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Future Educator, College Student, Lacrosse Goalie

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These printable phonics worksheets will help students better understand letter-sound relationships. Skills include: long vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, digraphs, diphthongs, and blends.

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free phonics lesson plans kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd grades

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Phonics Lesson Plans: Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Grades

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Phonics lesson plans using music, rhythm, and play

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I am taking a Words Their Way class and one of the assignments was to make a game...so here it is. I made two different phonogram games.

Directions: Make one copy of the game board and two sets of game cards, each on a different color, one for each player. The student chooses a card, reads the word and then places it on an open spot with that phonogram. They keep taking turns until someone connects four of their cards or they can no longer play. If play stops they can count their cards on the board to determine who wins. If the student reads a word and can't find a place for it on the board they lose their turn.

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I am taking a Words Their Way class and one of the assignments was to make a game...so here it is. I made two different phonogram games. Directions: Make one copy of the game board and two sets of game cards, each on a different color, one for each player.

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

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The third grade spelling words curriculum below spans 36 weeks and includes a master spelling list and five different printable spelling activities per week to help reinforce learning. Feel free to print materials for your classroom, or distribute to parents for home use. (read more about the spelling curriculum design.) To take full advantage of the program, consider using the spelling program together with the companion 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets.

Teacher / Parent Materials (PDF Format)

3rd Grade Master Spelling List (36 weeks/6 pages) Download Master Spelling List (PDF)
This master list includes 36 weeks of spelling lists, and covers sight words, academic words, and 3rd grade level appropriate patterns for words, focusing on word families, prefixes/suffixes, homophones, compound words, word roots/origins and more.

3rd Grade Dictation Sentences are now included in each week's activity set: The teacher/parent will read each sentence aloud and the student will write each sentence on the provided worksheet. This helps ensure that students are making the connection between the spelling words and how they are used in context. It also allows you to check and correct problems with language conventions such as capitalization and punctuation.

Each week includes 5 Different 3rd Grade Spelling Activities!

Third Grade Spelling Words Worksheets (PDF Format)

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Third Grade Spelling Words - Free 3rd Grade weekly List, Worksheets

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The third grade spelling words curriculum below spans 36 weeks and includes a master spelling list and five different printable spelling activities per week to help reinforce learning. Feel free to print materials for your classroom, or distribute to parents for home use. (read more about the spelling curriculum design.)

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It is the policy of the Board of Education not to discriminate on the basis of Protected Classes in its educational programs and activities and employment. Protected Classes generally include race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation or transgender identity), disability, age, religion, height, weight, marital status, military status, ancestry, genetic information and such others as are defined in federal or state law.

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Book Wizard: Teachers, Find and Level Books for Your Classroom | Scholastic

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Level your classroom library or find books at just the right level for students with Book Wizard, the book finder from Scholastic with Guided Reading, Lexile® Measure, an

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Reading A-Z: The online reading program with downloadable books to print and assemble | Reading A-Z

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Award-winning reading solution with thousands of leveled readers, lesson plans, worksheets and assessments to teach guided reading, reading proficiency and comprehension to K-5 students

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Disclaimer: On this page you can find the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The standards are temporarily located on this page while we work to address technical challenges with CoreStandards.org. Thank you for your patience and we will share an update on CoreStandards.org when we have one.
English Language Arts Standards English Language Arts Standards (ADA Compliant) Mathematics Standards Mathematics Standards (ADA Compliant)

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Disclaimer: On this page you can find the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The standards are temporarily located on this page while we work to address technical challenges with CoreStandards.org. Thank you for your patience and we will share an update on CoreStandards.org when we have one.

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The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman

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The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman

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The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman

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This is "waiting for superman" by on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

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0:00 / 2:03•Watch full video

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Arizona private-school families cash in on state's tax-credit program

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Arizona private-school families cash in on state's tax-credit program

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Arizona created the nation's first tax credit for private education 18 years ago in a move hailed by school-choice advocates and replicated across the country.

Its architects, who promised the program would primarily benefit special-needs and low-income students, have watched it grow far larger than they ever imagined.

A program that legislative budget staff in 1997 estimated would cost $4.5 million a year now tops $140 million. And that doesn't include $50 million in tax credits handed out separately for public-school extracurricular activities.

