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Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series exploring Austin Public Schools’ ability to retain and to grow leaders and educators amid a nationwide and statewide teacher shortage Read the second part here:  Growing Leaders: In times of teacher shortage, APS continues to sustain and it takes all hands on deck to help provide the best education for students what happens if there’s not enough educators to meet the demand From the 2017 Teacher Supply and Demand Report released by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) the number of teachers leaving their positions increased 34 percent since 2008-09 Among the most common reasons were from retirement One of the MDE’s findings was that the average percentage of teachers leaving the profession after one year is 15.1 percent and over a quarter of teachers leave the profession after three years Austin Public Schools continues to grow and sustain itself and also provide opportunities for many to move around in the district including four new principals— although familiar to the school district as seasoned veterans in education and to Austin— at different buildings and each had their own journeys in education that kept them in “The happiest place in Austin Public Schools” A place where the “littlest learners” could run Woodson Kindergarten Center was where Jill Rollie felt she could inspire youth to love learning from the very beginning of their educational journey “I know where I’m supposed to be,” she shared “I want to be a part of that impact on students in their younger years This is the happiest place in Austin Public Schools.” Diving into her new position as Woodson Kindergarten Center principal this school year marked the first time Rollie held a principal role during her 16 years in education Rollie was a continuous improvement specialist at I.J and taught language arts at Ellis Middle School for a number of years From her beginnings in a classroom to a principal’s desk Rollie worked her way through the one district she couldn’t imagine leaving for another She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in communication arts at Winona State University and her first teaching job was at Lyle Public School Rollie knew that her heart would always be in Austin and to become a teacher in the very district she grew up was something that was important to her Without having teachers who had invested in her from the beginning “I always wanted to come back to this community I’m a ‘lifer’ and this place fills my heart and I wanted to thrive in Austin There were teachers and people here who invested in me and I wanted to invest something back into this district.” Becoming an administrator was never really the “end goal” for Rollie She focused on her role of being foremost an educator but felt there were ample opportunities that the district provided for her to have her hands in building her as a leader From being on a calendar committee to helping with staff-led initiatives at Ellis Middle School Rollie found herself taking stepping stones to get to where she is today She eventually earned her certificate in educational administration to become a K-12 principal from Saint Mary’s University Aside from being a part of a community that raised her Rollie shared that what kept her in APS was how she felt “safe” to try new ideas and innovate with district leaders showing strong support for her pursuits “I feel so safe learning new things and trying new things,” Rollie said “The district provides so much support for teachers in leadership opportunities and they honor risk taking and always stressed innovation and that this is a safe place to learn David Wolfe in a classroom at Neveln Elementary where he will be spending his first year as principal Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyhlerald.com Wolff’s father was a math professor at Minnesota State University and Wolff would often be in a classroom where he’d see his father teaching students The “ah-ha” moment came after a youth group trip down to Mexico helped solidify what Wolff wanted to spend the rest of his life doing “My group got to play with some kids at an orphanage,” he said “We were playing together despite language barriers We learned words through actions and sounds and that’s what put me in my direction This was where I knew I wanted to be an elementary school teacher Wolff had worked in the APS district in a wide variety of positions and held responsibilities from being the district coordinator of Gifted and Talented Services from August 2011 to August 2016 and then as the inter-district coordinator of Project E3 since August 2014 and then the coordinator of robotics programming from August 2009 to April 2016 Wolff was a fifth grade math and science teacher at I.J Wolff had been a teacher at Park Christian School for four years as a second grade teacher since 2001 went on to Kansas and taught from 2004 to 2008 as a third and fourth grade teacher Wolff also served a one year stint up at White Earth Reservation as a high school principal Among one of the reasons why Wolff chose to put down roots in Austin was the amount of staff development opportunities the district gave him and the feeling of having administrators “invest” into his personal growth as a teacher that’s a bond you can’t break,” Wolff said and then you make friends and have family here.” was a place where he knew he wanted to raise a family and kids a factor that many young teachers may take into consideration when staying inside a school district He also viewed the diversity as an immense asset to exposing his own children to different people from all walks of life “Our community is such a hidden gem,” he said people might not see the complexity and depth we have for our kids as opposed to just a ‘factory town.’ We accept and value diversity as an important part of our life.” Holton principal Dewey Schara puts together a presentation in his office in August as he prepares for the new school year at his new position Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com “If I were to return to the classroom tomorrow I’d be perfectly happy,” said Dewey Schara Holton after serving as the Neveln Elementary School principal Schara will be looking to engage students and staff Schara previously taught language arts in the Southland Schools District for two years right out of college from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and has since been with the Austin Public Schools District Holton and Ellis Middle School and working with Jessica Cabeen “We want to make the grades 5-8 to be a seamless transition,” Schara explained Schara had seen many changes in the education field he sees the usage of technology in problem solving for students that didn’t exist inside the classroom when he first started teaching What Schara believed to be the district’s strength that helped keep him in Austin was accessibility to be creative and innovative in teaching techniques you’re not trying hard enough,” he said firmly but they look at how you can grow on them.” Being an educator was something that Schara deemed “a calling” and had aspired to take the career path after several teachers had influenced him a great deal “It’s a pretty classic moment,” he explained “Teachers had made a difference in my life and were stable adults and they were there for me when my life wasn’t so great We wanted to be life influencers on children I first noticed teachers were more than just about teaching content areas and that is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” it feels as if individuals forget what the profession was all about “Every person who becomes a teacher is answering a call,” he said after several years as principal at Woodson Kindergarten Center has moved up to take over the principal position at Ellis Middle School Jessica Cabeen is back at Ellis Middle School Cabeen was the Woodson Kindergarten Center principal and prior to that she was the assistant principal at the middle school and also a special education supervisor and teacher “I’ve always wanted to help people,” Cabeen said Several feathers were pinned on Cabeen’s cap such as being the recipient of the NAESP/VINCI Digital Leader of Early Learning Award in 2016 and last year she was named the Minnesota National Distinguished Principal She has two published books on work and life balance as well as her own experiences as an early childhood educator It was hard to believe that Cabeen wasn’t originally on the path toward being an educator She was actually previously working in adult disability services and adolescents in Iowa and Illinois as a music therapist and earned her bachelor’s degree in music therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Cabeen went on to earn her master’s degree in special education from the University of Saint Thomas and then obtained her administrative license from Hamline University What brought Cabeen to Austin was the desire to live in a small town but to also have a community where there’s diversity so that her children could be exposed to it from the beginning and have people who support one another in all aspects of life outside of the classroom “This was really an amazing opportunity,” Cabeen said Thats something you really can’t get anywhere else and it’s so important for my son Isaiah to have role models who look like him and to hope and dream and succeed with high distinction.” Upon hearing about the forecasted teacher shortage Cabeen stated that she felt one of the biggest things for teachers was the “burnout” and not being able to properly balance work and life sometimes stepping away from work was almost impossible to do and I try not to email them more than once a week Cabeen turns to her colleagues and mentors for guidance and support and feels one of the reasons why she continues to be an educator was because of that strong support system “There’s strong leadership above me,” she said “They let me dream so that our kids could dream.” The Minnesota Timberwolves (33-29) are welcoming in the Utah Jazz (15-45) for a contest between Northwest Division foes… The Kansas Jayhawks versus the Houston Cougars is one of two games on Monday’s college basketball schedule that… The Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Florida Panthers is one of many solid options on today’s NHL slate.… The college basketball schedule on Monday is not one to miss Our computer model has recommended picks against… There are two games on the college basketball schedule on Monday that feature a ranked team Which language would you like to use this site in Coordinator of the movement “Volga and People Are Against” a four hectare (10 acres) parking lot for the FIFA World Cup was built on the Kazanka River banks it was unused during the Confederations Cup another international football tournament played in 2017 the place was an area of natural beauty where magpies sang Just two days before the area was destroyed in November 2016 we had discovered some giant reed plants there We protested peacefully against the construction of the parking lot we parked our cars at the curb and spent three days standing there We tried to block what was at that time the illegal construction of the parking lot And 15 more brought us food and hot coffee We were watching this world of nature about to be destroyed and buried by heavy machinery and prevented KAMAZ trucks from filling the area with sand We knew that this construction was just the beginning of further destruction of the “green lungs” of the Kazan’s Novo-Savinsky district The next stage of the construction is about to start They will wait until the World Cup is over so that local residents do not protest in front of international TV cameras and embarrass the authorities This new construction will proceed with the destruction of another four hectares (10 acres) of natural beauty But I am sure that this time more locals will protest more information about the imminent construction in the narrow area that runs from the Kazan Arena has spread among the residents of the Novo-Savinsky district This natural strip consists of streamside woods and shallow waters inhabited by many species of animals