ASCD Network Directory 

ASCD Networks are member-initiated groups designed to provide opportunities for involvement and sharing of information related to a common interest area in the field of education.

To learn more about a topic or join a network, contact the network facilitator. Don't see a network for a topic that interests you? Find out how to start a network.

Affective Factors in Learning

• Provides opportunities for practitioners and researchers to study the affective areas of teacher education
• Seeks to broaden understanding of the role that emotions have in thinking, knowing, and learning

• Seeks to forge links among people who are interested in the role that emotions play in thinking, knowing, and learning

• Shares the expectation that studying emotions will broaden understanding of human cognition and behavior and lead to applications in the classroom and in research designs

Network Facilitators
Harriett Arnold
E-mail: harnold@pacific.edu

Laura Frey
E-mail: frey1lm@cmich.edu
 

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African American Critical Issues

• Strives to enhance the academic achievement of African American children and youth
• Provides a forum for members to collaborate and share information about contemporary issues in education incident to the education of African American youth
• Communicates with members through a newsletter and the publication of an annual critical issues paper

Network Facilitators
Loucrecia Collins
E-mail: lcollins@uab.edu

Donald Davis
E-mail: aacin@comcast.net

Tyrone Harris
E-mail: tyrone.harris@lrsd.org 
 

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Arts in Education

• Works to elevate the status of the arts as an important curriculum component
• Provides a forum for educators to share ideas and activities for teaching the arts
• Fosters liaisons with other arts-in-education groups and curriculum specialists

Network Facilitator
John L. Ceschini
E-mail: ceschini@connect.net

Janet E. Rubin
E-mail: rubin@svsu.edu

Gene VanDyke
E-mail: gvandyke@messiah.edu
 

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Assessment for Learning

• Allows members to share philosophy, visions, and strategies for developing and implementing effective and balanced classroom and school system assessment programs 
• Communicates with members through a newsletter to share information and resources regarding the critical role of assessment in the learning process

Network Facilitator
Kathryn Anderson Alvestad
E-mail: kalvestad@comcast.net 

Robert Hogg
E-mail: hoggr@shaw.ca

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Block and Alternative Scheduling

• Provides worldwide membership with the services and products that best meet its needs
• Advances the study and successful implementation of block and alternative scheduling by encouraging active membership amongst educators and other stakeholders around the world who represent all education levels and a wide diversity of ethnicity, race, gender, and socioeconomic status
• Seeks new avenues of collaboration with ASCD, using the Indicators of Network Excellence to improve the network

Network Facilitator
John Jay Bonstingl
E-mail: bonstingl@aol.com
 

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Brain-Compatible Learning

Web site: http://braincompatible.ascd.org

• Promotes awareness and understanding of how brain research translates into practice
• Shares information on brain-compatible education through conferences, workshops, and newsletters
• Connects educators with mutual interest in the brain as the organ for learning

Network Facilitators
Joan Caulfield
E-mail: joancaulfield@prodigy.net

Launa J. Ellison
E-mail: launael@att.net

Wayne Jennings
E-mail: wayne@designlearn.net
 

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Character Education

Web site: www.bu.edu/education/caec/files/network.htm

• Promotes the development and implementation of ethical and moral education
• Assists members interested in the implementation of character education programs by providing access to current and hallmark research within the field
• Presents methods of instruction from effective practitioners and facilitates the exchange of information among members

Network Facilitator
Bernice Lerner
E-mail: caec@bu.edu
 

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Early Childhood Education

Web site: www.ece-sig.net

• Fosters the dissemination of information, knowledge, research, and resources among individuals who share a common purpose and commitment to early childhood education
• Examines critical issues in order to promote understanding and thinking skills, placing an emphasis on planning and implementing developmentally appropriate practices and programs

Network Facilitator
Gwynne Ash
E-mail: gwynne@txstate.edu   
 

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Environmental Education

Web site: http://eelink.net/environmentaleducationnetwork.html

• Promotes awareness and understanding of environmental education, while also playing an advocacy role in support of environmental education
• Provides a forum for members to network and discuss issues related to environmental education