"The impact has been substantial on the number of kids who are getting to go to the school of their parents' choice," said state Sen. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler.

Yarbrough is among the program's biggest supporters and also executive director of one of the non-profit school-tuition organizations that under the law accept the tax-deductible donations and distribute the funds as scholarships to private K-12 students. Arizona now has four private-school tax credits, two for individuals and two for corporations.

"It's been better and more successful than even those of us who were enthusiastic from the get-go imagined," he said.

Despite its explosive growth, the program has failed to keep its promise of primarily aiding special-needs and low-income students, and of expanding school choice. Meanwhile, as it grows, critics say, it is further depleting funding for public schools.

In fiscal 2014, the most recent year available, Arizonans claimed $84 million in individual tax credits. Corporations claimed another $39 million.

Only about 3 percent of the money is designated specifically for special-needs students. And 32 percent of the scholarship money given through the individual tax-credit programs goes to children of "low income" families, defined as those earning 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or $44,862 for a family of four, according to data acquired by The Arizona Republic. The corporate tax credit for "low income" families has a more-generous definition - a family of four can earn as much as $82,996.

Data also show private-school enrollment has actually fallen since the program was implemented, while public-school attendance continues to grow.

That trend, in particular, concerns critics of the program, who say every dollar donated to a school-tuition organization is a dollar that an individual or a corporation does not pay into the state's general fund, which pays for public education.

"They are literally shifting public money from public schools to private schools," said Dana Wolfe Naimark, president and CEO of the advocacy group Children's Action Alliance. "Think what we could do with that money in public schools."

While money flowing to the tax credits is small relative to the state's $3.9 billion education budget, it is not insignificant. State lawmakers in recent years have repeatedly cut school spending in the face of budget shortfalls. And the Legislature is still fighting a court order to pay schools an additional $320 million a year in unpaid inflation funding, arguing the state can't afford it.

Gov. Doug Ducey in June acknowledged public schools need more money, and proposed temporarily boosting by about $300 million a year the amount of state land trust funds distributed to the schools.

Supporters argue the tax-credit program saves the state money, and that scholarships total less per student than the state would pay to educate that student in a public school.

"There is always criticism that it takes money away from public schools," said Goldwater Institute Education Director Jonathan Butcher, whose organization has spearheaded school choice efforts in Arizona. "But I don't think the numbers are there. It's a math problem: There are 1.1 million Arizona public-school students and about 50,000 scholarships awarded. That's not enough to have an impact."

But the data do show a financial cost to the state.

The average tax-credit-funded scholarship, individual and corporate combined, was $2,453 in fiscal 2014. But many scholarships were far higher. The average individual tax credit scholarship for students of Tesseract School in Paradise Valley was $18,354. The average corporate tax credit scholarship for students at All Saints' Episcopal Day School in Phoenix was $9,405.

The state that same year allocated $4,138 per student in public schools.

There is also nothing to stop parents from scholarship shopping, getting multiple scholarships for their child from multiple tuition organizations. The state doesn't track how common that is.

Private schools and tax-credit organizations sell the program as a way for taxpayers to direct their money to the programs they think are best and to help students access the best school for their needs.

Without it, Lauren's Institute for Education in Gilbert wouldn't exist, and many of its 83 special-needs students would likely struggle in schools that aren't equipped to help them.

Tuition at Lauren's Institute is $35,000 a year, and covers therapists, specialized classrooms, very small class sizes and personal aides. The school last year was crowded into multiple buildings at a modern Gilbert strip-office complex. The teacher's lounge doubled as storage space so more area could be reserved for the bright, open classrooms with enough room for the children and their aides to freely move around. Instead of desks, there are tables, and a variety of seating options to best meet each child's needs. Smart boards in each classroom are combined with therapy tools.

This school year, the academy is moving into the vacated Rancho Solano school in Gilbert. It has more classroom space and nearly 10 acres.

Parents don't pay a dime.

"We see how many kids we get, see what their scholarship funding is and then we fundraise," said Carrie Reed, co-founder and president of Lauren's Institute.

Specifically, the school got $43,704 from individual tax-credit donations and $543,169 from corporate tax-credit donations. About two-thirds of the corporate money was from the tax credits designated for students with developmental disabilities and the other third was from the program for lower-income students.

