Weekly Round Up 2/8/2019

NCEATALK

Webinars

Major Announcements & Deadlines

  • Thank you to all who participated in National Catholic Schools Week and the Many Gifts, One Nation: A Day of Giving to Catholic Schools (presented in partnership with FACTS). The day of giving brought in more than $1,125,000 in gifts to 427 schools from 113 dioceses! NCEA values your feedback. Please take the time to fill out the CSW feedback form and day of giving survey. These will help us plan for the years to come!
  • Apply for Bearing Witness™, a six-day, all-expenses-paid intensive study experience designed to give you resources to bring the lessons of anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and modern-day prejudice to your students and communities. Open to educators of grades 6-12 in the areas of social studies, English and religion. The Summer Institute is funded by the Eileen Ludwig Greenland Endowment Fund with support from the Howard M. Bender and Stanley S. Bender Institute. Hotel accommodations, local transportation, and meals taking place during the program are covered through these funds. A limited number of travel scholarships of up to $225 will be available for participants living outside of the Washington, D.C. metro area to help cover transportation to/from Washington, D.C.
  • Please see the attached job announcement for the NCEA Chief Program Officer. The CPO reports to the president/CEO, and is part of a four person senior leadership team including the president/CEO, chief advancement and business development officer and chief administrative officer. Information regarding the job and application requirements is provided in the job announcement.
  • We are pleased to announce the formation of the NCEA National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) Council. NCEA invites your consideration and application for membership. This leadership council will serve as an advisory body charged with the promotion and the continuous development and implementation of the NSBECS and associated resources and professional development.
  • Don’t forget to register for NCEA 2019, the largest private education gathering in the world!
  • Mark your calendars for Summer Professional Development!
    • The 2019 NCEA New Directions STREAM 3.0 Conference is taking place June 17 – 18, 2019 in Parsippany, NJ. More information about this innovative and engaging conference is available at www.NCEA.org/stream.
    • The Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY is once again the host hotel for the Seventeenth Annual Education Law Symposium (July 11 – 14, 2019). Registration materials will be available in early February 2019. Check out the event website for additional information.
    • The Institute for Catholic School Leaders (ICSL) will be July 14 – 17, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN. Please check www.NCEA.org/icsl for details about this dynamic leadership conference!
  • Apply to attend The Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes, which are week-long professional development programs for K-12 educators in the nation’s capital. Participants will learn to teach using primary sources from the Library of Congress’ resources. The Library will offer three different Institutes. Application details are available online. Application Deadline: March 10, 2019.
  • TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science) is a one-day engineering competition for students in middle and high school. The 2019 competition theme is “The Engineering Brain” and is composed of three components related to the theme – designing and building a solution to a problem, rigorous math problems and an essay. All competitions occur between February 13 and March 17. Learn more on the TEAMS website. Schools that are members of NCEA can use code NCEA to receive a 30% discount off of the national registration fee of $150. For more information, contact Jenn Glover, TEAMS Manager.
  • The National Speak Up for Digital Learning Survey Project has exciting news! Schools, arch/dioceses, religious congregation systems and networks of Catholic schools now have access to the suite of online Speak Up tools on-demand throughout the school year. The previous January 31 deadline for completing surveys has been lifted! Remember, there is no cost to participate in the Speak Up program.

Relevant Resources

  • 2019 E-rate Applications are now open. Please refer to the NCEA website for information pertaining to application dates, procedures and links to the necessary forms. 
  • The Winter 2019 issue of Momentum is now available online! 
  • Please share this month’s Parent News Flyer (in English and Spanish) with your school families. Previous Parent News Flyers are available on the NCEA website. 
  • Melissa Johnson, a veteran Catholic school teacher, is the co-creator of the eLearning 10-lesson course, Understanding Racism. Read her outstanding blog on NCEA Talk called “Open Wide Our Hearts.” This is a crucial time in our nation’s history. We are witnesses to a disturbing rise in racist attitudes, expressions, and violence in American society. 
  • The Whys and Whats for students who have difficulty with transitions or changes in routine, come across as rude or insensitive to others, or talk excessively about the same topics are covered in this infographic about autism behaviors. 
  • Check out our new and improved IFG: ACRE and Adult Survey programs.
  • The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the release of two toolkits which provide suggestions and resources for English Language (EL) learners utilizing technology-based resources.
  • Maximize Federal Benefits Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides helpful information for Catholic schools in understanding the ESSA.