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2-10 -
Classroom Visitations On!
Participating teachers, we would love to come visit you and see how
Peddlesfoots is fitting into your classroom!
Email us at any time to set
up a visitation. Also, please visit our
TRUE Practices
page and check
out what some of your fellow Peddlesfoots teachers are doing with
the program.
9-09 -
How's It Going So Far?
Dearest
teachers: as the school year gets underway, please remember that we're
here to help in any way we can with your implementation of The
Peddlesfoots curriculum. For everyone involved with
this year's undertaking, thank you so much. Please utilize this
site as you start down this road with us. Our resources page
has many things that may prove useful--links, coloring pages to
download, and more--and our
forum is a great
way to stay connected.
Speaking of
the forum, we've got new threads and polls started, so please
participate and let us (and each other) know your thoughts. We'll
keep an eye on it and give gifts to those with the most valuable input!
8-09 -
2009-2010 Begins with Preschool Teacher Training
Another
summer has come and gone. Another year of school is about to
begin. For the TRUE Initiative, that means we're moving into Year
Four of our grant--preschool! This month we'll see dozens of
teachers trained, dozens of classrooms supplied with free Peddlesfoots
curriculum, our evaluation process will begin, and we'll prepare to
distribute hundreds of free curriculum sets to local parents as well.
5-09 -
Finishing Off First Grade in Style
Our Law Day
performance was absolutely fabulous! Thanks to the actors from
Saginaw Valley, Judge Faye Harrison, and everyone else who had a hand in
making this event a memorable one. For the (short) remainder of
this school year, students can look forward to the TRUE Players visiting
many local schools and making good character visible with their lively
performance.
Next up:
the preschool level of the Peddlesfoots curriculum for the
'09-'10 school year. We can't wait . . . see you then!
4-09 -
It All Adds Up
On
Saturday, April 25, from 2-4 PM at Saginaw's Pit and Balcony Theatre,
the TRUE Players from Saginaw Valley State University will be presenting
a "Peddlesfoots Live" performance for 2009's Law Day celebration.
This event is open to the public, so we encourage everyone to come se
the Peddlesfoots stories come to life in live drama, as we make
the connection between good character and the rule of law.
2-09 -
What's Coming Up?
First of
all, please click here
for a helpful new character education resource from the U.S. Department
of Education.
Also, now
that we're getting into the new year, the TRUE Team has something
exciting to announce for the upcoming months. Partnering with the
Saginaw Valley State University Drama Department, we will soon be
scheduling Peddlesfoots-themed, character education presentations
for local participating schools. We are very excited about this
project, so please check back for more later!
1-09 -
Let President Obama Know That You Care About Character Education!
Please read
and respond to the request below from the Character Education
Partnership:
Friends of
CEP,
Below please find a copy of The Character Education Partnership's (CEP)
written input to the Obama team's Education Policy Working Group. It
explains why Character Education should be folded into the new
administration's broader education strategy.
As a friend and constituent of CEP, we are asking for you and others to
take immediate action and show your support. If you believe in our
message, please forward this to others who support character education
in America's schools.
Ask that they go immediately go to the CEP Web site,
www.character.org.
It will take them straight to a special splash page that explains a few
short steps to follow. Showing support will not take long.
Thank you in advance for helping to get Character Education on our new
President's agenda. You are making a difference.
CEP's Message to the Obama Team's Education Policy Working Group
11-08 -
Steering Committee Meeting Focuses on Making TRUE Visible
Our
November 19th Steering Committee meeting was a huge success. Over
fifty community leaders--including Mayor Joyce Seals, Judge Faye
Harrison, and local school superintendants--attended the event at the
Horizons Center, and some positive and visible effects are sure to
follow. For The Saginaw News' write-up on this meeting and TRUE in
general, head
here. If you were there that day and would like to follow up,
or if you're just looking for ways to make character education visible
in our community, please contact us.
10-08 -
Don't Forget: Classroom Visitations and Our TRUE Tips Contest
Participating teachers, we would love to come visit you and see how
Peddlesfoots is fitting into your classroom!
Email us at any time to set
up a visitation. Also, please visit our
forum and enter
our TRUE Tips contest. Don't forget to send in your evaluation
materials!