Teresa Brooks' son Brigham, 16, has Down syndrome and autism and is non-verbal. He has been at Lauren's Institute for four years. They sought out the school after Brigham began to regress in public school.

"When I heard of the cost, I thought, 'There's no way we can do that. We have four children and I can't work because of Brigham,'" she said. "They couldn't run this school without the STO money, and we wouldn't be here without it."

Brooks and Reed said there is more need than money directed for children who need the kind of educational services offered at Lauren's Institute.

"We have parents begging to get into our program," Reed said. "It's heartbreaking to turn families down."

The biggest criticism of the tax breaks is that many of the scholarships are given to more-affluent families who would send their children to private school even without a tax credit.

The result, critics say, is money being drawn away from both the state-funded public schools and poor and special-needs students who need the money to attend a private school.

Even the corporate credit for "low income" students may not serve the population that many would assume. The law defines low income as students whose families are at 185 percent of the income required to qualify for reduced-price lunches, which is already set at 185 percent of the federal poverty level. In other words, Arizona's definition of low-income for this tax credit is a family of four with an annual income of $82,996.

Butcher, of the Goldwater Institute, said the program has evolved and is intended to serve a broad cross section of students. It is serving a need, he said.

"The eligibility is set up to help students no matter where they are in their life and where their family is," he said. "The scholarships seem to be pretty modest, often around $2,000. Families can use the scholarships to get close to where tuition may be."

Yarbrough concedes that the scholarships aren't limited to truly low-income Arizona families.

"A more fair statement is low or modest income," he said, but added that a higher percentage of individual tax credits are going to students in that category. There are no requirements that those scholarships be income-based.

Tuition at some private schools far exceeds the scholarship amounts, leaving parents to cover the rest. Critics say that cuts off truly low-income students.

"You're allowing extremely wealthy people who can pay for it anyway to get a tax dodge for them and their friends and family, so the public pays for their kids at a private school," said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson. "Right now, it's almost impossible for someone who is poor to benefit because even if they get a scholarship, they still have to come up with the rest of the tuition."

Salpointe Catholic, for example, has an online brochure that says that "some Salpointe families fund their tuition expenses through the individual tax credit referral program." Tuition there is $8,700 a year. It goes on to explain how to cover a student's tuition using the credits and that the program "offers the taxpayer the option to help a local student receive a quality education rather than send tax dollars to the Arizona Department of Revenue."

That, Farley said, is "how you strip a budget bare."

An hour north of Phoenix and 3 miles down a bumpy dirt road, the scrubby high-desert hills hide the picturesque campus of the Orme School.

Amid cottonwoods, the boarding prep school is housed in the renovated buildings of a 90-year-old cattle ranch. The 63 students, in grades 8-12, come from around the world for the school's "Southwestern experience."

The school's $45,000-a-year tuition belies its rustic setting and hands-on training. Students wander between class buildings in boots and dusty jeans. They do their own laundry, help with dinner and work in the garden. In addition to more-traditional classes, they can learn blacksmithing and horsemanship.

Seven Orme students from Arizona this year received a combined $144,939 in individual tax-credit donations. Scholarships averaged $15,195 each according to records acquired by The Republic. Families paid the difference.

"Those kids are by no stretch wealthy kids or even upper-middle-class kids," headmaster Bruce Sanborn said.

He said the money the private schools get pales in comparison to the public money going to charter schools, many of which are run by for-profit institutions and some of which are criticized as being borderline parochial.

"We're a non-profit," he said. "We're not taking anything away from the public."

Tristan Tollas, 18, of Mayer, has been attending the Orme School since middle school. He grew up nearby.

"Without the scholarship, I wouldn't be able to come here," he said.

He plays football and soccer and loves the school's focus on sustainability.

"To be here, you have to have some kind of joy for outside, for being in the country," said Tollas, who is considering a career in environmental engineering. "It's a big change for people who come from the city."

Donors likely give little thought to the hole their donation leaves in the state budget, and what that may mean for their neighborhood public school. And in some cases, schools and tuition organizations are actively telling parents the program has no down side.

