This program engages educators in a compelling, one-day professional learning experience proven to help participants discover how to impact equity, academic performance and graduation rates.You will receive practical, ready-to-use answers to address improving student performance on high stakes tests, increasing graduation rates, advanced placement participation, parent involvement, or participation of students with disabilities. Tools for Tolerance helps education professionals plan strategies to create safe school cultures that are academically rigorous for all students across all demographic characteristics. NCLB, IDEA, and ever evolving local, national, and global conditions impact people and policy. The challenges we face as a nation and in the world serve to enhance the critical urgency of closing the achievement gaps that keep our students and our society from experiencing the greatest possible success.To register for this free professional development opportunity please visit: www.toolsfortolerance.com/nytceducators

The LEAGUE NY is hosting an Environmental Stewardship Resource Fair for our 600+ registered teacher Coaches that are interested in expanding service learning in their classrooms and schools. Please feel free to forward this invitation to K-12th grade educators that may be engaging in pre- Earth Day planning.This Resource Fair will provide training on The LEAGUE’s FREE online curriculum and resources, and an opportunity to meet other leading organizations that support environmental stewardship in New York City and beyond. In preparation for Earth Day, Arbor Day and Global Youth Service Day (April 21-25), all of our exhibitors will support schools in engaging students as responsible and environmentally-conscious citizens in and out-side the classroom. The focus will be on providing K-12 teachers with the skills to empower and inspire young people to "do good" in their community, the nation and the world.EXHIBITORS: The following LEAGUE NY key nonprofit partners and corporate Earth Day Sponsors will be exhibiting at The LEAGUE NY’s Resource Fair or/or have been invited to exhibit: NYC Parks Department MillionTreesNYC, Green Apple Corps, Urban Park Rangers, City Parks Foundation-Seeds To Trees, Mayor’s Volunteer Center, NYS Office of National & Community Service, The Urban Divers, UDEC Harlem River Ecology Center, New York Restoration Project, Keep America Beautiful, New York Cares, City Year, Health Plus, Con Edison, National Grid, JetBlue Airways, and CW11/WPIX.WORKSHOPS: The LEAGUE NY will be giving three FREE 1-hour orientation sessions on our online curriculum and resources. Our presentation will provide specific advice on implementing service learning and Earth Day programming across all core curriculums, using The LEAGUE’s free NY-coded lesson plans, reflection tools and service resources. Whole schools that which to attend this event should register with The LEAGUE NY in advance. CONTACT: Claudia Zeldin State Director of New YorkThe LEAGUE Tel/Fax: 718-230-7937 Claudia.zeldin@leagueworldwide.org

featuring a panel, including Dina Paul Parks, Senior Policy Advisor to Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development; Phyliss Bullion, Council of Supervisors & Administrators; Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters; April Humphrey, Campaign for Better Schools; and Rob Caloras, President, District 26 Community Education Council. Moderated by Liz Green, Gotham Schools.

The Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Foundation Center are pleased to present a web conference on developing major gifts by Laura Fredricks, author of The Ask: How to Ask Anyone for Any Amount for Any Purpose.

One of the hardest aspects of major gift fundraising is finding your best major gifts people. With development professionals staying in their positions an average of a year and eight months, it is often challenging to use institutional history to guide you in finding the best major gifts donors. Many groups have hidden major gifts prospects locked in their databases, attending special events and making planned gifts, but the key is to know which groups of major gift prospects to approach on a priority basis, so that you create and build a solid major gifts program.

The web conference will include an in-person Q and A session just for our New York audience.

Participants will learn how to:

• Sort and rate your existing prospect base Gather essential prospect research to create donor profiles for each prospect
• Cultivate one prospect pool at a time to the point of asking for major gifts
• Manage your time and your staff's time
• Work with your next tier of prospects so that you are constantly adding new donors to your major gift prospect pool

About the Presenter

Laura Fredricks, JD, LLC is a consultant and motivational speaker for business and nonprofits. She is an internationally known fundraiser, speaker, and the author of Developing Major Gifts (Aspen Publishers) and The Ask (John Wiley & Sons).

In order to participate at no charge in the web conference, you must join us at the Foundation Center. Please register in advance through AFP. Registration is on a first come, first served basis. No walk-ins, please.

