IDRA Newsletter
This issue of the IDRA Newsletter has articles on English learner literacy – school leaders improve English learner literacy with focus on inferencing, creating effective diverse classrooms through accelerated teacher certification and Readers Theatre - Teatro en el Aula – new IDRA Semillitas de Aprendizaje product for young learners.
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New Report
A new IDRA report outlines the contributions of IDRA's 15 years in teacher preparation through six multi-year Transition to Teaching grants, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. IDRA partnered with universities and more than 55 school districts across Texas to prepare a new generation of skilled, effective teachers to lead and innovate in schools that need them most.
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Podcast
Classnotes Podcast (September 19, 2018) IDRA’s Education CAFE model takes parent involvement to a whole new level. Rather than limiting … read more
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Announcement
IDRA is pleased to announce that Celina Moreno, J.D., has been selected as IDRA’s new President & CEO. Ms. Moreno will begin the new role on February 1, 2019. She succeeds Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel who will retire at the end of January 2019 following 42 years of remarkable service to IDRA, including 26 years as its leader.
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eNews
In these turbulent times for children, we need leaders who never forget what we can do together to keep our promise to children. IDRA’s annual report for 2017, Keeping the Promise: Profiles in Leadership and Education, highlights the experiences of seven such leaders.
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School Opening Alert
As schools are opening their doors for a new school year, this alert is a reminder that public schools, by law, must serve all children. The education of undocumented students is guaranteed by the Plyler vs. Doe decision, and certain procedures must be followed when registering immigrant children in school to avoid violation of their civil rights. See our alert and useful tools and share them with others.
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Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
Six students received prizes in a national competition among participants in the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, a nationally-recognized cross-age tutoring program of the Intercultural Development Research Association. Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program tutors wrote about how the program helped them do better in school and how they had helped their tutees to do better.
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Federal Policy
IDRA submits written comments to U.S. Department of Commerce.
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IDRA eNews
Study on the Impact of Texas' New Weakened Graduation Requirements in HB5 Released by IDRA
The class of 2018 is the first to graduate under the new graduation requirements put in place in 2013 by the Texas legislature. Many advocates raised concerns that lowering graduation requirements could possibly affect college readiness and preparation. With funding from the Greater Texas Foundation, IDRA conducted a mixed method study to examine the early effects of the new graduation requirements. See the study findings.
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Survey
We are always interested in feedback about our main communication tools. This survey has simple questions about how you use the IDRA Newsletter, podcast, website and social media. Your responses will be confidential, even if you provide your email address.
As a token of our appreciation, you can be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.
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Call for Applications
IDRA is inviting research applications for the IDRA José A. Cárdenas School Finance Fellows Program. This will be the third round of this fellows program to support research that will inform efforts to secure equitable funding of public schools across the country. Under the leadership of Dr. María "Cuca" Robledo Montecel, IDRA President & CEO, the program was established by IDRA to honor the memory of IDRA founder, Dr. José Angel Cárdenas.
IDRA will select one or more fellows who will dedicate themselves to a period of intense study and writing in school finance. We will hold a symposium that includes the release of the fellow's program paper. The paper and findings will be published in the symposium proceedings and disseminated to the education research and policymaker community.
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IDRA eNews
Across the country, school doors are now open. Families have gathered supplies. Teachers have arranged their rooms. Principals have organized their staff. The sights and sounds are familiar, just like every year. But some things need to be different if we are going to better serve our diverse students and lead them to success.
See a few examples of our new and most popular packages:
• English Learner Literacy Coaching
• Instructional Strategies for Building Inferencing Skills
• Effective Dropout Prevention through the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
• Use Semillitas de Aprendizaje™ to Support Bilingual Early Childhood Literacy Development
Video
IDRA’s Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program is a research-based, internationally-recognized dropout prevention program that has kept 98 percent of its tutors … read more
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Article
But the San Antonio Community’s Commitment to Young Children is Long-standing San Antonio (April 26, 2018) – A new state-by-state report … read more
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Article
San Antonio (March 27, 2018) – IDRA President & CEO Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel has announced her intention to … read more
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Video
Our bilingual parent institute was livestreamed by NowCastSA Friday. Watch and join the discussion.
Hashtags: #FamEngage #IDRAedu
Grounded in our unique model of family leadership in education, the Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute is an event where families lead each other in advocating for equitable and excellent education in their communities.
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New Literature Review and Resources
This literature review, developed by Dr. Erica Frankenberg for the IDRA EAC-South, surveys the landscape of K-12 integration strategies to understand what is being implemented and what we know about the design and implementation of such policies that might create more diverse schools and reduce racial isolation. Before turning to that emerging body of literature, however, it is important to understand why integration matters and the legal landscape currently around voluntary integration. See the new literature review and related resources.
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Contact
5815 Callaghan Road, Suite 101
San Antonio, TX 78228
Phone: 210-444-1710
Fax: 210-444-1714