"The Private School Tuition Tax Credit Program allows Arizona Income Taxpayers to become directly involved in improving education in Arizona," the Arizona Tuition Organization website says.

House Minority Leader Eric Meyer, D-Paradise Valley, said there is a cost.

"When you give to a private-school tax credit, it's taking over $100 million out of the general fund to pay for your neighborhood school," he said.

Farley said the impact is enormous.

"We're undercutting one of the basic foundations that grew America to become the greatest economy in the world: a huge middle class that had access to education," he said. "There is nothing conservative about that at all, and certainly nothing patriotic."

Yarbrough admits many of the scholarship recipients likely would go to private school without the financial help. But there are also broader benefits, he said.

"It is disingenuous at best to argue it's not positive for Arizona taxpayers," he said. "Look at the educational outcomes. Taxpayers win."

Sally Cooper, Tucson's Salpointe Catholic High School's corporate tax-credit liaison, said there are real economic benefits. Part of her job is to encourage more corporations to participate in the program.

"Their cry is, 'We do not have enough educated, talented workforce staying in Tucson,'" she said. "This is the solution. It does not cost you a thing to direct those dollars right here in your community and designate them to the school of your choice to help those who could not otherwise afford a college-prep education. It's a win-win for everyone involved."

Program supporters, including Phoenix's Brophy College Preparatory Principal Bob Ryan, have also said the program's promotion of school choice supports private schools. And the more students in private school means the fewer students the state is paying to educate.

"The fact is, we do have 1,350 boys," he said. "That's 1,350 fewer boys the state has to educate. And these are boys with lots of potential who are going to do great things for the state."

But Arizona's private-school enrollment in 2012, the most recent year available, was nearly 2,000 students lower than it had been since before the tax-credit program was started. Public and charter schools in Arizona during that same period have grown by more than 400,000 children.

"The trends do not back up the supposed goals," Wolfe Naimark said.

The Arizona Legislature and then-Gov. Fife Symington, a Republican, established the tax-credit program for private schools in 1997. The law offered individuals up to a $500-per-year dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for donating to a non-profit school tuition organization.

"Some kids, especially low-income kids, who are stuck in schools that are not working for them, will get to go to a better situation," said then-Rep. Mark Anderson, R-Mesa, the bill's sponsor, in 1997.

The Arizona Education Association at the time warned it would become "a tax loophole for rich people."

Over the past 18 years, the program has been expanded repeatedly. It now consists of four credits with varying rules and restrictions.

Fourteen other states followed Arizona in establishing private-school tax-credit programs. Unlike Arizona, most require that all scholarships go to lower-income students. Many cap the overall annual cost of the program at less than $10 million.

There's no way to know exactly how much Arizona's program will grow over the next decade. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee staff, which provides data projections on a myriad of other items as the Legislature develops a budget, has no projections available for the program's individual tax credits.

The "low income" corporate tax credit alone is expected by 2025 to grow to more than $250 million a year.

Arizona voters in recent polling suggested they were seriously concerned about the direction of Arizona's education system.

Gov. Doug Ducey has begun talking about school-funding methods. He hosted a summit with national education experts advocating that money should follow the child, whether the child chose to attend a district, charter, private or other educational institution.

But so far, the tuition organization program is not part of that conversation. Some say there's more to be done to assure the program serves the state's neediest students, as intended.

Brooks said more of the money should be designated for schools like Lauren's Institute that serve special-needs students. Now, the vast majority of the money goes to parochial schools.

"Those students go to parochial schools by choice," he said. "This is a necessity. Public schools have failed our kids."

The vast majority of the money does go to parochial schools, particularly Christian schools.

Brophy is among the top recipients of tax credits. Its students got $2.4 million in scholarships in fiscal 2014. Salpointe got $3.1 million. Northwest Christian School got $2.5 million. Pusch Ridge Christian Academy got $2.1 million. Tucson Hebrew Academy got $876,274.

Attempts by Democratic lawmakers to require more of the scholarship money go to low-income students have gone nowhere.

Some associated with the state's largest parochial schools agree that changes are needed, and they're doing it themselves.

Brophy has among the highest tuition rates in the state, topping $14,000 a year. The Brophy Community Foundation, the school tax organization that allocates more than half of the scholarships Brophy students receive, doesn't allow parents to recommend recipients. All of its scholarships are need-based.