Network Facilitator
Kathy McGlauflin
E-mail: kmcglauflin@plt.org
 

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Gifted and Advanced Learners

• Raise awareness regarding the unique academic, social, and emotional needs of gifted and advanced learners
• Serve as a forum for current and relevant dialogue regarding designing, supporting, and sustaining effective, diverse gifted education programs and services
• Support and advocate for equity and access of culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse gifted and advanced learners to gifted education programs
• Share promising practices and current research in the field of gifted education

Network Facilitators
Jaime Castellano
E-mail: jaime.castellano@azed.gov

Peter Laing
E-mail: peter.laing@azed.gov
 

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Global Education

Web site: http://globaled.ascd.org

• Develops and sustains communication on global and multicultural perspectives and initiatives
• Provides programming and resources for global education and plays an advocacy role in support of the same
• Provides a vehicle for mutual assistance, allowing members to share information about models and best practices, challenges, and solutions

Network Facilitators
Anne Baker
E-mail: anne@rpcv.org

Doug Schermer
E-mail: dschermer@farmtel.net
 

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Health in Education

• Provides a forum for members to network and discuss issues related to school health instruction and comprehensive school health programs
• Identifies and shares successful school health programs and models
• Promotes cooperation between comprehensive school health efforts and school reform efforts as both initiatives move toward developing healthier schools

Network Facilitators
Fred Peterson
E-mail: fpeterson@mail.utexas.edu

Stephen Sroka
E-mail: drssroka@aol.com
 

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Higher Education and K–12 in Service of Teaching and Learning (HEKSTL)

• Focuses on the connections between higher education and K–12 as they influence preservice and inservice teacher preparation to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools
• Informs and contributes to the discussion about "research-based" decision making as it relates to teaching (training)
• Enhances the ASCD value of partnering by collaborating with more institutions of higher education
• Identifies and develops collaboration models that match the needs of a variety of institutions 

Network Facilitator
Diane Heacox
E-mail: dgheacox@stkate.edu
 

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Hispanic/Latino-American Critical Issues

Web site: www.fascd.org/hispaniclatinoamerican_critica.htm

• Commits to enhancing the academic achievement of Hispanic/Latino American youth
• Serves as a forum on contemporary and relevant issues as related to the education of Hispanic/Latino American youth
• Strives to narrow the achievement gap and increase input of Hispanic/Latino American educators on relevant educational issues

Network Facilitators
Hilda Baca-Fetcenko
E-mail:

hbaca@csudh.edu

Jaime Castellano
E-mail: jaime.castellano@azed.gov

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Holistic Learning and Spirituality in Education

Web site: http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~jmiller/ascd.html

• Shares programs, instructional strategies, and research designed to help make students more "whole" in terms of body, mind, and spirit
• Fosters a reverence for life and members' development of a comprehensive framework for the teaching of holistic education

Network Facilitators
Gary Babiuk
E-mail: gbabiuk@cc.umanitoba.ca

Jack Miller
E-mail: jmiller@oise.utoronto.ca
 

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Holocaust Education

• Strengthens the conditions for a just and humane life in society by collecting and disseminating knowledge and information concerning the Holocaust (1939–45)
• Serves as a forum to further the understanding of the events of the Holocaust by focusing on the historical context and the myriad of instructional strategies requisite to understanding the past, sensitizing students to the causes and consequences of these events, and recognizing the need to be actively involved in preventing future transgressions

Network Facilitator
Brian Kahn
E-mail: briank@elmhurst.edu

Cindy Wilson
E-mail: cwils1@uis.edu
 

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Interdisciplinary Curriculum and Instruction

• Promotes the development, implementation, and evaluation of interdisciplinary curriculum at all levels of education
• Helps members share information on integration of cross-disciplinary approaches

Network Facilitator
Lois Stanciak
E-mail: stanciak@cod.edu
 

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Invitational Education

• Members share the mission to enhance lifelong learning and promote positive change in organizations
• Cultivates the personal and professional growth and satisfaction of educators and allied professionals

