Sunday, January 31, 2010

Social Security Offsets

"New NEA Video on Social Security Offsets Now on YouTube"

NEA is pleased to announce that our new video highlighting the impacts of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision on educators is now available on YouTube. You can access the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeVDDBtFfW0.

The video, which runs just over six minutes long, features an introduction and closing call to action by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, along with testimonials from impacted NEA members about the unfair offsets.

We encourage you to forward the link to colleagues, friends and others who can help spread the word about the need for repeal and to add comments to the YouTube site about the video.


Carrie Lewis
NEA Government Relations
1201 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
clewis@nea.org"

Celebrating Black History Month

Celebrating Black History Month
Ernest J. Gaines and "Those Twenty-Six Letters" of Influence

 
 

Presenter: Reggie Scott Young

Thursday, February 4, 2010, 12:00 p.m.

Louisiana Center for the Book
State Library of Louisiana, 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge

 
 

Baton Rouge, LA — In celebration of Black History Month, the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana announces a special event: author, scholar and educator Reggie Scott Young will present "Ernest J. Gaines and 'Those Twenty-Six Letters' of Influence" on Thursday, February 4, 2010, at 12:00 p.m. in the Seminar Center of the State Library, 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge.

  
 

In a Black History Month presentation, Reggie Scott Young, University of Louisiana English professor and Ernest J. Gaines Center Board member, will discuss Gaines's efforts to preserve the legacy of an African American community that might have been otherwise excluded from written history and how his works have, in turn, influenced other writers, including Young himself, to write not only for personal gain, but also to positively affect people's lives through their efforts as storytellers.

       

Ernest Gaines, whose works include "A Lesson before Dying," "A Gathering of Old Men," and "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" among others, was the recipient of the Louisiana Center for the Book's first Louisiana Writer Award in 2000, an award given annually to honor a contemporary Louisiana writer whose published body of work represents a distinguished and enduring contribution to the literary and intellectual heritage of Louisiana.

 
 

The presentation is free and open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend this Black History Month event as we celebrate the work of one of Louisiana's preeminent authors.  Copies of the acclaimed "This Louisiana Thing that Drives Me: The Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines" will be available for purchase.  Reggie Young will be available after the program to personally autograph copies. Since this is a lunchtime presentation, attendees are welcomed to brown bag their lunch for the event.

"The Sultan Sinks as Lincoln's Funeral Train Crosses America" Play

"THE SULTANA SINKS AS LINCOLN'S FUNERAL TRAIN CROSSES AMERICA"

A One-Man Short Play Performance by
David Madden, Chair
Louisiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission

Baton Rouge, LA—The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana is pleased to present a Louisiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission event as part of the Commission’s grand finale celebration.

On Thursday, February 11, 2010, at 12:00 p.m., David Madden, Chair of the Louisiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, will perform “The Sultana Sinks as Lincoln's Funeral Train Crosses America,” his new one-man short play, in which he speaks as twelve of the 500 survivors of the sinking of the Sultana in the Mississippi and narrates the simultaneous movement of Lincoln's funeral train from Washington to Springfield, Illinois. That night, 1,400 Union soldiers perished, the worst maritime disaster in American history.

“A year ago, we helped kick off the Louisiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial statewide celebrations here at the State Library,” said Rebecca Hamilton, State Librarian and member of the Louisiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. “The State Library is truly honored to host this grand finale event, a literary celebration of one of history’s most important figures,” she said.

Held in the Seminar Center of the State Library, this 45-minute program is free and open to the public. Given that this is a lunchtime event, attendees are welcomed to brown bag their lunch. Please join us to celebrate the grand finale of the bicentennial celebration and the culmination of the year-long contributions of the Commission Chair, David Madden, as he performs his original play."

S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Imagination Contest

"It’s time to S--T--R--E--T--C--H YOUR IMAGINATION!


Innovative students in grades 5-8 are invited to demonstrate their ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of rubber bands in the SECOND ANNUAL RUBBER BAND CONTEST FOR YOUNG INVENTORS!


This exciting contest encourages engineering design, creative thinking and problem-solving, while incorporating national and state academic content standards. There is more than $15,000 in prizes for students and their mentoring teachers so start their imaginations s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g right away!


We encourage you to share the competition information with your colleagues and members through your web site, publications and correspondence. The deadline is February 10, 2010 and applications may be received via hard copy mail, email or FAX.
The details for the competition are available online at www.rubberbandcontest.org. If you have questions, or if would like to discuss the contest with us, please feel free to email us at info@nmoe.org, or to call us at 330-376-8300.
Good Luck!


Hosted by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, The Akron Global Polymer Academy and The University of Akron.


National Museum of Education, Inc.
80 W. Bowery Street, Suite 305
Akron, Ohio 44308
330.376.8300
info@nmoe.org www.nmoe.org"

SAVE THE DATE - MAKING DATA MATTER

SAVE THE DATE - MAKING DATA MATTER:
Dear Education Leader,

Mark your calendar! The next Education Week Leadership Forum, Making Data Matter: Tools to Accelerate Achievement, is coming in April. We want to be sure you have saved the date of your choice—either April 7 in Chicago, IL, or April 19 in Washington, DC.
Making Data Matter: Tools to Accelerate Achievement is the perfect opportunity for you and your colleagues to learn from and collaborate with other top educators and data-use experts in an interactive, one-day forum. Sessions will be packed with best practices and results-oriented techniques. You will return to your district with practical, cutting-edge tactics to leverage the data you're already collecting, boost teachers' skill in using data to guide instruction in real time, and much more. Take a look at the day’s agenda to see what valuable takeaways you will bring back, and review the field of experts you will be hearing from.
Register online right away for the greatest savings. As a Super-Early-Bird registrant, you will pay only $249 to attend this Leadership Forum—a savings of $150 off the regular registration fee. But you must act fast, because this lowest rate expires on February 12!
This leadership forum is especially valuable when you bring your whole team -- over 45% of forum attendees come as part of a team. To get you and your team there, we are offering an additional $40 off each member of your group. It’s the perfect way to get district officers, principals, and teachers on the same page, and pay as little as $209 per person!

Register for Making Data Matter: Tools to Accelerate Achievement today!"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Help The Educators of Haiti

"HELP THE EDUCATORS OF HAITI"

Please consider donating to Education International's Solidarity Fund for Haiti. Checks can be made out to the National Education Association and sent to:

Haiti Earthquake Recovery
National Education Association
1201 16th Street NW, Suite 614
Washington DC 20036"

Contest for Young Inventors

"EXCITING NEWS about the Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors"!

It’s time to S--T--R--E--T--C--H YOUR IMAGINATION!


Innovative students in grades 5-8 are invited to demonstrate their ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of rubber bands in the SECOND ANNUAL RUBBER BAND CONTEST FOR YOUNG INVENTORS!


This exciting contest encourages engineering design, creative thinking and problem-solving, while incorporating national and state academic content standards. There is more than $15,000 in prizes for students and their mentoring teachers so start their imaginations s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g right away!


We encourage you to share the competition information with your colleagues and members through your web site, publications and correspondence. The deadline is February 10, 2010 and applications may be received via hard copy mail, email or FAX.
The details for the competition are available online at www.rubberbandcontest.org. If you have questions, or if would like to discuss the contest with us, please feel free to email us at info@nmoe.org, or to call us at 330-376-8300.
Good Luck!


Hosted by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, The Akron Global Polymer Academy and The University of Akron.


National Museum of Education, Inc.
80 W. Bowery Street, Suite 305
Akron, Ohio 44308
330.376.8300"