New Professional Development from CSD – Digital Age Leadership: A New Paradigm for Learning

Two popular, annual academies held by Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis are the Technology Leadership Academy and the St. Louis Leadership Academy. A new workshop on June 5th, designed by the CSD Virtual Learning Center and the RPDC, is an extension of these professional development opportunities. School leaders are faced with the task of reforming education to meet 21st Century skill requirements like integrating technology and global awareness. How can we meet the needs of today’s learner, use technology effectively and efficiently, and still maintain the personal connection that’s so important to any learning experience? You’ll learn about managing change, using authentic student engagement strategies, and communicating effectively with education stakeholders. Technology tools used will include, but are not limited to, Google Forms for data gathering and analyzing, learning management systems, social bookmarking, and wikis, blogs, podcasts, videoconferencing and social media.

During this one-day, hands-on workshop, you’ll practice with the tools and develop ideas for incorporating them into your own learning environment. We’ll use National Education Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS*A – The National Educational Technology Standards are the standards for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age and are widely recognized and adopted worldwide.) as a guide for this class, and you’ll examine your own skills and practices in light of them. This is a bring your own device (BYOD) session – bringing a tablet, iPad or laptop is required.

More information:
What: Digital Age Leadership: A New Paradigm for Learning
Where: Cooperating School Districts, 1460 Craig Road
When: June 5th, from  8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost: $149 CSD member; $189 non-member
Additional Info: One Graduate Credit is available from Lindenwood University
Registration: online, here

Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Assessments Academy in St. Louis

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Next Generation Assessments Academy – presented by Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis – is an opportunity for district teams to amplify their preparation and transition to the new standards and assessments. This is the CSD kick-off for a 3-year CCSS/NGA roll out plan; sometimes it will include professional development for the entire team, while other events may be smaller and divided by content math, ELA or by elementary, secondary, administrators.

The CCSS/NGA Academy will provide participants with strategies and actions to support a systemic approach to transitioning to Common Core. Sessions on July 25 and 26th will address improving student learning through rigor, relevance and relationships.

During this 2-day event at the Hilton Frontenac in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Willard R. Daggett and his consultant team will share cutting-edge approaches to:

• Improving annual student academic growth while transitioning to the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Assessments

• Leveraging rigor, relevance, and relationships to prepare students for success in an increasingly technology-driven global economy

• Utilizing effective literacy and math strategies across the curriculum in order to address new proficiency requirements

• Building instructional leadership density in order to facilitate rigorous instruction that provides students with the opportunities to engage in real-world application-based learning

Please click in the comments section to learn about registering for CSD’s CCSS/NGA event in July.

CSD Provides, and Receives, Google Training

Google Certified Teacher and Virtual Learning Center (VLC) staff member Stephanie Madlinger provided instructional technology professional development today to Cooperating School Districts’ employees interested in learning more about Google.

Representatives from CSD’s Business Services, Communications, and Executive divisions, as well as staff members from CHARACTERplus® and the RPDC, learned tips and tricks on making their jobs easier and more efficient. Topics covered in today’s session included an introduction to Google Tools and an overview of basic Google Docs. Stephanie will conduct another Google Docs training for colleagues next week- one that is more intermediate- and this summer, the VLC will be offering several Google workshops in the tele (technology enhanced learning environment) at CSD for interested educators.

Boeing Educator Scholarship from available Challenger Learning Center-St. Louis

The Challenger Learning Center-St. Louis (operated through a partnership of the Saint Louis Science Center, the Ferguson-Florissant School District, and Cooperating School Districts) is accepting scholarship applications from kindergarten through 8th grade teachers to participate in its Boeing Educator Scholarship program for the 2012-13 school year.

The fund is intended for educators from under resourced schools throughout the greater St. Louis region. The program includes teacher professional development, curriculum materials aligned with state and national education standards, and student programs, including a simulated space mission at the Challenger Learning Center in north county.

Applications can be downloaded from the Challenger Learning Center’s website at clcstlouis.org. The deadline for applications is Thursday, April 5, 2012. Questions? Please call (314) 521-6205 or email info@clcstlouis.org.