On Saturday, February 7, 2009, Figure Skating in Harlem will present its 12th Annual Gwendolyn Simmons SOUL ON ICE Winter Skating Party! Join us for an afternoon of skating, music and more. All proceeds benefit Figure Skating in Harlem, a 501(c)3 educational organization, and are tax-deductible. Ticket prices include skate rental, snacks and a chance to win raffle prizes.Tickets: $15***GROUP RATES AVAILABLE!!!We have special groups available. For groups that have 10 to 20 people, tickets are $12 and for groups with 20 people or more, tickets are $10.For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 646.698.3440 or email events@figureskatinginharlem.org. Visit us at www.figureskatinginharlem.org to learn more about our unique program.Figure Skating in Harlem is a pioneering not-for-profit organization founded in 1997 that provides opportunity, education, and empowerment for Harlem girls. Using the discipline of figure skating as a powerful magnet, we provide girls with an innovative ice-skating and education program that promotes physical well-being, artistic expression and academic achievement. As a result, our students experience physical, emotional, and intellectual growth in a safe and supportive environment.

Real World Professional Development will host the first round table dialogue on diversity and community in New York City on Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 3pm-6pm. This dialogue will focus on the issue of race and class and will include a reading selection written by Van Jones, winner of the 2008 Puffin/Nation prize for Creative Citizenship. The guiding question will be: How can we bring together people of different races and classes to work together for change in education policy and practice? Real World Dialogues aim to uncover the complex nature of race, class, gender and religious diversity in society. Dialogues are prompted by critical questions and are grounded in reading selections that provoke courageous conversations. Dialogues are open-ended experiences that help us to validate our own unique identities, become aware of the social injustices that have historically shaped how we see the world and provide us with a forum to exercise voice.Real World Dialogues are designed in honor of the work of critical theorists and educators including Paulo Freire, Lisa Delpit, Donaldo Macedo, Howard Zinn, Jonathan Kozol, Edgar Schein, and Basil Singh who amongst others, contribute to the body of knowledge on the importance of dialogue across cultures. Dialogue groups will range from 8 to 25 participants and space is limited. Space will be reserved on a first come first serve basis. The Dialogue cost is $45 per person and proceeds from this event will be used towards the publication of Real Worlds Teacher and Student Dialogue on Diversity and Community journal to be published in the early spring, 2009.If you are interested in participating, please send an email to info@realworldpd.org including your Name, Organization affiliation, Address, Email and Contact Phone number. The subject line should read: Real World Dialogue Registration. You will receive a confirmation email. Depending on the size of the dialogue, a central location in Manhattan will be identified and participants will receive registration confirmation several weeks in advance of this event. Registration deadline is January 7, 2009.

What's working well in your classroom?� Do you use a strategy to engage students?� To keep organized? To ensure mastery? Develop a 15 minute mini-workshop�to share one of your best practices with other educators.�Submit a proposal for Uncommon's "Best Practice Share Fair."

Meet with faculty advisors and administrators to discuss

Graduate Education opportunities at Fordham University.

Financial Aid, Scholarship and Admissions materials will be available.

We know that without great teachers and leaders, little else matters. Hear how the work of Uncommon staff helps close the achievement gap.

During this half hour call, learn more about the leadership experiences of Liz Bliss, Hollyhock instructional Fellow and Dean of Students at Excellence Charter School for Boys.��

Liz Bliss is the Dean of Students at Excellence. Prior to joining Excellence, Ms. Bliss was the Executive Director of the Children's Hope Foundation in New York City, where she oversaw all activities of a non-profit that delivered quality of life services to children affected by HIV and AIDS. Ms. Bliss taught Fourth Grade at P.S. 40 in Brooklyn, New York. Ms. Bliss is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology and English, and of Pace University, where she earned an M.S. in Teaching. Ms. Bliss is an alumna of the New York City Teaching Fellows Program.

Nurturing relationships with existing supporters will help ensure that they stay with you during difficult times. Please join us on to learn about Youth, I.N.C.'s Celebration Program for youth-serving nonprofit organizations in New York City. The Celebration Program is an innovative, yearlong program that offers the training, experience, and resources needed to learn and apply effective development and marketing techniques, specifically in cultivating individual donors. The training culminates with a gala event, A Celebration to Benefit New York Kids, underwritten by Youth, I.N.C, which allows all participating nonprofits to apply the fundraising and marketing skills they have learned throughout the year.

Michelle Rhee (Baltimore '92), Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. Public Schools, will speak at the Seventh Annual Distinguished Educators Lecture Series at Pace University. View the flyer to see the list of leaders in education that will speak in the next few months. This event is free and open to everyone and seating is first-come, first-served.

The National Executive Service Corps invites you to be our guest at our reception to meet Ken Berger, President & CEO, of Charity Navigator. Learn about this nonprofit organization and how its evaluation process relates to your nonprofit and the nonprofit community.

