Looking for a memorable way to thank, reward and inspire the special teachers in your life?

Coffee mugs and gift certificates are always welcome. But for a gift that truly stands out, give your hardworking teachers a signed copy of Notes from a Classroom — and show your appreciation in a way they’ll never forget.

Kay McSpadden has touched many lives with her Notes from a Classroom — a collection of columns chronicling the joys and challenges of teaching.

"Notes from a Classroom" author Kay McSpadden

Notes has won the praise of reviewers, educators, and ordinary readers. Anyone who’s ever been inside a classroom will enjoy Notes.

But Notes is especially affirming and encouraging for Kay’s fellow teachers.

And it’s packed with practical tips, hints and from-the-trenches advice to help every teacher excel.

Neither you nor I can solve all the challenges facing education today.

But certainly we can all do our part.

Touch a teacher’s life with a gift of Notes from a Classroom.

Order a copy today from one of our online partners linked at right. Write me using the form below or call me toll free at 1-800-280-6631 .

Order 10 or more copies for the special teachers in your life, and I’ll give you FREE shipping, special savings…and even signed copies (while supplies last).

Think of how pleased your special teachers will be to receive a signed copy of Notes from a Classroom!

It will make an unforgettable gift for your next special occasion.

And it will inspire and encourage your teachers day after day — for many years to come.

Yours for inspired teaching,

Rick Rotondi
Sales Director
(800) 280-6631

P.S. Remember, for signed copies and special savings on 10+ copies of Notes from a Classroom, contact me directly at 1-800-280-6631 or using the form below.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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]]> http://notesfromaclassroom.com/2009/09/22/principals-parents-and-kids/feed/ 0 stampley kay-mcspadden_2 http://notesfromaclassroom.com/2008/07/29/notes-from-a-classroom-the-blog/ http://notesfromaclassroom.com/2008/07/29/notes-from-a-classroom-the-blog/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:30:40 +0000 stampley http://notesfromaclassroom.com/2007/09/27/notes-from-a-classroom-the-blog/ ]]> Visit this site for the latest on Notes from a Classroom by South Carolina high school teacher Kay McSpadden.

The navigation panel to your right features additional information about this exciting title, including Kay’s Schedule at a Glance which features the author’s upcoming appearances.

• Please note that links in the older entries may have expired •

When I was a child, my sister Darlene and I loved going to the public library, but for very different reasons.

While I browsed through the stacks looking for two or three interesting fiction chapter books, my younger sister scoured skinny picture books and collected a huge, slippery pile that she struggled to carry to the circulation desk. In the back seat of my mother’s car on the way home, Darlene raced to read her books despite her easy tendency to motion sickness. I, on the other hand, took my time opening a single book in my lap, making sure to read the copyright date and other publication arcana before flicking to the first chapter and smoothing the page with my palm.

By the time the car rolled to a stop at our house, Darlene had usually slammed closed the last of her books with a triumphant whomp.

“I’m already finished!” she would say smugly. She was positively gleeful. Condemned, as all younger siblings are, to playing catch-up, she could, at least on library days, feel that she had beaten me at something.

Darlene and I were lucky to have a mother who took us regularly to the library–and luckier still that she read to us each night at bedtime. According to a recently released survey, Reading Across the Nation, sponsored by the Reach Out and Read National Center, UCLA’s Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities, and the Department of Pediatrics at Boston University’s Medical Center, fewer than half of all American children younger than five years old are read to daily. This lack of early interaction with language shows up dramatically by the time they begin school. Up to one-third lack the skills they need to be successful, and most of those never reach their potential in school.

Reading Across the Nation compiles several sources about children in all fifty states, including the 2003-2004 National Survey of Children’s Health which interviewed parents to assess how often children were read to. The report also includes the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress and the 2007 results from data drawn from the Reach Out and Read program.

Not surprisingly, the results varied from state to state and from region to region. The four states with the highest percentage of children being read to daily were all in the Northeast–Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The four states with the lowest percentage of children being exposed to reading every day were in the South–Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In Vermont, for example, 67.6% of young children are read to daily; in Mississippi, only 38.1% of young children are read to.

In almost every state, minority children and children in low-income families are read to less than non-minority or higher-income children. Vermont’s child population is predominantly white and middle-class, with only 7.9% of the children living in poverty, but unlike most states, wealthier parents do not read more than parents with more modest incomes, perhaps because of the state’s support for the Reach out and Read (ROR) program. Pediatricians and health clinics that participate in the ROR program tell parents at each of the ten scheduled well-child visits between six months and five years about the benefits of reading aloud to children. They also distribute new age-appropriate books to the children, and researchers note that ROR families have more children’s books in their home and report more literacy activities than non-ROR families.

By contrast, Mississippi has one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation–32.9%–and a low participation rate in ROR. In Vermont 78.1% of children in or near poverty are served by ROR; in Mississippi only 2.7% are. By fourth grade, 38% of the children in Vermont test proficient or advanced in reading, but only 18% of those in Mississippi do.
North and South Carolina fall in the middle of the pack. Half of our parents report reading to their children daily, and 30% of our fourth graders–the national average–score proficient or advanced in reading. However, the Carolinas fall below the nation in access to public libraries. Vermont, for example, has 214 children under the age of five for each library. North and South Carolina are closer to 1700 children per library.

Reading Across the Nation says little that literacy experts haven’t been saying all along–that children need time every day with adults who read to them, that they need to explore words and language through books, and that support for public libraries and programs such as ROR are investments not only in children but in the health of our communities as well. The ideas might not be new, but they are worth saying to every new generation of parents and children.

Notes makes a great teacher’s gift. Look for your copy in your favorite bookstore. If you are a PTO leader or school administrator looking for multiple copies, contact us to ask about quantity discounts.

Even if you’ve missed Kay’s book signings, or haven’t had a signing yet in your area, it’s still easy to get your signed copy of Notes. Order your copy today!

“…these snappy lessons feature plenty of hard-earned wisdom, gentle humor and memorable student portraits.”

— Publishers Weekly, 12/10/2007

To read the full review, click here.