and the risks to it are evident if the construction goes ahead There were multiple protests in Kazan in 2012 with up to a thousand participants but the authorities just ignored their claims no one was arrested and the authorities allowed the press coverage to go without interference there was no response at all from the authorities — people were wasting their breath We fight for the preservation of nature in Zaimishche the floodplain meadows of the Volga river just 20 kilometres from Kazan downtown Local residents have always drunk water from the Zaimishche meadows We cycled from our summer cottage which was some 7 km away My whole childhood I enjoyed these tall grasses and the beautiful sunsets I discovered that this site was listed for urban development I was a journalist at the Vechernyaya Kazan I talked to the officials and to the CEO of the construction company that was developing the area and I realized that you to have an impact in Tatarstan you can do nothing with your journalism alone We tried to get inside the construction zone an area that had once consisted of open islands where people had always gone fishing and kids from local villages had been playing all day long The site started to change: where there had been land there was no response at all from the authorities — people were wasting their breath the construction moved closer to the riverside villages and huge 18-metre deep pits appeared in place of the warm bays kids had used to splash in When people saw these disastrous things happening right at their doorstep they got angry and stopped thinking about the possible consequences even if that meant police harassment and prosecution The moment the local residents in Oktyabrskoe saw up to 50 owls sitting in the broad daylight in the trees displaced by the shore deposition they realized that they had to take to the streets Between 600 and 1,000 people attended the “People’s Gathering” on 9 May 2014 Some of them tried to block one lane of the federal road Truck drivers learned what was going on and honked in support or stopped their vehicles and offered to help to completely block the road we did approach the dredge ships and asked them to stop working In reply the captains stopped the work because all these ships belonged to the oldest river fleet company in Tatarstan: Tatflot They love the Volga and are real ‘Volgars’ they did not expect to be filling shallow waters with sand it seemed they liked the idea of shutting down the project to protect this natural area I saw the bravery of these people and realized that they were the real power Now local residents bring their tractors there and pay out of their own pockets to dig the channels back so that the water can stream freely The deepest and most dangerous pits have to be filled and evened out there is a small bay that in the summer is a couple metres deep There are plenty of plants and animals there Water covered with duckweed and other aquatic plants shimmers like stars with amphibian roe That is what the tiny lakes that have now been filled with sand used to look like We are working to have a natural park there You see this beauty around you and understand that this area must be preserved The islands in the distance should become a sanctuary for birds and animals and water must be directed to the aggradation sites Tatarstan lacks parks that could act both as a wildlife sanctuary and a nature tourism destination Together we can fight for human rights everywhere Your donation can transform the lives of millions If you are talented and passionate about human rights then Amnesty International wants to hear from you Men will complete in three dives (one required one intermediate and one optional) on Friday The best 18 athletes will compete during Dive 4 (required dive) on Sunday Twelve of the best divers will qualify thereafter and compete for the podium during the fifth and final dive (optional dive) also on Sunday August 10th Women will complete in three dives (one required and two optional) on Saturday Athletes ranked up to the 12th place will also receive prize money About the World Cup: First ever FINA High Diving World Cup was created after the remarkable introduction of this discipline to the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona The High Diving World Cup will be an annual event bringing together the world’s best athletes of this growing sport The top five divers of the Red Bull Cliff Diving Series will all be present at the FINA High Diving World Cup (listed 1st to 5th) Ginger Huber (USA) and Adriana Jimenez-Trejo (MEX) Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker An open international contest has been launched to re-masterplan a waterfront plot on the right bank of the Kazanka River in Kazan The free-to-enter competition – organised by TEHNE on behalf of the Mayor's Office of Kazan – seeks proposals for a landmark new mixed-use development which compliments emerging plans for a new river walk park nearby while also respecting views of the city’s historic castle Submissions must help to create a ‘balanced skyline’ for the right bank of the Kazanka River while also improving pedestrian and transport infrastructure and reflecting regional culture. The latest competition comes almost three years after London’s JTP won a competition to masterplan a 760ha sustainable urban expansion of the city According to the brief: ‘The competition subject consists in elaborating an architectural concept for the development of the area confined by Sibgat Khakim Street the water of the Kazanka River and the park ‘The architectural concept shall include: a preliminary master plan of the designed area with all its functional areas (zones) infrastructure and capital construction objects; and general city-planning Located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, Kazan is the largest city and capital of Russia’s Tartastan republic. Local landmarks include the Kazan Kremlin UNESCO World Heritage Site and the new White Flowers Boulevard by Project Group 8 + PARK The latest contest seeks proposals a new mixed-use development featuring around 145,000m² of