It's a family affair: Nov. 18-24
"Connections Count" is the theme for National Family Week, Nov. 18-24. It's an opportunity for households across the nation to embrace the belief that children benefit when families are strong-and families are strengthened when they live in communities that connect them with economic opportunity, social networks and services.

National Family Week is organized by the nonprofit Alliance for Children and Families and celebrated annually in communities nationwide. Last year, more than 400 celebrations in honor of children and families were held, including community festivals, resource fairs, family summits, public forums, volunteer projects, parenting seminars, family achievement awards and children's art and essay contests.

To learn more about what's happening in your community, visit www.nationalfamilyweek.org for the tips, resources and tools you'll need to make National Family Week an affair to remember.

Move over, Cooperstown
The National Teachers Hall of Fame, located in Emporia, Kan., was formed in 1992 as a tribute to the nation's most important profession.

To date, 75 teachers from 32 states and the District of Columbia have been honored as inductees. The project has been endorsed by the AFT, and virtually every education organization, not only as a way to raise the profile and status of teaching but also to recognize individual practitioners who exemplify all that's best in the profession.

Those chosen for the honor receive for their school a plaque bearing their picture, name and a brief description of their professional accomplishments. Inductees also are honored with $1,000 in materials for their school district, a ring and lapel pin, a permanent photo display of the inductee in the National Teachers Hall of Fame, a cast bronze bell tower award and a $1,000 scholarship for a student in the inductee's school district who is planning a career in teaching.

The deadline for nominations is Jan. 2, 2008. For details, visit www.nthf.org.

Rack 'em up!
"Created Equal" is the theme of this year's We the People Bookshelf project, a grant program created to encourage young people to read and understand great literature while exploring themes in American history. This is the fifth year that public and school libraries are invited to participate in the program, which is a partnership between the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Successful applicants will receive the "We the People Bookshelf," a collection of 17 classic hardcover books for young readers, all conveying the "Created Equal" theme. Several titles focus on the life and writings of Abraham Lincoln, whose 200th birthday will be celebrated during the 2008-09 programming period. In addition, winning libraries will receive four of these books in Spanish translation, and a bonus educational kit entitled "History in a Box on Abraham Lincoln."

Public and school libraries are invited to apply for grants online at www.ala.org/wethepeople  until Jan. 25, 2008. Next spring, NEH and ALA will select 3,000 libraries to receive the 17-volume bookshelf. A single application may be submitted on behalf of multiple libraries within a library system, school district or community. Individual branch and school libraries also are encouraged to apply. Libraries selected to receive the bookshelf must plan programs that introduce the "Created Equal" theme and books to the library's students, young patrons, or to intergenerational audiences.

By teachers, for teachers
Iron out your most stubborn classroom management concerns by visiting t-source, an AFT Web site designed by teachers, for teachers that offers a variety of help by drawing on the real class-room experiences of teachers. Located at www.t-source.org, this innovative online professional tool has received recent national attention from Education Week and other media outlets.

Items available include: 

• tips on managing your classroom;
• opportunities to connect with educators from around the country on classroom management techniques;
• online help from veteran teachers who will be happy to field your classroom management questions; and
• a tool that let's you "virtually arrange" your classroom to discover the best working environment.

Best of all, these online features are available at times and locations of your choosing.