|
|
|
Welcome to the July/August 2006 edition of
Connections! It’s almost back-to-school time. Turn to
Sopris West as your resource for research-based curricula,
intervention tools, assessments, and professional
development.
We welcome feedback on making Connections an even
more valuable tool. Please send comments and suggestions to e-newsletter@sopriswest.com.
Your friends at Sopris West
|
|
|
|
|
Q &
A: Girls as Bullies, Victims, and
Bystanders |
|
Recently, Connections spoke with Jill McDonald,
M.Ed., coauthor with Sally Stoker, MSW, of the new Bully
Proofing for High Schools, available this fall from Sopris
West. This latest addition to The
Bully Proofing Series addresses the unique challenges
facing high schools, including social structure and cliques.
Our conversation focused on the topic of girls and
bullying.
Connections: How can educators identify a girl
bully?
Jill McDonald: Watch the friendship groups in
your school. There’s a big difference between a clique and a
healthy social group where all share the power. In a clique,
you may see one or two girls in the center of a group and who
hold power over the whole group. Often girls who bully seem to
be around conflict and often fuel the fire of other conflicts
either directly or indirectly.
Connections: What motivates a girl bully, and how
are her actions different than a boy bully?
Jill McDonald: Bullies of either gender are
motivated by power and control, and they come from all
backgrounds. It was often thought that bullies had low
self-esteem, but research shows that’s not always true. Those
who bully others often have an over-inflated sense of self,
and they act it out at school.
|
|
View full article |
|
|
Sopris
West Implementation Services |
|
Record Number of Product Trainings Offered to Customers
This Year
Sopris West Implementation Services is busier than ever
with its expanded schedule of product trainings.
“School districts are searching for high-quality
professional development. They are eager to improve teacher
education that results in ‘adequate yearly progress’ for all
students,” says Sharon Ashmore, director of Implementation
Services. “And, the teachers are hungry for information and
curricula that meet the needs of their students.”
Ashmore adds that teachers often leave Sopris West product
trainings saying, “I learned more about teaching reading in
this course than I learned in my four years of
college.”
|
|
View full article |
|
|
High
Marks |
|
“After one year of implementing Algebra
Ready, we had a 70% increase in the number of
eighth-grade students who met state standards in mathematics
who had previously not met the state standards as
seventh-graders. We went from only 39% meeting the state math
standards in seventh grade to 56% meeting the state standards
in eighth grade. Of those students who had not met standards,
an additional 10% met the state math standards in ninth grade
as a result of implementing Algebra
1 Rescue!”
—Mark Jewell, Ph.D., Chief Academic
Officer,
Federal Way Public School District, WA
Do you have a success story involving your school and
Sopris West products or professional trainings? Send your
stories to e-newsletter@sopriswest.com.
|
|
|
|
|
Conference Calendar |
|
Look for Sopris West at the following national conferences.
Be sure and stop by our booth for events and schedule of
presentations by the Sopris West authors and experts.
National Middle School Association (NMSA)
November
2–4
Nashville, TN
California Reading Association (CRA)
November
2–4
Sacramento, CA
International Dyslexia Association (IDA)
November
8–11
Indianapolis, IN
|
|
|
|
|
By the
Numbers |
|
To give you a more detailed look at high school students
and bullying, here are statistics featured in Bully
Proofing for High Schools, available this fall from
Sopris West.
- Six out of ten American teens witness bullying and
harassment at least once per day1
- Half of all violence against teenagers occurs in school
buildings, on school property, or near the
school2
- Thirty-six percent, or more than one in three high
school students, say they don’t feel safe at
school3
- Four out of ten teens report that the negative behaviors
of other students in their schools “definitely” or
“somewhat” interfere with their school
performance4
Source: Bully Proofing for High Schools. 1. Calhoun,
2003; 2. NIDR, 1999; Garrett, 2003; 3. NSSC, 2001; 4. NSSC,
2001.
|
|
|
| |
