Today is the last day to register for the 17th Annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet. Every school in Connecticut is blessed with parents and other volunteers who contribute to its success. Here's an opportunity to honor those individuals! Join us on March 15th at the Aqua Turf and give public recognition to those volunteers who have made your schools better places to work and learn. 

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Come to CAS on February 28th to complete the Physical Activity Leader (PAL) Learning System and become a champion for physical education and physical activity in your school community! The PAL Learning System is a dynamic, action-focused professional development program created within the Let’s Move! Active Schools framework, a national initiative to ensure that 60 minutes of physical activity a day is the norm in K-12 schools across the country.

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"CAS Administrators' Talk" is a discussion group which allows school administrators to pose questions to their colleagues and have online exchanges on issues directly related to their positions. A number of helpful questions and answers have already been posted on topics such as standards-based report cards, alternating day block schedules and middle school advisory programs. The forum is not widely known and our participation numbers are still low, so join now. The more people who participate, the better the conversations will be!

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In response to the needs of practitioners, the Bureau of Special Education (BSE), in partnership with the State Education Resource Center (SERC), has developed a series of ten Special Education Professional Learning Modules with three central themes running throughout the series: individualized education program (IEP) development (for compliance and quality); culturally responsive family-school partnerships; and, state and federal special education regulations. Intentionally designed with a target audience that includes general educators/school leaders as critical partners, participants will return to their districts with tools and strategies ready for implementation to build staff capacity and to better support students with disabilities and their families.

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The CAS-CIAC Endowment and Flanagan Grant Program, made possible by the generosity of sponsors whose dollars have helped us build a stable endowment fund, provides grant money to member schools to fund new or existing initiatives that lead to enriched educational experiences and/or improved learning environments. Some examples of activities or programs that would be considered for funding include:

• leadership training for student leaders;
• anti-bullying programs;
• multi-cultural programs;
• academic competitions;
• programs about self-esteem, nutrition, and/or character development; and,
• school climate initiatives.

The deadline for proposals is April 7th.

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For the past two years, the Connecticut State Department of Education, in partnership with CAS and the RESC Alliance, has hosted the Moving from Compliance to Coherence Conference, which has provided a forum through which educators from across the state can share their promising practices. This is a conference for educators, by educators! The third annual conference will be held on March 9, 2017, and will feature practitioners who have developed or implemented systems for providing effective feedback to increase student and staff learning.

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President Trump’s recent executive order entitled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” bolsters federal resources and provides avenues for increased state and local cooperation in immigration enforcement efforts. Particular provisions targeting “sanctuary jurisdictions,” however, are being assailed as unconstitutional by state leaders and the mayors of more than a half-dozen municipalities from across the state. A recent CT Education Law Blog piece, written by Attorney John Khalil of Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C., discusses the opposition to the order in the context of public school education.

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Attention middle level educators! The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) invites you to join over 45,000 educators from around the world to share in pertinent professional development activities to help today’s young adolescents succeed in our ever-changing world! AMLE is a unique professional association which offers a rich array of research, resources, professional learning programs and networking opportunities. Learn more about the benefits of AMLE membership from AMLE Board of Trustee Member Erin Sholes.

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April is Earth Month and Goodwill (the original recycler) is once again challenging elementary schools to help the planet by donating items and keeping them out of landfills! This year, schools have an opportunity to win $1,500 and a special event for their students. Last year, Metacomet in Bloomfield was the big winner and enjoyed cupcakes from NoRA Cupcake Co. and a live performance by Connecticut native and NBC The Voice semifinalist Braiden Sunshine. See the video here. The challenge, which runs from April 1 – April 30, is open to elementary schools, but middle and high schools can join the cause and support an elementary school of their choosing. If your elementary school is interested, please click here for more information.

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Registration is open for KiDSMARATHON 2017, an amazing life fitness program that can be easily implemented in any school setting. KiDSMARATHON is an eight- to ten-week training program for students aged 7-12. Participants complete a full marathon by running incremental distances each week and finishing the last mile at a regional site along with hundreds of their peers. The training can take place before, during or after school. Using the mantra "winning is finishing and finishing is winning," KiDSMARATHON helps students develop life-long fitness skills, self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment. Find out more!

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