Genny Matteucci, executive director of the foundation, said her organization would support changing the law to no longer allow donors to recommend their money go to specific students.

"That way there would be much more of an opportunity for those with a need, and less of an opportunity for misuse," she said.

Ryan, the principal, said he'd also like to see the program require all scholarships be need-based.

"We believe firmly that tax credits should be earmarked and limited to students with financial needs," he said. "We think all the tax credits should be reserved for kids who would not be able to afford private schools."

Butcher opposes efforts to limit scholarships to low-income students.

"Every child deserves a chance at a great education - your child, my child, a lawmaker's child," he said.

Yarbrough said he sees no need for changes at this point.

"Middle and upper-income individuals pay taxes, too," he said.

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Arizona private-school families cash in on state's tax-credit program

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Arizona created the nation's first tax credit for private education 18 years ago in a move hailed by school-choice advocates and replicated across the country. Its architects, who promised the program would primarily benefit special-needs and low-income students, have watched it grow far larger than they ever imagined.

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Marylin Friends

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Welcome to The Co-Teaching Connection! The goal of this site is to provide resources for educators who want to know more about co-teaching.

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Sean Begg

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As promised, here's the rest of the update on Sean. After graduation, Sean got a job as a greeter at Walmart where he worked for almost 2 years. He made many, many friends there and was able to greet many people from our local community that he knew. With the change in management and management styles, Sean's employment there ended. What a shame as Walmart lost a very dedicated conscientious employee.

Sean has since found a small part time job working at the Wild Bird Center, located at 12234 Tullamore Rd in Timonium MD. Sean's responsibilities there are to stock the bird seed when it is delivered early Wednesday morning. He has to off load it from the pallets, negotiate his way through the store and restock, and store the excess in the rear stockroom. Sean's boss John Sala has been a wonderful and supportive employer. Sean looks forward to going every Wednesday, getting up and being prepared well ahead of the time that morning. The Wild Bird Center sells not only bird seed but every kind of bird feeder that you can imagine. One of my favorites is the one that gives a squirrel a merry-go-round ride when it tries to steal some seed.

Sean has made a very special friend at The Wild Bird Center....Ms. Hattie....she, Sean and Ian are in the top picture. Sean adores Hattie and this is a big step for him as Sean dislikes most dogs due to a frightening experience he had when he was younger. Hattie is the most gentle of souls and loves to be rubbed and give kisses.

Sean works with a supportive employement agency to find a full time job and to give him support as needed. We were able to find a agency that shared our views of inclusiveness. In addition to looking for a job, Sean has been able to volunteer at various agencies to gain some valuable "work skills" as well as to give back to the community. At Thanksgiving time, Sean worked in a soup kitchen alongside his community employment advocate to serve the homeless a hot meal.

He also volunteered at the American Cancer Society local chapter helping with their envelope fund raising campaign. As for what the future holds for Sean...my hope if that his future is limitless. I hope that society gives Sean and all people with disabilities a chance. I know that I will work til my last breath to make sure that happens.

Statistics suggest that every family will be touched by someone with some kind of disability or challenge. We as a society need to look at how we treat each other. We wouldn't want our loved ones treated unfairly, now would we? So the next time you see the little down syndrome child playing on the playground, encourage your child to befriend them. Hold the door open for that person in a wheelchair not out of just courtesy but out of respect for that person or better yet, why not engage in an exchange of "hello", betcha they will give back to you more than you will ever realize.

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Sean's Story A Lesson In Life Update Part 2

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As promised, here's the rest of the update on Sean. After graduation, Sean got a job as a greeter at Walmart where he worked for almost 2 years. He made many, many friends there and was able to greet many people from our local community that he knew.

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RESOURCES!!!