Network Facilitator
Michael McElrath
E-mail: mmcelrath@jamestown.wnyric.org
 

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Language, Literacy, and Literature

• Serves as a resource of professional interests and concerns relating to policy and practice in the language arts instructions program
• Provides opportunities for sharing inquiry and response concerning mutual efforts in areas of language, literacy, and literature
• Provides information on materials to teach the arts of language and literature and on application across the curriculum
• Serves as a reference for annotated professional and children's books and highlights from current professional journals

Network Facilitators
Esther Fusco
E-mail: efusco@optonline.net

Lenore Sandel
Phone: 1-516-463-5807 

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Language Varieties (Pidgins, Creoles, and Other Stigmatized Varieties)

Web site: http://www.une.edu.au/langnet

• Provides a forum for dialogue about variant-language issues in education
• Provides a network of information about pidgins, Creoles, and other stigmatized varieties, thereby increasing understanding of variant-language issues

Network Facilitator
Ermile Hargrove
E-mail: ekhargrove@aol.com
 

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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allied Issues in Education

• Strives to increase awareness of contributions by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals to our nation's history and cultural heritage and to create equity in schools so that each individual is treated with respect and dignity
• Works to extend the concept of cultural pluralism and fosters social responsibility among students and staff

Network Facilitator
James Sears
E-mail: jglie@jtsears.com
 

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Mentoring Leadership and Resource

Web site: http://www.mentors.net

• Shares experiences with others involved in mentoring
• Learns from others about their mentor programs
• Provides a vehicle for mentoring initiatives
• Promotes new teacher induction training
• Establishes models for professional development through mentoring

Network Facilitators
Ami Hicks
E-mail: ameliamh@comcast.net

Richard Lange
E-mail: richardelange@hotmail.com

Scott Scafidi
E-mail: scafidi@illinoisalumni.org
 

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Middle Grades

• Brings together educators to discuss, develop, promote, disseminate, and evaluate new knowledge and practices designed to improve learning and success for all middle grades youth
• Reflects the best knowledge about learning and fosters innovations which are cooperative, interactive, rigorous, and responsive to the needs of diverse learners
• Provides high-quality learning and professional growth opportunities

Network Facilitators
Alfred Arth
E-mail: aarth@york.edu

Thomas Kane
E-mail:tifkane@aol.com

Cherie Major
E-mail:cmajor@uidaho.edu

Kathleen Wheeler
E-mail: kbwheeler@york.edu
 

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Multiple Intelligences

Web site:http://www.newcityschool.org/MultipleIntelligences_67.aspx

• Promotes the use of multiple intelligences as a tool to improve individual instruction and help all students learn
• Provides a forum for members to share strategies and techniques for implementing multiple intelligences

Network Facilitator
Thomas Hoerr
E-mail: trhoerr@newcityschool.org
 

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Overseas and International Schools

• Provides a forum for educators and administrators to discuss ideas, issues, and concerns related to teaching in international settings through a virtual newsletter and OIS/EduSIG, an electronic mailing list
• Focuses on issues and concerns related to teaching and learning in international settings
• Promotes consistent communication concerning quality educational to those students moving from one overseas or international school to another

Network Facilitator
Diane Simmons-Tomczak
E-mail: tomczakrd@aol.com
 

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Performance Assessment for Leadership

• Promotes an integrated view of the educational leader's role
• Advocates the improvement of educational leadership programs
• Provides a forum for sharing what works in performance-based assessment in leadership preparation programs
• Influences planning and evaluation groups, such as accreditation and state-related organizations, to align practice with research
• Provides opportunities to engage with colleagues in reflective dialogue and self-renewing practice

Network Facilitator
Genevieve Brown
E-mail: edu-gxb@shsu.edu

Rebecca Bustamante
E-mail:bustamante@shsu.edu

 

