Abstract
Since 2006, PDK has been a member of the Learning First Alliance (LFA), an organization dedicated to increasing student achievement and ensuring greater equity for all students.
“LFAs mission is closely aligned with PDK's — supporting education in order to improve teaching and increase student learning,” said PDK Executive Director Bill Bushaw. “That's why PDK's membership in LFA is so important. We need to work with others to accomplish our mission, and we have that opportunity as a member of LFA. Whether it's through meetings with other LFA member organizations, or contact with Department of Education officials including the Secretary of Education and Congressional leaders, PDK speaks out about issues important to educators, parents, and ultimately students. PDK doesn't lobby, but we serve as a trusted voice identifying thoughtful ways to transform public education in the United States. Avery tangible benefit has been our ability to get the information included in the annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward Public Schools out to the over 10 million parents and educators who are members of the 16 associations comprising LFA.”
Currently, LFA and its 16-member associations are focused on supporting implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and also working with other associations like P21 (Partnerships for 21st-Century Skills).
Fellowship applications available
PDK is accepting applications for its graduate fellowships. The deadline is June 1.
The fellowships annually support Kappans pursuing graduate degrees in education at the master's, specialist, and doctoral levels.
The awards are made available through the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation and its endowed scholarship program.
For a complete list of available fellowships and their requirements, go to
Learn publishing tips from the Kappan editor
Join Joan Richardson, Kappan editor-in-chief, for her popular writing webinar, Submitting a Manuscript for Publication, on April 5
Richardson will walk you through the process of submitting a manuscript for publication. Her advice will focus on Kappan, but much of what she shares also applies to other professional education publications. She'll introduce you to writers' guidelines, editorial calendars, thematic issues, timelines for decisions and more, all in an effort to help you navigate the submission process.
The webinar is free to PDK members, but you must register to attend.
New Book Club selection ships soon
Contrary to popular opinion, formative assessment is not a tool; it's a process — one that can lead to better teaching and stronger students, which must occur if the U.S. is to retain its status as a leading economic power. That's the conclusion of Dylan Wiliam's new book, Embedded Formative Assessment (Solution Tree, 2011). Wiliam tells what formative assessment is, and is not, and presents five key strategies of formative assessment.
You can receive this book by joining the PDK Book Club today for $39 (higher rates apply outside the U.S.) by calling us at 800-766-1156.
The Wiliam book will ship March 1 and, by joining today, you'll also receive the two other book selections for the year: Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement, by Richard DuFour and Robert J. Marzano (November 2011), and Aligning School Districts as PLCs, by Mark Van Clay, Perry Soldwedel, and Thomas W. Many (July 2011).
Stand out in the crowd: Malik Henfield
When Malik Henfield was a child in Brooklyn, N.Y., he attended a school made up entirely of black students and black teachers, and he did very well.
“The teachers were very strict, and the students were very focused on their work for the most part,” he said. “There was no stigma attached to being smart. Doing well in school was the norm.”
But when he moved to South Carolina, he encountered a different academic environment. Little was expected of him, and, for the first time, he saw students who weren't engaged with their education and teachers who didn't care about it.
“As a result of this experience, I've devoted my professional career to dispelling the myth that black boys are not smart,” said Henfield, a PDK Emerging Leader and an assistant professor in the counselor education and supervision program at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. “It is a dangerous misconception that, in my experience, is internalized by both students and those charged with educating them far too often.”
He has focused his research on black males who may be considered high achieving or gifted.
“There is a lot to learn from those students who manage to do well in the same settings in which scores of black boys find it difficult to find success,” Henfield said. “Hopefully, more scholars will devote time to this topic, and negative perceptions of black boys and blackness for that matter will begin to change.”
His interest in forming friendships with people who share mutual interests led him to join Pi Lambda Theta. “It seemed like a great opportunity to build and strengthen my connections with educators who are also interested in contributing answers to some of our most difficult educational issues,” he said.
He's working on several projects focused on exploring the connections between racial identity, masculinity, and academic achievement among black boys in K-12 educational settings.
“I'd like to eventually develop a student profile that may aid in successfully recruiting and retaining black males in gifted and advanced courses,” Henfield said.
— Erin Young