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wrightslaw special education law iep autism adhd needs learning disabilities advocacy 504 resources add dyslexia needs no child left behind act regulations services nclb idea ld peter pamela wright

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Wrightslaw - Least Restrictive Environment/Inclusion Index Page

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Links to hundreds of special education law and advocacy articles, newsletters, cases, and practical guidance for parents, advocates, and attorneys. Wrightslaw is the most comprehensive special education advocacy site on the Internet

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Children 3 to 21 years old served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B, by type of disability: Selected years, 1976-77 through 2008-09

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The primary purpose of the Digest of Education Statistics is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest includes a selection of data from many sources, both government and private, and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

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Michigan Special Education Labels (Revised 9/2004 - not changed with 5/2005 revisions to the Rules)

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Michigan Special Education Labels (Revised 9/2004 - not changed with 5/2005 revisions to the Rules)

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attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity

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pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified

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Michigan Rules for Special Education - Education Labels

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Michigan Special Education Labels (Revised 9/2004 - not changed with 5/2005 revisions to the Rules)

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Disabled Pupils Win Right to Medical Aid

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Disabled Pupils Win Right to Medical Aid

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Cedar Rapids native Frey gains insight while sharing disability story

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Cedar Rapids native Frey gains insight while sharing disability story

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For Garret Frey, writing his first book wasn't a struggle. But living it was.

In 1987, the 4-year-old Frey was riding home from day care on his dad's motorcycle when the blanket he was wearing for warmth got caught in the gears. Frey was pulled from the moving bike. His helmet saved his life, but the impact left him paralyzed from the neck down.

He spent 11 months in the hospital, withdrawn from the world. Frey faced challenges over the simplest of tasks, like figuring out how to move or get a drink of water, and more complex needs such as learning how to enjoy life and find happiness.

Then he met clinical psychologist Karen Hutchins Pirnot, who helped put things back together. And now, 23 years after the accident, Frey has found happiness. Wonder how? Read his book.

Cowritten by Frey and Hutchins Pirnot, "As I Am" shares with readers what Frey has seen, felt and learned over the years. Frey says the book is a wake-up call that shows the potential everyone has.

"After the accident I had to readily adopt new things and discover myself, learn new things about myself and find things in life that are great," he said. "I found it in myself, in God, in family, friends ... it's all taught me to live life to the fullest."

For seven years, Frey worked with Pirnot, now 70, to adjust to a life that would be spent in a wheelchair and on a respirator. They teamed up again 15 years later to tell his story.

Over the course of a year, the Kirkwood Community College student e-mailed Pirnot his stories, experiences and insights from his home in northwest Cedar Rapids. Pirnot wrote back with revisions and questions from her home in Sarasota, Fla.

"He supplied all the ingredients — I just kneaded the dough," she said.

"There were lots of moments (in the book) that were emotionally and mentally hard to write," Frey said. "But it was a good way to release everything that's gone on — kind of therapeutic."

The book is written from Frey's perspective and allows readers to experience the challenges he faced, from learning to use his breath to move a wheelchair to appearing before the Supreme Court over public education access for those with disabilities.

"They were cool guys," Frey said. " But (Justice) Thomas was asleep the time I was there."

Frey's published catharsis was honored this year by the Royal Palm Literature Awards in Florida. A psychology professor at the University of Oregon recently ordered 100 copies of the book and said it would become required reading in his program for any students going through the program in Eugene.

"This book was really 23 years of working together with Dr. Pirnot," Frey said. "(The book) has helped me learn who I am."

Frey is gearing up to start a new book that also will draw from his life.

"As I Am" can be purchased online at www.drpirnotbooks.com or www.amazon.com

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Cedar Rapids native Frey gains insight while sharing disability story

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For Garret Frey, writing his first book wasn't a struggle. But living it was. In 1987, the 4-year-old Frey was riding home from day care on his dad's motorcycle when the blanket he was wearing for warmth got caught in the gears. Frey was pulled from the moving bike.

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FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

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Steven Wedel's brutally honest blog post is shedding light on issues many parents believe lawmakers should address.

In his post, Wedel talks about giving his students food when they haven't eaten enough, staying after school with students who don't want to go home to their parents, living in fear due to massive budget cuts, and dealing with mandates that lawmakers have passed that make it more difficult to be a teacher in Oklahoma.

