It's that time of year! (It's likely that we could probably say that about many items on your to do list right about now…) Your MASSP membership renewal form should have hit your mailbox last week. Before you get too caught up in end of the year events or push it to the "I'll deal with that this summer pile," please just take a few minutes to look over the form, check your membership selection and send it back to us. We've already filled out the form with information you provided last year – so it really is that easy!

The glazed-over look...

The look of paying attention but maybe not exactly focused...

Do you teach in a block structure? At LHS, we teach in a Hybrid structure where certain classes are 90 minutes and certain classes are 43 minutes. This structure allows for support on both ends of the spectrum.

Prior to the Hybrid schedule, we had a 4x4 block (each class meets everyday - total of four classes per day). This block structure was in place when I was hired back in 2007 (and for much longer before that).

The House Education Committee is scheduled to vote on MMC changes on Tuesday, May 7, though final versions of the legislation are not yet available and it is not clear what members will be voting on. This past Wednesday, the committee took testimony on a pair of bills dealing with cardiac arrest drills in schools.

On Wednesday, House Education Committee took testimony on a pair of bills dealing with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in schools. For nearly two hours members heard from parents of SCA victims who shared their personal stories of loss and told the committee that a lack of school policies on cardiac arrest cost lives.

Though the two bills both deal with cardiac arrest, they do very different things.

It’s been said that the world is run by those who show up. As educators, we know it’s not that simple. We all understand the value that attendance, work ethic and respect have in our educational and work world. As educators, we know that our grading practices should measure student’s knowledge in the content we teach. As much as we appreciate a student’s attendance, work ethic and respect for others, including these topics into a student’s academic grade skews what our students know and can demonstrate with the content taught. Our grades measure aptitude.