9-08 -
Cultures of Thinking Professional Development Opportunities
The Saginaw ISD has some great Cultures of
Thinking workshops coming up. These workshops are presented by
staff from Harvard and will increase expertise in methods that are
already integrated in the Peddlesfoots curriculum. For more
information, please click
here.
Also, coloring pages for first grade teachers, as well as kid
definitions are now available on our
resources page, and
our 2008-2009 calendar is available on our
schedule page.
8-08 -
2008-2009 Begins with First Grade Teacher Training
Another
summer has come and gone. Another year of school is about to
begin. For the TRUE Initiative, that means we're moving into Year
Three of our grant--first grade! This month we'll see fifty
teachers trained, fifty classrooms supplied with free Peddlesfoots
curriculum, our evaluation process will begin, and we'll prepare to
distribute over 1,000 parent kits as well. For everyone involved
with this year's undertaking, thank you so much. Please utilize
this site as you start down this road with us. Our resources page
has many things that may prove useful--links, coloring pages to
download, and more--and our
forum is a great
way to stay connected.
6-08 -
The 2007-2008 School Year Draws to a Close
It's been a
great year of work with our kindergarten participants, but now it's
nearly over. On May 7th we held our first grade informational meeting
and in a few short months, it will be '08-'09 and first grade will
become our new focus. To finish the year off, we present one final
newsletter and
remind all participants that you can still utilize our
forum at any
time. Speaking of the forum, congrats to Susan Fjerstad from
Bethlehem Elementary for her winning TRUE Tip:
I think
it would be helpful to have with the Peddlesfoots a complete songbook
with lyrics to all the songs used with the series. That way we could
review the songs easily. Just a suggestion that I thought of. That way
they would be all in one place. It would be convenient to have without
always using the CD. I do like the CD and use it frequently.
Also, all
participating teachers should receive a certificate for being part of
the Initiative, but you can also download the certificate yourself on
our resources page.
4-08 -
Updates, Resources, and Our First "TRUE Tips" Winner
As the
school year draws to a close, there's so much happening. First,
keep checking here for updates and looking for communication about what
TRUE has planned for next year--when we roll out our Peddlesfoots
curriculum for first grade. Second, please visit our
archives page for
some new resources: blurbs for your newsletters and Peddlesfoots
coloring pages to use in your classroom. Finally, we've chosen the
first winner of our "TRUE Tips" contest . . . and here's the winning
tip:
In my classroom I have a special table set up with TRUE Initiative
activities: posters, puppets, flannel boards, books, and various
resources. Children may use this table during morning literacy centers
or free choice. ~ Janet Godfrey, Albee Elementary
As our
winner, Janet will receive a gift card to Barnes and Noble, but more
importantly, her input will hopefully be helpful to other participating
teachers. If you want to enter the next round of our "TRUE Tips"
contest, please visit our forum.
2-08 -
TRUE Tip Contest Begins (and more)
Inside
the 2.08 issue of our
TRUE Update newsletter, you'll find lots of useful information,
including details on our "TRUE Tip" contest for forum posters.
Also, some new resources have been added to the site, including our
2007-2008 Teacher Calendar and some informational brochures on our
archives page, and implementation
ideas in our forum.
1-08 -
Mayor Seals, TRUE Initiative Making Positive Change in Saginaw's
Youngest Citizens
It was a
night of remembering the past, trumpeting the present, and envisioning
the future. In December, at the Saginaw Intermediate School District’s
Transitions Center, Mayor Seals and leaders from all spheres of our
community met to celebrate the completion of the TRUE Initiative’s
inaugural year.
Attendees of this event explored the Initiative’s
unique role as the only federally-funded character education program for
early childhood in the country, how its work has already produced
successful first-steps toward a more positive Saginaw County, and
developed practical ways to ensure success for the Initiative’s
remaining three years.
The TRUE Initiative is a partnership between the
Saginaw Intermediate School District, Saginaw Valley State University,
Creating Character—a local, for-teachers-by-teachers curriculum
developer—and a host of other local educators, schools, and community
service organizations.