He writes:

I am a teacher. I teach English at the high school of an independent district within Oklahoma City. I love my job. I love your kids. I call them my kids. I keep blankets in my room for when they're cold. I feed them peanut butter crackers, beef jerky, or Pop Tarts when Michelle Obama's school breakfast or lunch isn't enough to fill their bellies. I comfort them when they cry and I praise them when they do well and always I try to make them believe that they are somebody with unlimited potential no matter what they go home to when they leave me. What do they go home to? Sometimes when they get sick at school they can't go home because you and the person you're currently shacking up with are too stoned to figure out it's your phone ringing. Sometimes they go home to parents who don't notice them, and those are often the lucky kids. Sometimes they go home to sleep on the neighbor's back porch because your boyfriend kicked them out of the house and his dog is too mean to let them sleep on their own back porch. They go home to physical and verbal abuse. They go home looking for love and acceptance from the people who created them ... and too often they don't find it. Many days your children bring the resentment they feel toward you to school with them and they act out against peers, property, or their teachers. When I call you I'm told, "When he's at school he's your problem." Or you beat them, not for what they did, but because it embarrassed or inconvenienced you when I called. Often, they stay at school with me for an hour and a half after the bell rings because they don't want to go home to you. Reluctantly, they get on the two buses meant to take home students who stay for athletic practice, and they go away for a dark night in places I can't imagine. Over 90 percent of the kids in my high school are on the free or reduced lunch programs. They walk hand-in-hand with Poverty and its brother Violence. They find comfort in the arms of your lover, Addiction. They make babies before they are old enough to vote. Or drive. And they continue the cycle you put them in. Sometimes I get through to a student and convince her that education is the way out of this spiral of poverty and despair. Then you slap them down for wanting to be better than you. And you, the lawmakers of this state, you encourage it. I hold two college degrees and have been on my job for 10 years. I was our school's Teacher of the Year in 2014. I teach kids to read the ballots that keep you in your elite position. I teach them to look behind your lies and rhetoric. I teach them to think for themselves. The compensation of me and my colleagues ranks 49th in the nation, and is the lowest in our region. I currently earn about $18,000 per year less than I did in 2002, my last year as an office worker for an energy company that merged with another and eliminated my job. I feel like my life has purpose now, but, as I turn 50 this year and wonder how I'll put my own high school-age kids through college, I have to consider giving up helping scores of kids per year so I can afford to give my own children what they need to find satisfaction in their lives. And what do you do? You whittle away at education funding. You waste the taxpayers' money so that our great state faces unbelievable shortfalls and massive budget cuts. You take home a salary that ranks 10th highest in the nation among state legislators and you are inept, uncaring, and an abomination to our democratic form of government. Those kids who stay after school with me? After Spring Break 2016 they can't do that. You see, our district can no longer afford to pay to run those late buses. Your kids wade through garbage in the halls because we had to release the custodial crew that cleaned at night. Oh sure, we could make the kids clean up after themselves, except our administrators live in fear of lawsuits, and making a kid pick up the lunch tray he threw on the floor has been considered forced child labor. There's also the very real possibility that a belligerent kid will just take a swing at one of us - again - because he or she wasn't taught respect for authority at home. Did I mention how we had to let go of our security officers because we could no longer afford them? We now share one single solitary Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputy with our ninth grade center and our middle school and alternative school. That's one deputy for about 1,300 students. We can no longer afford rolls of colored paper or paint or tape to make signs to support and advertise our Student Council activities. This fall our football team won't charge through a decorated banner as they take the field because we can't afford to make the banner. There won't be any new textbooks in the foreseeable future. Broken desks won't be replaced. We're about to ration copy paper and we've already had the desktop printers taken out of our rooms. We live in fear that our colleagues will leave us, not just because they are our friends, but because the district wouldn't replace them even if we could lure new teachers to our inner-city schools during the teacher shortage you have caused. We fear our classes doubling in size. We fear becoming as ineffective as you are. Not because we can't or won't do our job, like you, but because you keep passing mandates to make us better while taking away all the resources we need just to maintain the status quo. We fear that our second jobs will prevent us from grading the papers or creating the lesson plans we already have to do from home. We fear our families will leave us because we don't have time for them. I am the chairman of my department. It tears at my heart to know that my best teacher cries over the dilemma she's facing right now. She loves her job, but she's afraid she can no longer afford to continue in this profession. It's something we're all dealing with. How far will you push us? What will you do without us when we leave the classroom or leave the state? It's happening. You know it's happening, and yet you do nothing. You, the representatives, senators, and governor of Oklahoma are creating a population of ignorant peasants fit only to work in the oil field and factories you bring to this state by promising those businesses won't have to pay their fair share of taxes. You leave our kids in a cycle of poverty and abuse while your pet donor oil companies destroy the bedrock beneath us, shaking our homes to pieces while you deny your part in all of it. Parents, I beg you to love your children the way we love your children. Vote for people who will help teachers educate and nurture the kids we share. We can't do it alone anymore.