CSD’s Chief Financial Officer to Retire

Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis, Stephen Keyser, recently announced his retirement from the organization. His final day at CSD will be this summer, August 3rd. In 2006, Steve joined CSD’s staff from the Mehlville School District, where he served as Chief Financial Officer. His experience also includes time with the Parkway School District, St. Louis Community College, as well as other private industry companies.

“Steve has been an asset to CSD and the school districts we serve in many ways,” Executive Director Don Senti shared, “Steve’s leadership has helped districts collaborate and save significant money, allowing them to direct those funds to the education of students.”

During Steve’s time here, he has been responsible for many successful programs, including the development of the CSD Retirement Trust. The Retirement Trust has simplified the 403(b) retirement planning process for school districts and their employees. He also spearheaded significant success for the CSD Insurance Trust, with low loss ratios that have been accomplished through a focus on wellness and the implementation of a Health Reimbursement Account. In addition, Steve was a 2011 finalist as a small nonprofit CFO of the year. Those awards are given to financial professionals in the St. Louis region from the St. Louis Business Journal for outstanding performance in their roles as corporate financial stewards.

CSD will begin the process of searching for its next Chief Financial Officer soon. Look for more information to come on our website, www.moreap.net.

Congratulations to Steve for a job well done!

Best Practices Conference Takes Place February 28th

The annual Best Practices Conference is a joint project between the Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis and Regional Professional Development Center Advisory Board. Through this conference (honoring teachers, classrooms and schools that get results in grades K-12), participants have the opportunity to hear and learn practitioners from our local schools whose practices are making a difference for students and teachers. This year, the all-day conference is February 28 and takes place at the St. Charles Convention Center. The fee for attending is $60 for a CSD member. Registration is limited to 200 educators, so mark your calendars.

St. Louis area educators will present, as will Keynote Speaker Mark McLeod. Mark speaks to the heart of a teacher- he knows what it is like to “be in the trenches.” Recognized as one of Mississippi’s top school administrators, Mark is lifelong educator; his experience includes teaching, coaching, and roles as assistant principal and principal. Conference attendees will feel inspired to further plant seeds of success in their students after Mark’s keynote. Not only will Mark speak first thing in the morning with the opening address, he also will hold a session at 4 o’clock entitled Commuter Time Conversation with Mark McLeod. The day wraps up with the CSD Winter Conference/Dinner for School Board Members and Superintendents (this session is an additional $30 to attend). For more information on the Best Practices Conference, contact Karen Vaughan at kvaughan@csd.org.

To learn more about Cooperating School Districts’ programming, visit our website, CSD.org, and follow us on Twitter, twitter.com/csd_stl.

Midwest Education Technology Conference Takes Place February 13-15th

Introduce more technology integration opportunities to your schools by coming to and learning from the excellent sessions at the annual Midwest Education Technology Conference in February. Registration is now open. More than 1,700 attendees from around the United States are expected to participate in the annual event, including technology specialists, teachers, library media specialists, staff developers, administrators, instructional technology teachers, and information technology/ network specialists. Keynote speakers for the 2012 METC:

John C. Carver
Leadership Breakfast, Tuesday, February 14
Our “Printing Press” Moment: Educational Transformation,
Hold On to Your Hats!

Dr. David Thornburg
Tuesday, February 14
Can You Hear Me Now: The Powerful Rise of Mobile Learning

Adam Bellow
Wednesday, February 15
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future

Session content includes interactive whiteboards, videoconferencing, Discovery Education, Google, digital storytelling, mobile devices, geocaching, QR Codes and much more. Presenters are classroom instructors from the St. Louis region and beyond, plus eight special featured speakers brought in to address specific education issues. The METC Advisory Committee asked Rushton Hurley, Roxanne Glaser
, Lucy Gray, 
Cindy Lane
, Paula Naugle, Kathy Schrock, 

Kenneth Shelton, and Tony Vincent to present. Contact Project Coordinator Megan Moncure or Program Director Nancy George if you have questions regarding the conference.