serviced apartments around 30,000-to-35,000m² of hotel service apartments Contest judges will include Kazan mayor Ilsur Metshin; Christos Passas associate director at Zaha Hadid Architects; Nikolay Shumakov president of the Union of Architects of Russia; and Michel Péna former president of the French Federation of Landscape Architects The competition languages are English and Russian will receive a £28,100 (3 million RUB) prize while a second prize of £18,700 (1.5 million RUB) and third prize of £6,500 (700,000 RUB) will also be awarded The registration deadline is 1 June and submissions must be completed by 24 June Visit the competition website for more information Email: 42@tehne.com Tags Hutchison Ports is recruiting a design team for its new £9 million… An open international contest is being held for a major €27.5 million… An international design and build contest is being held for 25 new… The UK Research and Innovation Science and Technology Facilities Council (UKRI-STFC) has… The footballer became ill during an individual training session Details of the tragedy are being clarified,” the club said in a statement We express our condolences to his family and friends.” We are truly sad to announce the death of Kazanka defender – Innokentiy Samokhvalov.He had a wife and a son.Kesha was a kind, helpful person and a good friend. We are truly shocked by what happened and express our sincere condolences to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/LgpcHMdB8d The centre-back joined Lokomotiv in 2015 as a youth player but was yet to make a Russian Premier League appearance Russia is in coronavirus lockdown until 30 April while competitive football has been postponed until 31 May Several Colombian fans came to the rescue of a man who reportedly jumped into the Kazanka River in World Cup host city Kazan In a video showing the rescue operation widely shared on Russian social media this weekend the Spanish-speaking cameraman says the fans “saved the Russian [man] from hypothermia and guaranteed death.” Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression The young defender passed away tragically while training by himself at his home Lokomotiv Moscow youngster Innokenty Samokhvalov has died while engaging in a solo training session during Russia's coronavirus lockdown The 22-year-old's tragic death was announced by the Russian Premier League club via statement and their social media accounts on Sunday Samokhvalov had been training at his property to keep fit with Russia's government imposing restrictions around football clubs' training sessions due to the Covid-19 pandemic "The footballer became ill during an individual training session Details of the tragedy are being clarified This is a huge sorrow for our family." The club also tweeted: "Kesha was a kind We are truly shocked by what happened and express our sincere condolences to his family and friends." Samokhvalov was yet to make a senior appearance for Lokomotiv since joining the club in 2015 and had been playing for their reserve team Kazanka in the third tier of Russian football Kazanka's coach Alexander Grishin suggested Samokhvalov's cause of death was a heart issue The doctors have told us the cause of death was heart failure," Grishin told Russian news agency RIA Novos "If the doctors allowed him to train then we must assume he did not have any problems." Moscow residents were forced into a lockdown by Russian president Vladimir Putin in late March as the coronavirus began to become more prevalent in the country the Russian government announced a non-working period for citizens that has since been extended until April 30 Russia has suffered 405 deaths from Covid-19 from 47,121 cases - while 3,446 people have recovered from the illness Coronavirus has had a significant impact on the football globally, with most leagues worldwide forced to suspend their competitions and prohibit team training Several star footballers have contracted the illness while other high-profile sufferers include Arsenal coach Mikel Artera and Olympiakos president Evangelos Marinakis Registration has been successfully completed Make a new account if you don't have one yet Puedes ver la versión Española de BeSoccer.com You can see the English version of BeSoccer.com Vous pouvez voir la version French de BeSoccer.com Puoi vedere la versione Italian su BeSoccer.com Você pode ver a versão Brasileira de BeSoccer.com the UIM MotoSurf WorldCup returns for another round of the Championship in the Asian continent and the sports capital of Russia – Kazan The city of Kazan will welcome around 50 riders from 7 different countries on the river of Kazanka for a three-day event held from the 28th to the 30th of August Europe will be represented by Czech Republic while Asia will be represented by South Korea and India The USA flag will be carried by recent MotoSurf Games winner Jordan Davlin from Texas All the riders competing on motorized surfboards will face the river of Kazanka for the first time on Saturday during free practice sessions and qualifiers The action will continue with three heats on Sunday The Finals are scheduled for Monday during the famous festival of the Day of Kazan The one to watch is definitely Nikolas Blaha from Czech Republic, who claimed two victories in the previous races in the Open category and leads the Championship by 29 points ahead of the 2019 Lukáš Záhorský Besides 9 Russian riders we can also look forward to seeing Jordan Davlin – winner of the MotoSurf Games in Sebring Florida and currently the fastest rider in the American continent Down Kim and Haemi Lee will represent South Korea Belgium has a strong presence too as Laureen Thellin is hoping to conquer the Kazan podium alongside her compatriot and off-shore powerboating World Champion MotoSurf is a worldwide sport and welcomes Indian team Aliasgar Calcutawalla from Mumbai Aneta Šacherová leads the Women’s Class with amazing performances from the first two races in Czech Republic and Belgium Unstoppable Eliška Matoušková, proved her form by winning the first round of MSWC in and her main rival Linda Lukscheider taking