In the News

July 2009 The Association of California School Administrators (ASCA) newly redesigned Residential Programs for School Leaders at UCLA – formerly the Center for Educational Leadership – kicks off this July. The Residential Programs for School Leaders at UCLA has been streamlined to focus on the principalship. It now consists of two programs: the Principals’ Summer Institute, to be held July 5-11, and the Colloquium for New and Aspiring Principals, to be held July 12-16. Paula Rutherford, ASK Group Senior Consultant, will make a presentation at the ASCA Principals' Institute at UCLA on July 6th, 2009. This is her 13th year on the faculty of the Principals' Institute. She is the kick-off speaker this year.

June 29 – July 2, 2009 The Association of California School Administrators (ASCA) hosted a Principals’ Symposium in the Bay Area. Paula Rutherford, ASK Group Senior Consultant will present a keynote on Leading the Learning titled June 30, 2009. For more information about the symposium or to register visit http://acsa.org/MainMenuCategories/ProfessionalLearning/ConferencesandWorkshops/Principals-Symposium/Download-Principals-Symposium-Registration-Form.aspx

June 2009 Lau Kan How, ASK Group’s International Consultant in Singapore worked with the Mayflower Secondary School in Singapore. You can find out more about this school here: http://www.mayflowersec.moe.edu.sg/



June 4, 2009 ASK Group Senior Consultant Paula Rutherford gave the keynote address at the Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Maryland End-of-Year New Teacher Celebration. The keynote was titled Top Ten Tips for Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century and each new teacher received a copy of the text Why Didn’t I Learn This in College?

May 19-20, 2009 Cleveland State University and Just ASK collaborated to offer a Mentoring in the 21^st Century Institute. The institute led by Brenda Kaylor, ASK Group Senior Consultant, was warmly received and participants were enthusiastic about returning to their districts and using the resources they explored during their time with Brenda.

May 11, 2009 Just ASK is pleased to be a sponsor of the 14th annual Hemophilia Association of the Capital Area (HACA) golf tournament at the Old Hickory Golf Course in Woodbridge, Virginia. We have been a sponsor of this tournament for the past several years. David, Mike, and Doug Rutherford and Bruce Terwilliger are representing Just ASK. The Hemophilia Association of the Capital Area (HACA) was established in 1961 to serve persons with bleeding disorders and their families in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland. It is a local chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation and a member of the Hemophilia Federation of America. For more information about HACA and the tournament go to http://hacagolf.org/default.aspx

The Massachusetts Elementary School Principals' Association (MESPA) held its annual Spring Conference and The Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis on May 6-8, 2009. Louise Thompson and John Elwell represented Just ASK. Visit www.mespa.org/news/2009News/09SpringSaveDate.html for more information about the conference.

Just ASK is pleased to introduce the New Teacher Professional Development Resource Kit. This kit provides the tools you need to design and implement a comprehensive new teacher professional development program for your school or district. You can use this kit, complete with teaching notes, learning exercises, DVDs, and learning tools for workshop sessions, to design your own half-day, full-day, or multiple-day workshops, and follow-up sessions to initial training. Based on the best-seller, Why Didn't I Learn This in College?, this kit includes updated tools and procedures for teaching and learning in the 21st century. The 21st Century Mentor's Handbook and Instruction for All Students are included in the kit and are also cross-referenced to Why Didn't I Learn This in College?. Download the New Teacher Professional Development Resource Kit brochure www.justaskpublications.com/images/stories/ask/pdf/NTPD_Resource_Kit.pdf

March 16, 2009 Kathi Ruh, ASK Group Consultant, led a pre-conference session at the Third Annual Parent Advocacy Education Leadership (PEAL) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kathi’s session was titled Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners Using Differentiated Instruction. The session focused on meeting the needs of diverse learners with practical differentiated instructional strategies. The inclusion of such strategies as RAFT, cubing, graphic organizers, and Foldables™ along with effective learning experiences, simple modifications of assignments, and assessment opportunities will result in a classroom where ALL students will find success. For more information about The PEAL Center visit http://www.pealcenter.org

March 14 – 16, 2009 Just ASK is exhibited at the ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. Paula Rutherford, Brenda Kaylor, and Julie McVicker represented Just ASK at the conference. Please visit http://www.ascd.org/ for more information about the conference.



February 19 – 21, 2009 Just ASK exhibited at the National Title I Conference sponsored by the National Association of State Title I Directors in San Antonio, Texas. Mike Rutherford, Vice President of Business Development, and Sheryl Frascht, ASK Group Associate, represented Just ASK at the conference. Please visit http://www.nationaltitleiconference.com for more information about the conference.


