Newsletter

Spring 2013

From the Executive Director

“PUSHING OUR LIMITS”

The 32nd Annual Educators’ Conference will take place in Mexico City from October 5-11, 2013. It is very fitting that the American School Foundation, which owns the proud distinction of being the oldest “American” School outside of the United States, be our conference host as it celebrates one hundred and twentyfive years of service to the local and expatriate communities in Mexico City.

Activities will begin with pre-conference institutes on October 5th and run through early afternoon on Friday, October 11th. This year’s theme highlights our commitment to creating learning environments that will result in success for all learners by exploring new ways to educate students for an increasingly complex and open-ended future. I hope that you will join us in Mexico City for this professional development opportunity, which has as the backdrop one of the most interesting and exciting cities in this hemisphere!

Three keynoters will inspire and challenge our thinking through their messages:

• PatBassette,(NAISPresident),willsharethemostimportanttrendsinschools for the 21st Century: “Schools of the Future: The Big Shifts”. 
• Michael Johnston (M/S Principal United World College) will emphasize the need to ensure a brighter tomorrow by addressing today’s problems: “Navigate the Now, Design the Future”. 
• Lee Crockett, from the collaborative project, Fluency 21, will speak to essential 21st Century Fluencies and how these can be cultivated and integrated into our schools: “Literacy is Not Enough: 21st Century Fluencies for the Digital Age”.

The pre-conference program offers an impressive array of presenters who will facilitate indepth training on relevant aspects of our work as teachers and instructional leaders. I hope that many of you will take advantage of this professional development opportunity and attend with members of your staff. You will note that based on the number and variety of offerings, pre-conference activities will run Saturday- Tuesday.

Bill and Ochan Powell will offer a workshop for Directors, Principals and Resource Teachers titled, The New Frontier: Inclusion, “Building a Culture of Inclusion”. This training is coming to our region for the first time and offers a unique opportunity for the top leadership and learning support teachers to come together over one of our biggest challenges: educating all students in schools that tend to be highly competitive.

The group of pre-conference trainers includes Jay McTighe, whose work on “Understanding by De- sign” has been adopted by educators worldwide, and Douglas Fisher, the literacy and assessment guru. Jay and Doug’s latest books published by ASCD are being featured with their permission in this spring issue of the newsletter. Robert Garmston and Jane Ellison, from the Adaptive Schools Consortium, will offer skills training in “Collaborative Groups” and Pam Allyn, from Lit Life, will feature “New Dimensions in Early Childhood Learning”. Michael Johnston will bring us a unique opportunity through his pre-conference: “Educating for a Sustainable Future” and John Zola will offer a two day workshop on Socratic Seminars.

Two Institutes will be part of the program: • “Lifting the Level of Literacy Instruction to Maximize Student Achievement” will run for a second consecutive year. Based on demand for continued literacy training, a three -part literacy institute will begin at the October Conference and run until May 2014. You will receive additional details about this program under separate cover. “Making Quality Music & Learning Come Alive”- This demonstration workshop will take place with students from the American School Foundation, providing opportunities for modeling and observation. The instructor will be Dr. Russell Robinson, the Music Department Chair from the University of Florida.

The main conference program will include strands that address evidence - based literacy practices, trends for 21st Century schools, differentiation for students on both ends of the learning continuum, grading and assessing students with special needs, and meeting the social-emotional needs of the adolescent learner. A group of Apple Distinguished Educators will support Lee Crockett’s keynote on 21st Century Fluencies through their presentations. Directors and Principals have a unique op- portunity to work for one day with Dr. James Stronge, on his latest work on Principal Evaluation. Dr. Stronge is one of the leading authorities in the field and his work has been extremely well received in schools in other regions of the world. This is just to name a few of the sessions that will be part of the program. Complete details will be sent to you before registration opens on April 15, 2013.

I want to thank the schools that applied for our Community Service and Global Leadership Awards. The increasing number of service projects in the region make this decision a difficult, yet, wonderful problem to have. My deepest commendation for all that you are doing to develop social and envi- ronmental awareness and responsibility in your students. Award recipients are highlighted under the section Regional News.

We have many new initiatives in the region that require your support and involvement in order to make them sustainable. It is my goal to meet many of your staff development needs through the Tri- Association Conference and Institutes, so let me hear your ideas about how we can best do this.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Mexico City in October 2013. I appreciate your support, and hope that your school year ends on a very successful note!

Sonia Keller, Ed. D.
Executive Director

NEWSLETTER CONTENTS

• Regional News
• Featured Professional Titles
• Articles

Regional News

Spring 2013

Tri-Association 2013 Award Recipients

• 2013 Community Service Award The recipient was the American School Foundation of Monterrey for their “Miles for Smiles” project which supports Mexican children with cleft palate and other facial deformities.
• 2013 TieCare M/S Global Leadership Award The recipient was Country Day School for their ani- mal welfare project, “Paws n’ Claws” which is raising awareness and providing a home for stray animals. 
• Paul G. Orr Award This year’s recipient is Janet Heinze, the Director of the American School Foundation of Guadalajara. Janet has served our region with dedication and distinction through her roles as ASOMEX and Tri- Association President, as a Member of AdvancED’s Latin American Committee, and more recently as the Chairman of AdvancED’s Council for Interna- tional Schools. Janet is stepping down from her role at ASFG at the end of this school year.

Annie Acevedo Receives The “Orden Simon Bolivar, Gran Maestro” Award

Annie Acevedo, a dear colleague and long time sup- porter of the Tri-Association received the highest distinction awarded by the Colombian government in the field of Education on January 22, 2013.

Annie has been the Director of the Student Learning Center at Colegio Nuevo Granada for the last thirty years. This well-deserved honor recognizes Annie’s lifetime commitment and impact on the field of spe- cial education and child development.

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Literacy Institute @ ASFM Demo Site

The second part of the Literacy Institute took place at the American School Foundation of Monterrey the first week in March. Forty- two teachers from schools in the region convened at the ASFM campus for six days of intense training on the practical aspects of the Reader’s & Writer’s Workshop. Hard work did not get in the way of a good time and participants walked away expressing high accolades about their experience, and with a backpack of new skills and knowledge to be applied at their respective schools.

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Remembering ALAN TRAVERS

On February 20, 2013 the international community lost one of its strongest advocates and most respected colleagues. After running the Teacher Recruiting Fair at Queens University for more than three decades, and just as he was beginning to enjoy life in semi-retirement, Alan Travers passed away suddenly on February 20, 2013. Alan was going to continue to dedicate his talents and training to his passion for international education on a part- time basis.

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World Read Aloud Day ( WRAD)

Children have the right to read, to write, and to share their words in order to change the world! In Monterrey, Mexico WRAD celebrations took place on March 3rd. On this day the community joined the American School Foundation of Monterrey (ASFM), to raise voices and empower the world’s children through the power of books.

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Featured Titles

How to Create a Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom

Most school improvement efforts focus on academic goals, instructional models, curriculum, and assessments. But sometimes what can make or break your learning community are the intangibles the relationships, identity, and connections that make up its culture.

How can you uncover these unseen factors, shape them to your advantage, and ensure they positively influence the daily lives of students and staff? This book answers that question and explains how to build and maintain a culture of achievement in any kind of school environment. Discover why culture that is deliberately developed and managed can optimize its impact on mission, vision, and purpose.

» Download the Newsletter to read the full article

Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding

Authors of the popular Understanding by Design framework explain why and how to use essential questions in all grade levels and subjects to unlock the big ideas in your curriculum and deepen students’ understanding.

The authors provide practical and proven guides to help you design effective essential questions and use them in daily instruction to engage more students in thoughtful learning that promotes independent learning in all grade levels and subjects.

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Articles

“Miles for Smiles”

Miles for Smiles started with committed students who had a great cause to work towards! The cause: Operation Smile, Mexico.

Besides conviction and complete devotion, it didn’t take much for the ASFM students who founded Miles for Smiles to get people on board. Arduous work and a successful race on our gorgeous campus got us started five years ago. With ambition and dedication, the students that followed the founders took another step towards the expansion of “Miles”.

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COJOWA Reaches For Strong Values

When COJOWA students agree on common values, the entire school culture changes.

Students make mistakes. We all do. Learning how to respond to our mistakes is what sets the COJOWA family apart. In the past, when students would come to the elementary office after making a mistake that led to conflict, it was a struggle to discover who was telling the truth. It was challenging to get students to realize that they hurt someone. This has all changed.

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Los Estilos de Aprendizaje

“Una Buena Forma de Entender y Respetar la Diversidad en el Aula de Clases”

El contexto educativo nos presenta cada día nuevos desafíos tales como el manejo de las tecnologías en el aula de clases, los nuevos métodos de control comportamental, la diversidad cultural debido a fenómenos socioeconómicos como la globalización y además de esto, el impartir clases teniendo en cuenta que cada ser humano es diferente y por lo tanto tiene su propio estilo de aprendizaje; lo que sí es muy claro es que cada uno de estos problemas debemos enfrentarlos y superarlos exitosamente.

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Learn Neuroscience – or Gardening!

We all search for lifelong learning opportunities – ways to grow personally and professionally. In the past, returning to university implied a career change, a lifestyle change, and a financial burden. But these days, the technologically equipped and connected home means a major shift in opportunities to continue learning. With the Internet, the only hurdle that prevents most of us from taking courses in computer programming, human physiology, songwriting, or business strategy is the struggle to choose from so many interesting fields of study and the juggle of time management.

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