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Problem-Based Learning

Web site: http://www2.imsa.edu/programs/pbln

• Maintains and supports an interpersonal network among educators interested in problem-based learning that enables dialogue and the sharing of information, methods, and materials
• Builds educators' understanding of problem-based learning from the multiple perspectives of learner, coach, and problem designer
• Enhances educators' existing problem-based learning knowledge and skill levels with coaching behaviors through dialogue and exchange of ideas

Network Facilitators
Debra Gerdes
E-mail: dgerdes@imsa.edu

Jane Seidel
E-mail: jseidel@imsa.edu  
 

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Quality Education

• Provides members with opportunities to share ideas, concepts, processes, and experiences related to the application of Total Quality Management principles and practices to teaching; learning; and the continuous improvement of schools, their customers, suppliers, and stakeholders

Network Facilitator
John Jay Bonstingl
E-mail: bonstingl@aol.com
 

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Religion and Public Education

• Focuses on the interchange of information about issues concerning teaching about religion in public schools
• Publishes a newsletter, arranges sessions at ASCD's Annual Conference, and sponsors an electronic bulletin board open to all interested subscribers

Network Facilitator
James Uphoff
E-mail: jkuphoff@aol.com
 

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Restructuring Schools

• Provides a forum for discussion of the changes in roles, rules, and responsibilities that are evolving as a result of school restructuring
• Offers support for restructuring efforts and assistance with governance, curriculum, decision making, and assessment issues

Network Facilitators
Paul Healey
E-mail: phealey@bermudian.org

Denise Meister
E-mail: dmeister@psu.edu  

Steven Melnick
E-mail: sam7@psu.edu
 

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Rural Schools

Web site: http://www.ruralschools.net

• Engages educators in the exchange of information about best practices in curriculum, instruction, and assessment in rural schools and in research about rural schools
• Shares examples of best practices in rural education, including place-based projects, multiage classes, leadership and governance, community programs, service learning projects, and distance learning
• Collaborates with other educational organizations and governmental agencies to broaden the discussion on topics of common interest

Network Facilitator
Frank Betts
E-mail: fmbetts@aol.com
 

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School Building Design, Teaching, and Learning

• Raises awareness regarding the potential of school design to enhance teaching and learning
• Encourages teachers, school administrators, and other education professionals to become more involved in the building design process and its effect on teaching and student learning
• Designs tools to be used for school building design evaluation in terms of its impact on teaching and student learning
• Assists education professionals in making wise decisions as replacements and renovations for aging school buildings are designed and built
• Seeks outside funding for studies of the relationship between school building design, teaching, and learning

Network Facilitators
William Bradley
E-mail: bradley@vmdo.com

Michael Rettig
E-mail: rettigmd@jmu.edu
 

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Service Learning/Experiential Learning (SELNET)

• Helps educators identify persons and resources for implementing a service learning/experiential learning model as part of their school reform
• Provides professional growth via the exchange of information and experiences, updates on state legislation, and professional linkages specific to membership needs

Network Facilitator
Larry Fletch
E-mail: larry.fletch@esd112.org

Elizabeth Manning
E-mail: emanning@pvco.net
 

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Systems Thinking and Chaos Theory

Web site: http://www.haven.net/patterns

• Fosters exploration and exchange of organizational ideas and information
• Provides a forum for dialogue among systems and chaos theory scientists and educators

Network Facilitator
Terry Burik
E-mail: tburik@optonline.net
 

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Teaching Thinking

• Promotes communication among educators who are designing, implementing, and assessing curricula that focus on teaching thinking
• Maintains database of ongoing efforts to teach thinking
• Creates organizational structure to explore best practices in teaching thinking
• Conducts investigations regarding the impact of technology on teaching thinking
• Supports a community of learners focused on researching and communicating the impact of teaching thinking on student learning

Network Facilitators
Ruth Loring
E-mail: ruthloring@mindspring.com

Kathleen Porcaro
E-mail: kathyporcaro@epsi-usa.com
 

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Women's Leadership Issues

• Provides professional development information and activities for women educators
• Explores equity issues
• Conducts research on women in education

Network Facilitator
Mary Ravita
E-mail: ravita@southfayette.org 
 

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