For children in U.S. homes where a language other than English is spoken, early childhood programs that are responsive to their needs can be key to later academic success. But as states refine their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to assess such programs, immigrant early childhood workers with in-demand language and cultural skills may be left behind. This report examines the challenges these workers face and promising practices to serve diverse communities.

Let's say someone stuck a microphone in your face and gave you 45 seconds to say something meaningful to a billion people. Let's say, moreover, that this is the only chance you will ever have to directly address the entire world.

Marking the release of an MPI Europe report commissioned as part of the EU-FRANK project, this webinar examines critical gaps in the research and evaluation of refugee resettlement programs and recommendations for improving evidence gathering and knowledge sharing between resettlement countries. 

With pressure mounting on EU Member States to create and scale up refugee resettlement programs, many have turned to peers in other countries for information, advice, and operational support. This report maps the many forms resettlement-focused peer-support initiatives take and discusses common stumbling blocks and strategies for policymakers and program designers looking to make the most of these critical exchanges.

European policymakers are negotiating the blueprint for the next EU funding cycle—a plan that will determine how much money is available for migration and integration aims, what it can be used for, and who can access it. This policy brief explores some of the limitations of EU funds, as well as strategies that could help them more effectively serve migration and integration policy goals.

As the number and share of Dual Language Learners (DLLs) continues to grow across the United States, diversity within this population is also increasing. This webinar marks the release of a report providing analysis of the diversity within the DLL population nationwide and at the state and local levels. Speakers discuss data on the three rapidly growing subgroups within the DLL population: Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander DLLs and young children of refugees, and the implications for the early education and care field and K-12 education systems. 

Marking the release of two research reports that highlight promising, effective approaches to teaching and learning for Dual Language Learners in multilingual, multicultural classrooms, report authors present their findings on this webinar and discuss key implications for policy and practice.

Dual Language Learners (DLLs) are a growing segment of the Minnesota young child population, and a particularly "superdiverse" one with myriad origins, cultures, and languages—a new reality other states and communities will face. Drawing on interviews with policymakers and service providers, as well as analysis of census data, this report examines what this incredible diversity means for the state’s early childhood policies and programs.

To successfully integrate, immigrants and refugees need a variety of skills and knowledge—from English proficiency to understanding how school systems and local services work. Yet the adult education programs in place to support them have narrowed in scope. This policy brief proposes a new instructional model, English Plus Integration, to help states more comprehensively meet the diverse needs of their adult immigrant learners.

Macfarlane's journey begins on the Icknield Way, which runs over the chalk downs of Sussex. He starts out on a bicycle along an old Roman road that runs past an Iron Age hill-fort. As he cycles past the hill-fort he falls, damages his bicyle, and breaks a rib.However, Macfarlane gets up and continues his journey. He views the accident as

A warning, I thought superstitiously, had been issued to me: that the going would not be easy and that romanticism would be quickly punished. It was only a few miles later that I remembered the letter a friend had sent me when I told him about my plan to walk the Icknield Way. Take care as you pass the ring-fort, he had written back. When I mentioned the fall later, he was unamazed."This was an entry fee to the old ways, charged at one of the usual tollbooths, " he said. "Now you can proceed. You're in. Bone for chalk: you've paid your due." It was the first of several incidents along the old ways that I still find hard to explain away rationally." (p.43).

Throughout the book, Macfarlane risks meeting the supernatural. He spends the nights camping near Iron Age barrows. He sleeps in circular Pictish shielings. Finally he decides to sleep in Chanctonbury RIng in Sussex because author Laurie Lee had slept there while walking over England in the 1930's.

I first learned about Chanctonbury Ring when I read about called Sussex Cottage written by Esther Meynell in 1936. The ring contains a temple built by the Romans on a previously inhabited Bronze and Iron Age fort site. According to legend, Julius Caesar and his legions ride around the ring. It is also possible to summon the devil by running around it a certain number of times. There are a number of internet sites with chilling stories of uncanny experiences in Chanctonbury Ring:

http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/chanctonbury.html#folk

http://www.delcoghosts.com/chanctonbury.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/6454719/Devils-Dyke-is-not-for-the-faint-hearted-walker.html

http://ufofreeparanormal.com/node/62


Oblivious to the possibility that he may be rousing some kind of supernatural being, Macfarlane spends a night in Chanctonbury Ring, but gets little rest. First he walks around the ring, then beds down for the night. He is awoken by  human-sounding voices moving around the ring until two voices meet directly over his head. Eventually the voices go away and he is able to go back to sleep although he does not feel rested in the morning. Later in the day Macfarlane meets up up with an archaeologist friend and they discuss why it was a bad idea to sleep in the ring. However, it is not until he gets home that Macfarlane researches the folklore of Chanctonbury Ring and realizes that it is one of the most malevolently haunted spots in England.