February 11, 2009 ASK Group Senior Consultant Bruce Oliver, who is a former FCPS principal and former president of PDK Chapter 1144, made the keynote presentation at the Annual PDK Education Forum. The keynote, titled: It’s About Learning – Not Just About Grading, focused on banning the zero, using formative data to make instructional decisions and summative data to measure student learning, and giving students second chances and a variety of ways to demonstrate learning without lowering standards.

February 6, 2009 ASK Group Senior Consultant Paula Rutherford delivered two keynotes at the Archdiocese of San Francisco's Department of Catholic Schools' Curriculum Conferences. In these keynotes titled Top Ten Tips for Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century, Paula explored research-based and teacher-tested strategies for promoting rigorous thinking, identified ways to help students establish relevancy, and delved into ways to scaffold and extend learning so that all students can achieve at a high level. Each attendee received a copy of Instruction for All Students. A total of 1,100 educators attended the two keynote addresses.

February 1, 2009 Just ASK is pleased to announce the release of the second edition of Why Didn't I Learn This in College? by Paula Rutherford. You can support your new teachers by providing them with a resource that prepares them for 21st century classrooms. The second edition includes dozens of teacher-tested procedures, routines, and suggestions for organizing classrooms for learning. If you believe that the best management program is a strong instructional program, this book is the one you want for your new teachers. Join over 300,000 new teachers and mentors worldwide who are using this text in their induction and mentoring programs. The addition of self-assessments, updated tools with templates on a CD-ROM, and more active learning strategies make this edition even more valuable. Shipping February 5th, 2009

January 15 – 17, 2009 Just ASK exhibited at the Texas Staff Development Council’s (TSDC) 18th Annual Conference in Houston, Texas. This was the second year Just ASK has exhibited at TSDC. Mike Rutherford, Vice President of Business Development, represented Just ASK.

December 16, 2008 From the PBS TeacherLine Press Release: Through a new partnership, professional development content from Just ASK Publications & Professional Development will be incorporated into PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection, an online suite of multimedia resources, instructional strategies, and tools that support educators with coaching and mentoring responsibilities. Just ASK's resources offer practical, research-based teaching strategies that teacher leaders and mentors can use immediately with their peers in any subject area. Topics cover a wide range of instructional practices from lesson planning to assessment and data analysis. Click on the link to read the entire press release. http://www.cblohm.com/news/pbstl/PBSTL_081216

December 6-10, 2008 Just ASK was a Star Sponsor and exhibitor at the National Staff Development Council’s (NSDC) 40th Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Paula Rutherford, Bruce Oliver, Julie McVicker, Theresa West, Harriet Hopkins, Debby Mossburg, and Mike Rutherford represented Just ASK at the conference.

Just ASK was named Best All-Around Vendor at the NSDC 2008 Conference!



December 3-5, 2008 Just ASK exhibited December 4th and 5th at the Virginia ASCD Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. This is the third year that Just ASK was a sponsor of the Annual Conference. Bruce Oliver, ASK Group Senior Consultant and author of Just for the ASKing! e-newsletter, represented Just ASK at the conference.

November 13-14 2008 Julie McVicker, ASK Group Associate, led workshops at the Bermuda Union of Teachers 25th Annual Conference. The session title was Using Active Learning Structures for Student Success.

November 8, 2008 Kathi Ruh, ASK Group Consultant, led a workshop at the Parent Advocacy Education Leadership (PEAL) Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The title of the workshop was Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners.

November 6-8 2008 Paula Rutherford led a conference session at the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Leadership Summit in San Diego, California, on November 6. The conference session was titled Leading the Learning in a Standards-Based Environment. This is the fourth consecutive year that Paula has led a conference session at the ACSA Leadership Summit.

October 1, 2008 Congratulations to ASK Group Associate Debra Mossburg on her retirement September 30, 2008 from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Virginia where she was the ED/LD High School Program Specialist. Debby joined ASK Group in early September, bringing with her 20 years of practitioner expertise and 10 years’ experience as a professional developer in the areas of collaborative teaching, accommodations and adaptations for inclusive classrooms, differentiating instruction, literacy, and math instruction for students with disabilities. Debby is featured on the Success Factors in a Standards-Based Classroom DVD produced by FCPS. She holds a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Science in learning and behavioral disorders from the University of New York, Buffalo State College. You can contact Debby at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .