California Educator

September 2016

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WORKERS succeed in their jobs COLLEGE STUDENTS earn their degrees HIGH SCHOOLERS stay on track for graduation MIDDLE SCHOOLERS pass important courses ELEMENTARY STUDENTS read well by the end of third grade ATTEND TODAY, ACHIEVE TOMORROW GOOD SCHOOL ATTENDANCE MEANS... Too many absences—excused or unexcused—can keep students from succeeding in school and in life. How many are too many? 10% of the school year—that's 18 missed days or 2 days a month—can knock students off track. www.attendanceworks.org SEPTEMBER: Attendance Awareness Month Too many absences can keep students from succeeding in school and in life. Missing 10 percent of the school year, or just two or three days every month, can translate into third-graders unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing courses, and ninth-graders dropping out of high school. Educators can teach the value of attendance, use parent-teacher conferences to talk about attendance, and promote a culture of attendance. For toolkits and other resources, see aendanceworks.org. CCA'S FALL CONFERENCE Make plans now to join the Community College Associa- tion's Fall Conference, Oct. 7-9 at the Sheraton Grand Sacra- mento Hotel. This first of three CCA con- ferences for 2016-17 focuses on member engagement and will offer a variety of trainings on the best ways to reach your members. Keynote speakers include state Senator Marty Block, above, who will be receiving CCA's Legislator of the Year award. NEA's Earl Wiman will also speak. Come prepared to network and exchange ideas, and learn new strategies for strengthening your chapters. cca4me.org Making It in School Setting up a maker space at school? Based on the thriving DIY maker move- ment, maker spaces give students opportunities to create and invent using a variety of tools, from 3-D printers and the cloud to soldering irons and sewing machines. Educators should explicitly link maker-based projects to classroom curriculum and academic standards, said Chris O'Brien, a former teacher who helps schools with their maker and project-based learning spaces. This "helps ensure that students will learn," he told NPR Ed, "but also that the maker movement won't become just another educational trend." Michael Stone, director of innovation at Public Education Foun- dation, agrees, and offers four other guiding principles to maker education: balance clear expectations with open-ended prob- lems, assess process alongside content, anticipate the skills and design scaffolds and transfer accountability to students. See kqed.org/mindshi for more. 11 September 2016

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