ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. It is the largest single organization of its type. Members are professional educators from all levels and subject areas. It offers publications, conferences (see Resources on this website for further information), e-resources, discussion forums and other support to educators.
National Council of Mathematics Teachers
is a great resource used by many teachers of math. Their website has a variety of lesson and activity ideas, as well as a link to “Standards and Focal Points” which is a thorough documentation of scope and sequence for K-12. They also publish a monthly magazine that has articles on current research, lessons and letters from other teachers. They will be sponsoring a number of regional conferences coming up this fall.
National Council for the Teaching of Social Studies
NCSS defines social studies as “the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence.” “Social studies promotes knowledge of and involvement in civic affairs. And because civic issues—such as health care, crime, and foreign policy—are multidisciplinary in nature, understanding these issues and developing resolutions to them require multidisciplinary education”. This organization sponsors annual conferences and shares teacher resources.
National Council of Teachers of English-
The National Council of Teachers of English is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Its mission is to ” promote the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language.” The council serves and supports teachers from the elementary grades through College.
The National Association of Teachers of Special Education
The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is the only national membership organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of special education teachers and those preparing for the field of special education teaching. There are numerous seminars and distance learning opportunities available via their website:
New CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education)
CAJE was the largest coalition of Jewish educators. It defined as “teacher” anyone involved in the transmission of Jewish education and culture. That meant that classroom teachers, principals, rabbis, cantors, camp directors, youth workers, academicians, writers, artists, storytellers, parents, communal service professionals—all are teachers in our eyes. CAJE believed in pluralism and brought Jews together from every part of the denominational spectrum to learn together. A “New CAJE” is now in formation under young leadership. To learn more about this new organization, click on: http://www.newcaje.org