Homework Hotline reaches thousands of students in seven languages
That sound you heard late this morning was 81,000 Metro students cheering because they won’t have any more homework until early August (or late July in some cases).
But is homework really that bad when you have such great help available? When students and parents are stumped, they reach out to the Homework Hotline, where student volunteers, current and retired teachers work throughout the school year to help them.
Yes, students might collectively sigh when given homework. But it’a an important tool to reinforce and apply newly-learned skills and knowledge. It’s also a good way for students to gain personal responsibility and increases parent awareness of student learning.
For more than 3,000 students, help with homework was right at their fingertips this past school year. Tutors, parents and students working together are driving the success of Homework Hotline. The free service that guides students held 12,403 tutoring sessions for 3,719 students for the 2012-2013 school year.
The average over-the-phone coaching for was 24 minutes, with 92 percent of the students successfully finishing the assignment.
This past school year:
- 7,634 called for math sessions.
- 2,750 of the calls were from children who speak a language other than English at home.
- 2,689 of the calls came from the third grade.
Help is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkmani, Creole and Swahili.
Since 1990, the Hotline has given more than 458,000 tutoring sessions to students.
The Homework Hotline is closed for summer, but resumes August 5. For more information, visit the website. http://homeworkhotline.info/index.html.
Summertime Fun: School!
Summer time is here! The last day of school is this Friday, which is a half-day for everyone.
We’re plenty excited for the end of the year – even though we’ll still be at work every day in Central Office – and want you to enjoy your summer. Thankfully, “enjoying summer” can also involve staying engaged in school and learning.
Don’t groan. It’s true. And can be fun.
What will you be doing this summer? Sleeping in? Comic book movies? Working?
Here’s an idea: spend part of your summer getting ahead or making up credits for high school.
MNPS Virtual School is offering twenty (20!) high school courses this summer for half and full credit. They are open to all MNPS high schoolers and even eighth grades who want a head start. Classes start May 29, and final exams start July 22.
Courses include:
- Algebra I & II
- Geometry
- Liberal Arts Math
- English I, II, III & IV
- Physical Science
- Biology
- Chemistry
- U.S. History
- World History
- Government & Economics
- Personal Finance
- Psychology & Sociology
- Spanish I & II
- P.E.
- Lifetime Wellness
All courses will be taken online, but there will be times when you have to actually come to school. Good thing Virtual School has a newly renovated and dedicated space for learning IRL.
Full details on the Summer Success Program are over on the Virtual School website. Go there and sign up. What else have you got to do this summer?
Creating great teachers from the start by paying student teachers
Always looking at what’s next in teaching and education, the iZone has three exciting new jobs to fill in three of its schools: Aspiring Teacher.
From Public Impact:
Beginning in 2013–14, MNPS is creating a paid one-year “aspiring teacher” role targeting student teachers, available at three schools in the iZone.
The district has worked with local teacher preparation programs to develop the aspiring teacher role. In the United States, student teachers rarely get paid. In contrast, as district employees, these aspiring teachers will receive a salary and benefits, along with credit for being student teachers while they serve full-time in three Opportunity Culture schools under the district’s highest-performing educators. They also get first shots at full-time jobs at the end of their year. The aspiring teachers’ $15,800 salary and benefits make it much more attractive than a standard unpaid student teacher position.
The response? In the three-week application window, the district received nearly 100 applications.
The schools taking part are Buena Vista Elementary, Robert Churchwell Museum Magnet Elementary and Bailey STEM Magnet Middle.
Summertime Fun: Camp!
Summer time is here! The last day of school is this Friday, which is a half-day for everyone.
We’re plenty excited for the end of the year – even though we’ll still be at work every day in Central Office – and want you to enjoy your summer. Thankfully, “enjoying summer” can also involve staying engaged in school and learning.
Don’t groan. It’s true. And can be fun.
CAMP! It’s one word that can change the entire course of your summer break. Lucky for you and your child, there are a number of camps offered by Metro Schools and by our community partners. They not only fit a variety of needs and tastes, many of them will keep kids in the school frame of mind.
And guess what? It’s not too late to sign up for many of them. (The following is not a complete list. If you’re looking for more, check with camp organizers to see if you can still register.)
Currently still accepting applications:
- Lights, Camera, Action! Entertainment Camp
- Beats, Words and Songs
- Cheer Camp
- Summer Encore
- Summer Academy at Bailey STEM Magnet Middle
- Summer Academy at Margaret Allen Middle School
- Summer Demo Recording Sessions
- More!
There are many more camps listed on our website. Can’t find what you want? Ask your friends. Search the Internet. Make some phone calls. There’s a little something for everyone in Nashville. We just have a small taste listed online.
Want more? How about the HUGE number of activities from our good friends at Metro Parks?
Enjoy your summer!
Mayor Dean learns the magic of making a Transition
Another day, another visit from Nashville’s chief. Mayor Karl Dean came by the MNPS Transition Program today to see how the district helps its students with special needs move into adult life.
More on the visit from the folks at Transition:
We were honored to welcome Mayor Karl Dean to our classroom today! Students had the opportunity to first meet Mayor Dean last month at the grand opening of the Korean Veterans Boulevard extension in downtown Nashville. After explaining the importance of the program to the mayor, he graciously accepted our invitation to tour our classroom at the Center Building.
Students had the opportunity to ask the mayor questions, such as “Where do you work?” and “What do you do as mayor?” One thoughtful student even asked the mayor for his thoughts on the recent Oklahoma City disaster. Students were sure to thank the mayor for taking the time and interest in visiting the classroom us. We are thankful for his ongoing commitment to including individuals with disabilities in Nashville’s workforce.
The special day was capped with a live performance of the CBTP classroom song, “We Are Working Hard”, which students recently wrote and recorded. The students even decided to give Mayor Dean an autographed CD as a gift!
Thanks again to Mayor Dean and everyone who made this day possible, including Ms. Wendy Tucker, the mayor’s education advisor. Channel 4 News will be airing a segment on this visit on either the 4pm or 6:30 pm news this evening (May 22nd).
Transition offers a range of services to Exceptional Education students, including life skills and even job training. This inspirational video explains it all better than words ever could:
From the Transition website:
A new school. A new home. A new job. These changes can be exciting but also may present feelings of nervousness, frustration, and even fear. Transitions can be daunting. Life’s transitions can be even more difficult for individuals with disabilities, especially students preparing to complete their education and moving on to adult life.
…
Successful transition planning benefits from collaboration among all stakeholders, including the student, family, potential employers, community members, service providers, and the school system. By providing students with exceptional education services from elementary school to age 22, MNPS is an important part of this process.