Since the Initiative’s start in 2006, Creating
Character’s Peddlesfoots curriculum has been distributed to
service organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for
Humanity, Women of Color, Saginaw’s Rescue Mission, and more. This
character education curriculum for early childhood is research-based,
pilot-proven, and is provided at zero-cost to Initiative participants,
with training and evaluation to facilitate proper implementation and
success.
The Peddlesfoots kindergarten curriculum is
also currently being utilized in nearly thirty Saginaw County schools,
with parents of the hundreds of students involved entitled to free
curriculum for use at-home.
In order to be successful in school
and in life, children need to demonstrate critical thinking and problem
solving skills, as well as good character and ethical reasoning. To
this end, TRUE has also championed innovative pedagogical
practices from Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom to help reach its
goal of building ethical and academic intelligence.
As the project continues, the Initiative will further
integrate with Saginaw ISD’s vision for a “birth to college
education/workforce preparation” system.
11-2007 - Classroom Visitations to Begin
Dear Teachers,
Hopefully all of you have dug your heels into the new school year and
are feeling a bit more confident in the implementation of the
Peddlesfoots. On that same note, we would like to continue our
support by visiting your classrooms. Don't worry, there aren't any
formal observations here, we just want to pop in, answer your questions,
and take a look at how you are using the Peddlesfoots in your own
classroom. We've worked it out so that we will be visiting all the
participating schools somewhere between mid-November through next May.
We've picked Thursday afternoons and will be contacting you individually
over email to schedule what day fits best with your schedule.
Again, thank you for your involvement in what hopes to be one of the
many pieces in creating a safe and caring Saginaw County for our kids.
~ Lisa Workman
10-2007 - Teacher/Partner Forum
Launches, Year Two Proceeds
Participating teachers and community partners, please visit our new
forum—it's been re-designed with you
in mind. There you'll be able to interact with others who are using the
Peddlesfoots curriculum, share questions and strategies, and stay
plugged-in to the TRUE Initiative. Speaking of staying plugged-in,
here's an update: all of Saginaw County's participating kindergarten
teachers have now been trained and are currently implementing the
curriculum and taking part in the evaluation piece. What's next? Nearly
1,000 families will end up with Peddlesfoots parent kits. Stay
tuned . . .
8-2007 - One Year Down, Three to Go . . .
TRUE's first year is ending in a busy way: the
team has just returned from an inspiring conference at Harvard, the
Peddlesfoots kindergarten curriculum is completed and ready for
distribution, and training for participating teachers is coming up soon.
If you're a participating teacher (or would like to be), please look
around the site, learn more, and don't hesitate to
contact us if you have questions, etc. Also: please join the
discussion in our forum and take advantage
of the resources in our archives.
6-2007 - Site Update: New Forum, First
Newsletter, and More
Please participate in our new
forum. It should be
a great place to make contacts, stay informed about the Initiative, and
build knowledge about character education, Project Zero, and more. Also, our first Steering Committee newsletter is now
available on the
archives page, along with some new articles
and video.
5-2007/6-2007 - Kindergarten Curriculum in
Development--Evaluation Begins
Many local kindergarten teachers have already begun participating in
evaluation of the Initiative by completing pre-surveys. This fall,
the kindergarten level of Peddlesfoots curriculum will be
distributed, and evaluation will continue.
3-2007/6-2007 - Community
Partners Curriculum Distribution and Training
TRUE community partners have now received the first level
of Peddlesfoots curriculum, as well as training in its
implementation. If you're one of these partners, please
contact us with questions, comments, etc. We'll be in touch
regarding evaluation!
8-2006 - TRUE Initiative Website Launch
truesaginaw.org is meant to be the informational hub
of the Initiative. We hope that TRUE Team members, partners, and other
interested parties will be able to use this site to stay informed about
the project, and increase our success in teaching young people about
good character. 7-2006 - TRUE Wins Federal Partnerships Grant
A revolution has been set in motion—its
goal: to dramatically improve the character of Saginaw County's young
people. Its plan: the federally-funded TRUE Initiative to utilize
Creating Character's Peddlesfoots character education curriculum
to Teach, Reinforce, Understand, and Engage.
Partnerships in Character Education Grant Award Press Release
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