HIT American Education Week

[Sue Beall <sbeall@clovis.esd171.wednet.edu>]

Here is a hit for American Education Week ideas:
Thanks to all who responded.

This is probably the best time to offer the general public a look into
what schools are actually doing,how students and teachers spend the average
 day, what special events are upcoming the the public could attend at the
schools, etc.  Some school systems join morning radio talk shows @ 5 AM so
that they will be on time for class.   Have fun with it.

--- - - - - - - - -
Aloha from Hawaii!  Consider some of these suggestions:

1. Plan a parade:  bands, classes in costumes of book characters or
historical figures, administrators in vintage vehicles, notable graduates
of the schools in the district...

2. Adopt-a-school or adopt-a-classroom for physical improvements with
clean up or painting, for read aloud times, for oral histories on the
topic of "when I went to school...", for spending the day in the
teachers' shoes...

3. Host a parents-students-teachers outdoor Fall reception with light
refreshments like punch and popcorn, and music

4. Host an evening read-in called "Milk and Cookie Storytime" and have
celebrities read aloud in classrooms or school libraries or cafeterias

5. Host an arts and crafts fair with students' works alongside parents'
and teachers' works, and professional artists' and crafters' work.

Our district is gong to have a dinner with the school board, all school
staffs (public and private) and the chamber of commerce.  We will have a
speaker on It Takes a Village.  Our local teacher's union is organizing
the event.  The dinner will be on Thursday of that week.  We are wtill
working on the details but we are excited that this event will be a
perfect example of how the community can work together and TALK about
education.

- - - - - - - - - - -

We put together a video of school activities that was about 20 minutes
long and played it at a popular local grocery story and dr's office.  We
set the VCR on auto replay.  Many wonderful comments.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The NEA sends each local president a kit for AEW which contains
ideas to
promote: such things as proclamation by city mayor; back to school night,
days, radio spots, tv, etc.  Our union has used the placemat idea where
we gather things--drawings, posters made by kids from different grade,
laminate them and distribute to local restaurants.  Last year was our
biggest project; we had over 110 placemats distributed to 10 reataruenats
in town.  Now many of the restaurants hang them instead of using them.
Just remeber not to include student's last name for security reasons.


Susan Beall
District Elementary Librarian
Moses Lake, WA
sbeall@esd171.wednet.edu

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