Wedel says his post has received more than 7,000 views in just two days.

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Man's brutally honest letter about the struggles of being a teacher getting a lot of attention

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- A teacher's powerful open letter about the struggles of teaching is getting a lot of attention. Steven Wedel's brutally honest blog post is shedding light on issues many parents believe lawmakers should address.

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Middle School Football Team's Life Changing Play

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Middle School Football Team's Life Changing Play

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The Olivet Eagles football team at Olivet Middle School in Olivet, Michigan went behind their coaches' backs to do something INCREDIBLE! The Olivet Eagles decided to run a play and intentionally not score, all without their coaches having a clue as to what they were doing.

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IEPs Must Be Aligned to Grade-Level Standards, Says New Federal Guidance

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IEPs Must Be Aligned to Grade-Level Standards, Says New Federal Guidance

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The U.S. Department of Education reiterated through new guidance that individualized education programs must be aligned to the content standards for the grade in which a student is enrolled.

So, for example, a high-school-aged student who is reading at an elementary school level must have an IEP that is connected to high school standards, as opposed to standards that match his or her current level of academic achievement. However, students with significant cognitive disabilities are allowed to be measured against what are called "alternate achievement standards." And the department does not mean to suggest that students significantly behind their peers must be expected to catch up in a school year.

From the guidance:

In a situation where a child is performing significantly below the level of the grade in which the child is enrolled, an IEP Team should determine annual goals that are ambitious but achievable. In other words, the annual goals need not necessarily result in the child's reaching grade-level within the year covered by the IEP, but the goals should be sufficiently ambitious to help close the gap.The IEP must also include the specialized instruction to address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability necessary to ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the state academic content standards that apply to all children in the state.

The Education Department is also looking for feedback on this guidance, specifically on models of alignment that are working well at the state and local level, and how to best implement this guidance for students who are English-language learners and students with significant cognitive disabilities. Comments can be sent to [email protected] or US Department of Education, 550 12th Street SW, PCP Room 5139, Washington, DC 20202-2600.

Resources Released for IDEA's 40th Anniversary

The guidance was one of several IDEA-related resources released Tuesday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the law, which was signed by Gerald Ford on Nov. 29. The others include:
Photo: A U.S. Department of Education panel of special education experts on Tuesday featured an IDEA birthday cake. The law's 40th anniversary is Nov. 29. (Christina Samuels/Education Week) Related Stories:
Follow @onspeced for the latest news on special education policies, practices, and trends.

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IEPs Must Be Aligned to Grade-Level Standards, Says New Federal Guidance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The U.S. Department of Education reiterated through new guidance that individualized education programs must be aligned to the content standards for the grade in which a student is enrolled. So, for example, a high-school-aged student who is reading at an elementary school level must have an IEP that is connected to high school standards, as opposed to standards that match his or her current level of academic achievement.

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20,517 points * 163 comments - Back to school - 9GAG has the best funny pics, gifs, videos, gaming, anime, manga, movie, tv, cosplay, sport, food, memes, cute, fail, wtf photos on the internet!

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What it's like to have an autistic brother. 

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What it's like to have an autistic brother. 

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What it's like to have a Brother with Autism.

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Teachers Say What's Wrong With Education In The U.S.

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States across the U.S. have reported teacher shortages. AJ+ spoke with some teachers who are still working in the classroom about what's wrong with public education. Subscribe for more videos: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV3Nm3T-XAgVhKH9jT0ViRg?sub_confirmation=1 Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish Download the AJ+ app at http://www.ajplus.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajplus

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Why America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore

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Why America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore

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Explains some educational views of how American is not the best country in the world.

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Why America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore

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Uploaded by Big Brazilian Fan on 2013-03-13.