Movers & Shakers

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Frank Till has cleared his desk in Broward County (FL) Public Schools after the board fired him in October. While many are disheartened to see their chief of schools dismissed after seven years of service, Till is busy fielding offers and reserving tee times in the interim.

In Alabama, the Mobile County school board voted to extend superintendent Harold Dodge’s contract through December 2007, but he may leave earlier to accept a post elsewhere. Dodge started his job search last March when the board first voted to replace him. The board later rescinded the vote due to public outcry.

Superintendent Raj Manhas quit Seattle Public Schools amid a controversial school-closure plan, leaving behind a divided community and tumultuous school board. Chatter has started as to whether or not Mayor Greg Nickels should push for at least partial control of the district.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants control of his school district, but first he must make nice with newly hired superintendent David Brewer III. While Villaraigosa was out of the country, the school board picked the retired Navy admiral—who has no education experience—to run Los Angeles Unified School District.

The same recruiting firm that found Brewer—Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler—is on the hunt for Manuel Rivera’s replacement in Rochester (NY) City Schools. Rivera, the 2006 National Superintendent of the Year, will take the helm in Boston in the fall of 2007.

Richard Mitchell, the openly gay superintendent of Bremen (IL) High School District 228, was fired after making a “spoof video” that hazed first-year teachers. Meanwhile, Mitchell is preparing to file a complaint with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights for sexual orientation discrimination.

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Movers & Shakers
Movers and shakers

How Can We Move This Box of Blocks?: Summer Machines Activity
Children use observation and problem-solving skills as they experiment with simple machines. They test a variety of tools and methods to figure out the easiest way to move a heavy box.

LESSON PLAN	Marvelous Movers An activity plan for teachers of five and six year old children.
UNIT PLAN	Three Dimensional Geometry: Sing It, Move It, Film It! Geometry teaching gets three-dimensional with physical movement, songs, and cross-curricular connections in geography. Teaching geometry has...
ONLINE ACTIVITY	Listen & Read: Animal Moves In this read aloud, learn the way each animal moves including fish, birds, frogs, and caterpillars. Word recognition includes: swim, flap, jump,...