In this challenging economic time, it is important to understand criteria donors use to make informed giving decisions. Last year more than 4 million people used Charity Navigator, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to help their giving. Charity Navigator has a numbers-based rating system which assesses the health of America's nonprofits. It is a free internet-based service that has received recognition from corporate and nonprofit agencies. www.charitynavigator.org

NESC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing management consulting and business advisory services to the nonprofit and public sectors. Since 1977, NESC has delivered cost-effective advice and counsel enhancing the management practices of thousands of nonprofits. We assist in managing "back of the house" issues – including strategic planning, marketing, branding, risk assessment, organization development and other administrative processes and problems. Engagements are sharply defined and tailored to the specific needs of each client. www.nesc.org

Educators citywide are invited to kick back with free drinks and learn about the innovative methods RISE is using to retain effective teachers in low-income communities. If you're looking for a job in a supportive school community or want to nominate your school to be a RISE partner, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about what RISE can do for you.Please note the venue has moved from SideBar to Retreat.

Join us on Thursday, February 12th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at KGB Bar, when Behind the Book hosts another evening of free readings by exceptional writers: Daphne Beal and David Ebershoff.

�

Daphne Beal's first novel, In the Land of No Right Angles, was published by Vintage/Anchor in August, 2008. Her nonfiction has appeared in Vogue, McSweeney's, and the London Review of Books. Her work has been anthologized in The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers; State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America; and The KGB Bar Reader. Originally from Wisconsin, she lives in New York City with her husband, writer Sean Wilsey, and their two children.

David Ebershoff is the author of three novels—The 19th Wife, Pasadena, and The Danish Girl—and a short-story collection—The Rose City. His fiction has won a number of awards, including the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Ferro-Grumley Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. His books have been translated into fifteen languages to critical acclaim. Ebershoff has taught creative writing at New York University and Princeton and currently teaches in the graduate writing program at Columbia University. For many years he was the publishing director of the Modern Library and now is an editor-at-large at Random House. He lives in New York City.

We hope you'll join us at the third annual Yale School of Management Education Leadership Conference. The theme of this year’s conference is Levers for Change.The conference will take place at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT, on Friday, February 13, 2009.Speakers and panelists will include top leaders from school districts, foundations, non-profit organizations, policy advisories, and academia. For more information and to register, please visit http://community.som.yale.edu/education/

Bell Curves, an educational services company whose co-founders have over 30 years test preparation experience, is holding free information sessions to get you started on preparation for the GMAT and the business school admissions process.

Akil Bello, co-founder and Vice President of Educational Development of Bell Curves, with over a decade of experience teaching the GMAT, will provide information about the GMAT, its content, and how to effectively prepare for the exam. There will be ample time provided for questions and answers. Anyone who attends a Bell Curves Info Session is entitled to a 10% discount off any Bell Curves course.

Topics covered will include, but not be limited to:

• What is the role of the GMAT in the b-school application process?
• What GMAT score do you need?
• What is the structure of the GMAT?
• How is the GMAT scored?
• What types of questions are on the GMAT?
• What materials are most effective for GMAT preparation?
• What strategies are necessary to effectively answer GMAT questions?

Visit North Star Academy's elementary school and middle school campuses in Newark, New Jersey. See the structures and routines teachers and staff have put into place to lead their students to high levels of success. Observe high-quality instruction, time-saving procedures and systems, and meet with school leaders about how they push forward student learning. North Star Academy Elementary School and Downtown Middle School, Newark, NJ

Visit North Star Academy's elementary school and middle�school campuses�in Newark, New Jersey. See the structures and routines teachers and staff have put into place to lead their students to high levels of success. Observe high-quality instruction, time-saving procedures and systems, and meet with school leaders about how they push forward student learning.��

Agenda

7:10 Arrive at North Star Academy Elementary School

7:30 Morning Circle

8:00 Welcome

8:30 Tour of School and classroom observations

11:15 Travel to North Star Academy Middle School

11:45 Lunch

12:30 Welcome

12:45 Classroom Observations and debrief conversation

2:30: Closing

Little Flower Teacher Training is a comprehensive program addressing children's holistic wellness needs, while providing you with the tools to engage all of their senses and create a dynamic learning experience.Addressing asana, pranayama, meditation, eastern and western anatomy, incorporating academic work into yoga, classroom management, using songs, stories, art and much more, this is a complete professional training. You will have opportunities to observe and assist classes, as well as receive feedback on your teaching. * Three Training Levels (126 hours) * Designed to meet and exceed new Yoga Alliance Standards for Children's Specialization * Small Class size (10-12) insures individual attention * Learn to teach children while also deepening your personal practice * Receive ongoing support as you build your career * Meet great people and join a vibrant community * Teaching Opportunities with Little Flower and partner organization Bent on Learning"I learned so much. This training will touch every class I ever teach again! I am completely inspired by your clear and beautiful vision of this work." - April Training Participant

