WTU is engaging in contract negotiations. There are many issues at stake such as a longer school day, an extended school year and compensation.

 

I am working to deliver a fair collective bargaining agreement that will respect educators and ensure that we continue to have an active voice in our school communities.  

 

Read more...

IN THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE
A Day Late and a Dollar Short

An article appeared in yesterday's Washington Post describing how DCPS plans to avoid the hemorrhaging of students as happened in the last round of mass school closings. Here are questions about Chancellor Henderson's Transition Marketing and Recruitment Plan:

1) Why is Chancellor Henderson just now, at the end of February, unveiling a plan to retain students from closing schools? Keep in mind that Henderson announced about a year ago that she intended to close a significant number of schools.

 

Read more...

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DCPS
Next D.C. teacher contract could yield longer school days and year, Henderson says
 
By Emma Brown, The Washington Post
 
The next D.C. teachers union contract will give principals and teachers greater flexibility to choose longer school days and a longer school year, Chancellor Kaya Henderson told the D.C. Council's Education Committee on Friday.

The chancellor called additional class time a "key strategy" for boosting achievement and one that has been used at many high-performing public charter schools in the city. Committee Chairman David Catania (I-At Large) agreed that extended school time is necessary to put the school system on an even footing with charters. 
 
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
A Look at Last Week's Most Relevant News and Information
LOCAL: 
 

 

 

 

Report: Number of D.C. 'dropout factories' soars in last decade

 

D.C. clamps down on low-performing charter schools, approves Rocketship

 

Ending 'social promotion' in D.C. schools

 

Anacostia High School students' love affair with making art

 
TEACHER TOOLS & RESOURCES
March Teacher Webinars 
Online seminars, known as webinars, are a great way to learn about a particular professional development subject without having to leave your desk or the comfort of your own home.  
 
There are free webinars available for educators all over the web that focus on various topics and teaching strategies. Here we have compiled some upcoming March webinars that focus on the Common Core standards, vocabulary and learning in the digital age.