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These links are provided as a resource for parents and teachers, CPPS is not responsible for the content on any of the following sites.
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Terrorism and War are still with us and these links are still helpful.

Education Watch 2004 State Summaries		 Click on the map to see the State Summary of the Education Watch 2004 report. These are progress reports on achievement and opportunity.
TOOLS FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING The Annenberg Foundation has provided this helpful resource for planning school improvement. It includes a database of tools that other schools have used in their efforts as well as a guide which includes worksheets and rubrics.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS WITH SCHOOLS Working in partnership with leaders in the field, the Center gathers information about the latest research and the most innovative thinking about family and community connections with schools.
CRITICAL HOURS: AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS & EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS In these times of intense public interest in improving public education, educators, parents and policymakers are seeking better ways to help students learn. Because young people spend only 20% of their time in school, how and where they spend the remaining 80% has profound implications for their well-being and their future. Quality afterschool programs provide engaging learning activities in a safe and supportive
environment. A new report makes a case for the valuable role afterschool programs can play in increasing student engagement in learning and supporting and improving academic achievement.
Fake Addresses An NPR audio story about parents faking their address to get their students into a chosen school district.
Kansas City School Funding Story This is an NPR audio story about a poor district suing a wealthy neighboring district.
Understanding World Events Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR) has created a set of online  lesson plans, "Understanding World Events," to help teachers address  national and global issues constructively with their students. These free  resources are available from the ESR Web site.
Coping in Unsettling Times The National Association of School Psychologists has materials and tips  for helping children to cope in unsettling times.
National Parents for Public Schools This is the national chapter of the Parents for Public Schools.
After School Education There is growing evidence that good afterschool programming makes a difference in kids' lives. Studies in child development and education suggest that attendance at afterschool is associated with better grades, peer relations, emotional adjustment, and conflict resolution skills. Children who attend programs also spend more time on learning opportunities and academic and enrichment activities than their peers. Combine this evidence with the statistics we know all too well -- that unsupervised time after school is associated with involvement in violence, substance abuse, and other risk-taking behaviors -- and the necessity for high-quality afterschool programs becomes even clearer. Bridging school and afterschool does not mean that all programs must become school-based or that they should become school-like. What is important is that programs aim to create continuity across learning opportunities, achieve integration of different learning goals, and deepen children's exploration and skill acquisition, all the while respecting the fact that there exist many types of learning that should be protected across a diversity of learning environments.
Quality Preschool Pays Off Educators long have known that high-quality childcare pays off in better classroom performance and later on in better jobs. Now new research indicates it also pays off in actual dollars, an attractive carrot for taxpayers, according to a new report released by a Rutgers University think tank. Affording and finding high-quality childcare is a concern for Americans of all ranks.
Spanish Language Resources These are resources in Spanish provided by the National PTA.
The Work With What You've Got Model for Sustainable Development This is a web site designed to help non-profit organizations to be effective in their fund raising efforts.
Do School Facilities Affect Student Outcomes? (PDF file) This report examines six important categories in which condition can affect academic outcomes:  "indoor air quality, ventilation, and thermal comfort; lighting; acoustics; building age; school size; and class size." For each section the author points to research that shows affects on people who use the building, which is estimated to be 20 percent of all Americans "on any given day" (Schneider, p.1)
How Class Size Makes a Difference Though researchers continue to debate the issue of class size, wide agreement exists that the critical question is not whether class size can make a difference in student achievement, but how and under what circumstances it does. Highly related are questions of class size reduction (CSR) costs. Do they outweigh its benefits? Are otheralternatives more cost effective? Finally, for those designing CSR policies, especially on a large scale, many questions must be addressed about the implementation trade-offs of differing policy options and how these may affect student outcomes. This brief addresses each of these concerns, drawing from the experiences of a number of states and districts with some track record implementing CSR. It starts from the position that class size reduction is not a silver bullet or an end in itself. Rather, CSR is one approach that has been shown effective in reaching the real goal: improved early learning. Success depends on getting the numbers down and on policies that support schools' ability to take advantage of the opportunities CSR presents.
A Response to 9-11 Here is a website for parents and teachers with many ideas of how to build on the experience of 9/11 some sense of hope and resiliancy.
Columbia Public School District
This is the Columbia Public School District Web Page. It contains links to all of the schools in the Columbia Public School District that have webpages.
Teaching Tolerance
The Southern Poverty Law Center puts out this magazine for teachers and manages this Web site.  The magazine has articles of interest to anyone involved with children in school. 
The Case for Public Engagement INCREASING TEACHER QUALITY: WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY ROLE?   Public engagement is not a short-term project or program, but rather a long-term partnership between professional educators and the public to achieve the common goal of success for all students. To make a high level of achievement a reality in every school, the public first must be convinced that schools should be places where teachers as well as children learn. Then, they must move beyond merely embracing the idea to engaging in making it possible.
High Standards for All Students This is a report by the Department of Education that looks at the progress that Title 1 has made and makes recommendations for improvements to the program.
Time Magazine on HomeSchooling Homeschooling is getting some results and challenging the public school system.  This takes a toll in eroding public confidence in schools.
Testing in the United States Pencil's Down is a challenge to the idea that what is needed to improve our schools is more testing.  This web page is full of resources on both sides of the testing issue.  The authors are seeking participation from educators in every state to send information on testing in their state.
Reality Check 2002: The Impact of School Standards  Positive results were found this year when talking to students, teachers, parents, employers, and College Professors about the influence that the standards movement is having on education.  The results are summarized in 5 findings.

 

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Last Updated October 31, 2004