"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile." Robert Cormier

These few words from fellow writers completely capture the essence of this workshop, designed to help mentors and mentees successfully harness the desire to create art to the craftsman-editor within to help them create something amazing. Highlights:

• Great icebreaker activities
• Prompts to jump start individual writing and mentoring sessions
• "Craft Talk: Editing" featuring Meghann Foye, Deputy Editor of Seventeen Magazine, Ingrid Dahl, Editor, Youth Media Reporter, and Dodai Stewart, Senior Editor of Jezebel
• And, as always, a healthy lunch!

A panel of activists will talk about lessons from the historic struggle for the right to learn; defending those hit hardest by school closures, budget cuts and tuition hikes; and building a united movement of students, teachers, campus workers and community. Speakers include Sherrie Moody, University Student Senator & Student Government Association Treasurer at Medgar Evers College, CUNY; Norma Abdulah, Co-founder of the United Federation of Teachers-NYC and member of Radical Women; and Dr. Andrée-Nicola McLaughlin, Chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Dept. and Professor of Women’s Studies & Cross-Cultural Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. Add your voice to the open discussion following the presentations.A Southern supper will be served at 5:30pm for an $8.50 donation. Door donation $3.00. Work exchange available. Will be held at Freedom Hall (address below). Childcare will be provided. For more information, call (212) 222-0633 oremail nycradicalwomen@nyct.net

Classic Stage Company’s highly successful YOUNG COMPANY recently garnered a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Shakespeare in American Communities Grant in recognition of our innovative Education and Outreach Program. For four years we have been bringing Shakespeare to New York City’s five boroughs, making classical theatre alive and accessible with our interactive in-school workshops and dynamic productions especially created to speak directly to a new generation of young people of all ages and backgrounds.This year THE YOUNG COMPANY brings Shakespeare's immortal ROMEO AND JULIET to vibrant life in an energetic 90-minute production that boasts a company of young actors drawn from Columbia University's Graduate Acting Program. Their vitality and diverse backgrounds reflect the rich make-up of so many of the schools that we reach, making these young artists the perfect ambassadors to the world of Shakespeare. They also provide a much-needed bridge between the classroom and the stage, leading workshops in the school to properly prepare students for the productions they will attend at CSC.Our workshops provide tools to appreciate Shakespeare in an entertaining and interactive format, gently moving the student from the role of spectator to performer. The culminating workshop at CSC begins with a performance of ROMEO AND JULIET and then invites the students to take center stage and share their own interpretations of the Bard, creating a truly unique introduction to Shakespeare and the power of live theatre.All student tickets are $10. Please contact tony.speciale@classicstage.org for reservations and group rates.

The MAT@USC is a new and innovative Master of Arts in Teaching program delivered online from the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education. Designed for aspiring and current teachers, the program combines interactive online learning with carefully selected field-based experiences in your local area, to provide you with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to make a difference in the classroom. Join us on February 24th for a free MAT@USC program information session. The session will feature MAT@USC faculty and staff and will take an in-depth look at the curriculum, technology platform, student services and financial aid opportunities, and much more. Representatives will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the program and the University. Space is limited, so reserve your spot today! Please RSVP here: uscmastersineducation.com/rsvpWhen: Tuesday February 24, 2009 at 6:30pmWhere: Marriott Downtown85 West Street New York, New York

We know that without great teachers and leaders, little else matters. Hear how the work of Uncommon staff helps close the achievement gap.

During this half hour call, learn more about the leadership experiences of Mabel Lajes-Guiteras, Founding Principal of Bedford Stuyvesant Collegiate Charter School and Samantha Tweedy, Howitt Fellow for Operational Leadership.

Founding Principal Mabel Lajes-Guiteras has most recently been a founding Literacy Teacher and Chair of the Literacy Department at Boston Preparatory Charter Public School, which opened in 2004-05.��In 2007 and 2008, her students were ranked second out of all districts statewide on the 8th grade English Language Arts state exam.��Previously she taught high school English in West Nyack, NY, served as Curriculum Director at Exploration Summer Programs, and taught literacy at Roxbury Preparatory Charter Public School.��She is a graduate of Amherst College where she majored in Psychology and Theater and Dance.��She earned a Master's degree in Educational Theatre and English at New York University.