the highest position in Belgium There is no doubt they will compete for the highest rank again The Rookies category is full of talent aiming for higher levels of performances every year The leader of the Championship Alex Lukscheider and his biggest rival Matyáš Novotný are about to shine on the water again there will be an Electric Challenge which is the first ever fully electric competition in the field of powerboating the head-to-head battle will consist of 8 riders competing for the Championship title Spectators can expect thrilling racing and really close overtakes during the entire competition Photo Credits: direttore@ilnautilus.it a Russian city located at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka rivers in central European Russia five more countries have joined the BRICS five-nation coalition which had four members (Brazil India and China) at its founding in 2009 and in 2010 South Africa also joined did not take the final step of entering the “Global South” alliance and participates as a visitor-observer in the bloc’s meetings This fact is a strong indication of the growing power of the union and its role in international affairs BRICS is attracting an ever-increasing number of supporters and like-minded countries that share the core principles and values ​​of the coalition BRICS is presented as an alternative to what its members see as Western-controlled institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund New members can potentially gain access to financing through the coalition’s development bank as well as expand their political and trade relations the BRICS countries collectively now represent 45% of the world’s population with approximately 3.5 billion people 44% of total global oil production as well as almost one-third of global GDP amounting to approximately 29 trillion dollars having surpassed in terms of purchasing power parity the G7 the group of the seven most powerful economies of the developed world Russian President Vladimir Putin notes that the BRICS countries are developing at a very fast pace and these paces will continue to intensify The economic strength of the BRICS is expressed above all at the IMF level where their quota from 8.4% in 2001 reached 25.8% in 2022 while in the same period the G-7 quota decreased from 64.6% in 42.9% The BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are fighting together against the neo-colonial economic system imposed by the West and at the same time complementing each other with their main goal being de-dollarization while at the same time BRICS is expanding with new countries and becoming stronger And they complement each other because the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) cannot on its own create a single monetary system that will be an alternative to the US dollar The BRICS would not exist finally without the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) since the latter is an international community of states that objectively form the core of the confrontation with the US-centric world.  The October Summit in Kazan will confirm the voluntary right of the members of the BRICS coalition to de-dollarize trade and financial transactions with each other and take another step in the direction of creating a currency for the Alliance – although this goal is difficult – which will clearly hit the great monetary weapon of the USA Russia already conducts 75% of its trade outside the dollar There may be some surprise at the summit with the announcement of a new international payment system as reports grow that coalition members are finalizing technical consultations and procedures The BRICS request for an alternative SWIFT has been a declared goal since 2015 The first problem was and is settlements in national currencies exchange rates without the mediation of the dollar In this context the BRICS committed last year to a possible common currency or something similar.  The desire of several states in the “periphery” to unhook from the dollar is also particularly important Thailand – which is expected to be accepted into the BRICS at the Kazan Summit – and Vietnam moving in this direction It is worth noting that 60% of trade between Russia and Vietnam is now conducted without the US dollar and the euro Positive and constructive cooperation with all interested countries the approximately 30 countries knocking on the door of BRICS which also aims to strengthen cooperation in cultural and humanitarian contacts It is worth noting that the BRICS alliance extended its first invitation to resource-rich Venezuela to participate in the 16th Kazan summit which if it joins BRICS and stops selling oil quotas to US companies the consequences could be disastrous for the United States Building a fairer and more democratic system of international relations violence and the pressure of sanctions and is based on real equality is at the same time the clear goal of the BRICS coalition The countries of the Global South must shake off economic colonialism and control their own wealth-producing resources through a “decolonization” front This can be achieved in the first instance by the “de-dollarization” of world trade This development has started with the sale of oil by major producers in national currencies or with the expulsion of the French from West Africa where in Niger they got the uranium for their nuclear plants at a very low price compared to the price of international trade while dynamically developing cooperation among themselves in several fields have not acquired the structure and organization of other international organizations an issue that is likely to be examined at the Kazan summit as the political priorities of the Russian presidency include the “Promotion of institutional development of the BRICS” I would like to emphasize that the Kazan Summit will mark the beginning of the end for the US dollar as the sole global reserve currency the decline of the dominance of the US and the Western world in general * Karderinis, a journalist, novelist and poet, writes via [email protected] TV Independent on YouTube and IndependentNgr (Facebook