What's interesting is that while Macfarlane is aware of the many centuries of human history that his paths have run through, and of the theories that the paths exist throughout time, he does little research on the supernatural history of the places where he travels. These places seem to do their best to make him aware of their history and their special qualities. The supernatural seems to forcibly come to him although he does his best to remain ignorant of its existence.

Hey, it’s been quite some time without updates on this front, but our latest updates to our Android and iOS…

Margaret A. Powers
Apr 1, 2016; 34:70-80
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What if we could help people in crisis anytime, anywhere with a simple text message? That's the idea behind Crisis Text Line, a free 24-hour service that connects people in need with trained, volunteer crisis counselors -- "strangers helping strangers around the world, like a giant global love machine," as cofounder and CEO Nancy Lublin puts it. Learn more about their big plans to expand to four new languages, providing a third of the globe with crucial, life-saving support. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

A short look at the science, pros and cons behind transcranial direct stimulation, or tCDS.

The state's "Influence 100" project includes a leadership development program that will give aspiring district leaders a hands-on opportunity to work through an equity issue in their home districts.

School districts are competing against each other for purchases of digital devices as remote learning expands to schools across the country.

With many school buildings closed for the rest of the academic year—and more to follow—district leaders turn their attention to making up for what may be deep learning losses.

With many school buildings closed for the rest of the academic year—and more to follow—district leaders turn their attention to making up for what may be deep learning losses.

A pair of cases being heard by the high court will likely determine whether job-discrimination laws apply to tens of thousands of teachers at religious schools.

The federal office of special education programs said the state failed to ensure that students were properly evaluated for special education, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The new curriculum would teach all students about tribes and Indian culture in North Dakota.

With many school buildings closed for the rest of the academic year—and more to follow—district leaders turn their attention to making up for what may be deep learning losses.

The state's last superintendent resigned under pressure after he attempted to take over Montgomery's school system and figure out a way to grade the state's schools.

Hopson became the interim superintendent in Shelby County, Tenn., in 2013 after the Memphis City School system merged with Shelby County schools. That merger then led six suburban communities to break away from the merged school system to form their own school districts.

A school district in Tennessee says it no longer wants teachers to use crowdfunding websites to get extra school supplies.

Dozens of Colorado school districts are asking voters next month for more funding for education through bond issues, mill levy overrides, or renewal of a city sales tax.

In the wake of anti-immigrant violence, we must help make sure that all students feel welcomed, writes Susana Cordova.

A pair of cases being heard by the high court will likely determine whether job-discrimination laws apply to tens of thousands of teachers at religious schools.

After years of shepherding the state’s K-12 system, Democrat Tony Evers will be called on to make good as governor on his pledge of more funding for K-12.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a decision by Montana's highest court that struck down a tuition tax-credit program allowing tuition scholarships to benefit students at private religious schools.

In a case from Montana, conservative justices suggested they were inclined to rule for parents who seek to reinstate a state tax credit funding scholarships for use at religious schools.

The leader of a Montana school district spends up to two hours each day grading assignments from students in an online English credit recovery program.

The U.S. Supreme Court will arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case that's been closely watched by both friends and opponent of private school vouchers and tax-credit scholarship programs.

In a case from Montana, conservative justices suggested they were inclined to rule for parents who seek to reinstate a state tax credit funding scholarships for use at religious schools.

Now Newark, New Jersey, is exploding, thanks to the attempts at intimidation by Governor Christie's hand-picked superintendent of schools, Cami Anderson.

Gov. Christie has pushed to flatten the state's funding formula so that the state's impoverished urban districts would get the same amount of money wealthy suburban districts get.

With many school buildings closed for the rest of the academic year—and more to follow—district leaders turn their attention to making up for what may be deep learning losses.

Six school systems, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, and the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference want to change the state's school-funding system, which allows for wide spending gaps between low- and high-income districts.

The state's highest court allowed some claims brought on behalf of relatives of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to proceed against the firearms industry.

Curtis Jones, a U.S. Army veteran, has led Georgia's Bibb County school system since 2015.

Curtis Jones, a U.S. Army veteran who has led Georgia's Bibb County school system since 2015, has been named the 2019 AASA National Superintendent of the Year.

Matthew Utterback, the superintendent of the North Clackamas district in Oregon, was named last week as the 2017 National Superintendent of the Year.

The Eugene, Ore., superintendent has led the district since 2015 and has emphasized diverse leadership, improved school facilities, and support services for newly arrived immigrant students and their families.

The supreme court put an end to five years of legal wrangling that landed the state's public school system with millions more dollars from the state and teachers with a pay raise.