In her former life, Samantha was a litigation associate at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.��During this time, she also served as a Trustee on the Board of Excellence Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant. Prior to starting the Uncommon School Leader Fellowship, Samantha worked for two months as the Interim Program Director of the UKA Summer Teaching Fellows Program. Samantha graduated from Yale Law School in 2006, and from Duke University in 2002 with a B.A. in Psychology.

A series of morning discussions with elected officials about the major issues facing New Yorkers. 8:00 am - Continental Breakfast available 8:30 am - Welcome and Presentation by Featured Speaker 9:00 am - Audience Q & A This week with Councilmember Tony Avella

Middle schools principals and teachers are invited to a special performance and conversation with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma about passion-driven education in middle schools. This event, which follows a workshop introducing the multidisciplinary “Along the Silk Road” curriculum to New York City sixth-grade teachers, marks the beginning of the Silk Road Curriculum and Student Engagement Project, a two-year educational initiative for NYC middle schools developed by the Silk Road Project in collaboration with the DOE as part of the Campaign for Middle School Success.Space is limited, and you must register by February 20 to attend. Note that teachers with confirmed registrations for the 4:00 p.m. workshop are automatically included in the 6:00 p.m. event. For more information, contact Anita Cassity at acassity@schools.nyc.gov.

Building Knowledge to Inform Policy and Practice for New York City SchoolsThursday, February 26, 2009, 4:15-6:00 PM, Payne Room, 4th floor Pless, 82 Washington Sq. East.* Free and open to the public.The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is a non-partisan research center officially launched in November 2008 and based at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. Independent and with a mandate to produce and disseminate rigorous evidence about the state of public education in New York City, it will collaborate with the NYC DOE and other city stakeholders to identify important questions for research and to provide valid and reliable evidence that can inform policy and practice aimed at improving K-12 education. In this seminar, James Kemple, the Research Alliance’s inaugural Executive Director, will provide an overview of the organization’s mission and its early implementation challenges. Since the Research Alliance is still developing an inclusive process to specify its research agenda, this seminar will provide an occasion for discussing where that agenda currently stands and how it might evolve.Sponsored by the Horowitz Center in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, NYU.For more information please contact Allen Hunter, allen.hunter@nyu.edu 212-992-9737*The entrance to the Pless Building is on Washington Place, even though address is Washington Sq. East. Entry is the first door on south side of Washington Place as you walk away from Wash. Sq. Park. Elevator directly in front of you. You will need photo ID from NYU or elsewhere. Wheelchair accessible.

This Saturday, the Critical Educator Network invites any and all progressive, critical and radical educators, or educators who just need space to reflect and talk about their teaching to this month's Critical Educator Forum. For the past few years, we've been gathering to discuss issues in education as it pertains specifically to our classrooms. Every two week to a month, we gather to discuss various reading around one topic and help each other understand how to critically work these ideas into our classrooms' curricular visions so that our students can have the opportunity to thinking critically and reflect purposefully. We view it as the professional development that we don't often receive considering NYC's push to test-prep over meaningful, critical instruction.This week's topic will be presented by Kevin: Arts in Education. We will discuss a few articles for about an hour and then dive into units that teachers have that they want to integrate arts into. The readings will include three short articles:1. Short article that gives a solid overview of research and attitudes toward arts education. http://www.adoptionarticlesdirectory.com/Article/D ance--Music--Theater-a...2. Interview with renowned expert in the development of creativity and educational policy, Sir Ken Robinson. (attached)3. Excerpt from the very recent policy brief presented to the Obama transition team on behalf of several arts councils and organizations throughout the country. The entire brief can be found here (http://www.americansforthearts.org/pdf/get_involve d/advocacy/legislative...). I've attached the two-page excerpt on Arts in Education.To all those who are interested, the Forum will be held at 3pm this Saturday, February 28th in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING AND EXPLORING THIS TOPIC WITH OTHER CRITICAL EDUCATORS, PLEASE EMAIL info@criticaleducatornetwork.org AND WE WILL SEND YOU THE LOCATION.While it seems like time taken out of your day of rest shouldn't be spent on education after a long week, we understand from experience that giving yourself space for reflection and sharing will leave you with more energy, purpose and less exhausted than before."Obviously, I traveled an hour and a half to Brooklyn to attend Critical Educator Forum meetings. Hearing that other teachers were trying amazing things in their classrooms gave me the confidence to take chances in my own."Jonthon Coulson, 11th grade English Teacher and Critical Educator Forum participantHope to see you there!- The Critical Educator Network