CHARACTERplus Holiday Reading Festival Takes Place December 2-4th

This weekend is the Holiday Reading Festival from CHARACTERplus, one of the divisions of Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis. This fun, free, family event will be held at Crestwood Court and includes the Scholastic Book Fair; an appearance by Clifford the Big Red Dog; 12 original children’s book illustrations on display; a create-your-own-book activity; and an area children’s art show. The artwork displayed at the Holiday Reading Festival is from the following schools (6 different districts, 10 different schools):

· Mesnier Primary, Affton School District
· Antonia Middle School, Fox School District
· Kennerly Elementary, Lindbergh School District
· Crestwood Elementary, Lindbergh School District
· Concord Elementary, Lindbergh School District
· Long Elementary, Lindbergh School District
· Brennan Woods Elementary, Northwest School District
· Eureka Elementary, Rockwood School District
· Fairway Elementary, Rockwood School District
· Valley Park Elementary, Vally Park School District

In addition, four musical groups will perform on Saturday, December 3rd:
11:30 a.m. -  Sappington Elementary
1:00 p.m. – Clyde Hamrick Elementary
2:00 p.m. – Blevins and Fairway Elementary Schools
2:30 p.m. – Simpson Elementary

Come out and support our local (and young) artists! Meet some of your favorite book characters, talk with the illustrator of  a children’s favorite, The Magic School Bus. The only cost is for items purchased at the Scholastic Book Fair, which will benefit the Children’s Illustrated Art Museum in St. Louis, and CHARACTERplus, which works to instill positive character traits in students.

District’s-Choice Online Learning to work with e2020

After evaluating many online learning vendors, Cooperating School Districts (through our new program District’s-Choice Online Learning) selected e2020 as a key virtual education vendor in our plan to provide comprehensive virtual education  to Missouri schools. Schools have 200+ courses to select from with e2020, and different options to purchase. We’d like to invite you to join us for a free Lunch & Learn so you know what features distinguish e2020 and District’s-Choice from other online programs available for K-12 schools.

The e2020 Lunch & Learn session takes place Thursday, November 3rd at 1460 Craig Road in St. Louis. You can come in the morning and stay for lunch, or stop by for lunch and stay through the afternoon. Register for this free event here.

• 10- 11:30 am- Demo & Info session of e2020
• 11:30-12:30- Lunch for all provided by e2020
• 12:30- 2 pm- Demo & Info session of e2020

With e2020 through District’s-Choice you can:

• create a personalized schedule
• offer any course any time, creating the flexibility for new innovative school options and schedules for all
• provide credit recovery for students so they graduate on time
• require a study skills course for freshmen
• encourage students work on a prescriptive MO EOC Assessment Prep course
• offer an ACT, GED prep course any hour of the day to all students
• use e2020 assessments to find out which Missouri and Common Core Standards to spend more time teaching and what to skip, thus personalizing teaching each student in grades 6-12
• use videos of real teachers explaining each Common Core Standard

CSD’s District’s-Choice Online Learning will offer the highest-quality courses at the lowest prices in Missouri using e2020, and down the line, with additional vendors to expand our K-5, Foreign Language, and AP course offerings. For more information on this Lunch & Learn, or on District’s-Choice Online Learning, phone Dave Sanders at 314-692-1219, or Nancy George at 314-692-1251.

Supplemental Education Services Now Offered

Cooperating School Districts has been approved as a Supplemental Education Services provider by the state of Missouri. If your district has schools & students that qualify for SES, please contact us to take advantage of our research-based math and reading programs, which are built on the decades of experience we have in public K-12 education.

We offer SES in an after-school tutoring program for K-8 students. The tutoring is offered in a small-group format (and includes snacks for students) and also is accompanied by monthly progress reports sent to parents.

Our SES program employs teachers from your buildings who already know the students. These teachers truly help them as they take the next steps toward academic achievement. This is a great option to improve your students’ performance. Students using this tutoring program showed dramatic results after participation:

17% increase in Word Recognition
21% increase in Fluency
29% increase in Comprehension
29% growth in Math

A quality SES program can improve student achievement and work habits, reduce delinquent or risky behaviors and improve social and behavioral skills. For more information on SES at CSD, please contact David Sanders, Director of Professional Development.