American Library Association announces 2012 Youth Media Award winners
The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, video and audiobooks for children and young adults including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards at its Midwinter Meeting in Dallas.

Obama Challenges Lawmakers to Strengthen Education
In the State of the Union address President Obama challenged lawmakers to invest more money in education and research in an effort to "prepare for the jobs of tomorrow." Here are excerpts from the president's speech that have to do with education.

Apple unveils interactive textbooks, revamped iTunes U
Apple confirmed that the company would jump into the textbook market during a press event at New York's Guggenheim Museum, where Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, introduced the next iteration of the iBooks app, which for the first time will offer textbooks that start at $14.99 or less for high school students.

Children's Books Get Oscar Nominations
Hugo, based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick received 11 nominations, including Best Picture. War Horse, based on Michael Murpurgo's 1982 novel, has six nominations, also including Best Picture. Publishers Weekly, January 2012

National Student Poets Program Launches
First Lady Michelle Obama helped launch a new arts program to pick five high school student poets, who will spend one year promoting poetry through readings, workshops and other activities. The National Student Poets Program is an effort by The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

2012 National African American Read-In
This February schools, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities. Hosting a Read-In can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers.

Collaborative Summer Library Program's 2012 Teen Video Challenge
CSLP's 2012 Teen Video Challenge, is a national video competition that encourages kids to get involved with their public library's summer reading program. To enter, teens 13 to 18-working individually or as a team-create a 30 to 90 second video that's based on CSLP's 2012 teen slogan, "Own the Night." Each participating CSLP member state will select one winner, who will prizes for their local public library.

Congress Approves $28.6 Million for School Libraries
The House and Senate recently passed the conference report for an Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which includes $28.6 million in federal funds for school libraries in FY 2012. School Library Journal, Winter 2011

National Book Award Winner
Thanhha Lai's novel Inside Out & Back Again won the young adult literature award this year.

IQ Isn't Set In Stone, Suggests Study That Finds Big Jumps, Dips In Teens
The findings of a new study add evidence to the latter theory: IQ seems to be a gauge of acquired knowledge that progresses in fits and starts. The researchers tested 33 healthy adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16 years. They repeated the tests four years later and found that some teens improved their scores by as much as 20 points on the standardized IQ scale. NPR, Fall 2011

Pairing Up
A Maryland initiative seeks to scale up co-teaching as a way to support students of all needs. Education Week, Fall 2011

IRA Annual Convention Registration
Registration for the 57th annual International Reading Association convention opened on December 1, 2011. The convention is being held in Chicago, IL from April 29 - May 2, 2012.

Most States to Seek Exception to Education Law
A majority of states intend to take President Barack Obama up on his offer to let them get around unpopular requirements in the No Child Left Behind law, says the federal Education Department. eSchool News, Fall 2011

States To Lead Effort To Write New Science Standards
A group of 20 states has been selected to lead an important effort to improve science education for all students. The 20 states will lead the development of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a state-led effort that will clearly define the content and practices all students will need to learn from kindergarten through high school graduation. The NGSS process is being managed by Achieve, a non-partisan education non-profit. Drafts of the science standards will be made available for public input at least two times during the NGSS development process. The NGSS should be completed by the end of 2012.

Study Says Less Physical Harassment Seen in Schools Using Bullying Prevention Program
A new study by the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington, says that elementary schools that used a bullying prevention program saw significantly less physical harassment-as well as fewer teachers reporting that fighting was a serious problem. School Library Journal, Fall 2011

Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?
Smithsonian Magazine takes a look at why Finland's achievements in education "have other nations doing their homework."

Kindle Library Lending Goes Live
Amazon and library e-book vendor OverDrive announced its recent plan to allow library lending via the Kindle and Kindle app is now live. The service, available at some 11,000 libraries across the U.S., enables libraries to expand their e-book lending to the nation's most popular e-reading platform. Publishers Weekly, Fall 2011

Summer Seminars at Six: An Introduction to Education Policy
Summer Seminars at Six are designed to share information about education policy that will help teachers to be engaged and participate in policy discussions at the federal, state, and district level. Led by teachers working at the department, along with other staff, there will be opportunities for questions and discussion both in person and online.

NCTE Resources on Core Standards Implementation
NCTE reviews the Common Core State Standards and offers a Virtual Conference series on their website.

Challenge Your Students to Become Energy Efficient
NSTA and the U.S. Department of Energy opened registration for America's Home Energy Education Challenge, a nationwide student contest to help families save money by saving energy at home. The contest will engage students in elementary and middle schools to make smarter energy choices. Students, teachers, and principals are encouraged to register to participate.

Read Together Pamphlet for Parents
   The NCTE Commission on Reading pamphlet "Read Together Pamphlet for Parents" provides valuable information for anyone who reads with young children. Specifically targeted to parents, it includes read together book lists for different developmental reading levels. ReadWriteThink.org shares more read-aloud strategies.