People of Hispanic descent can trace their ancestry to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America. Between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic population in America increased by 58 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today, more than 39 million people in the United States identify themselves as Hispanic. There are 9 million Hispanic students in prekindergarten through grade 12, or about 20 percent of the total student population.

The AFT Web site (www.aft.org/teachers/hispanic.htm) provides a variety of resources designed to help teachers celebrate Hispanic culture and Hispanic Heritage Month. The AFT also has created a poster, which can be downloaded from the Web site, that depicts some of the contributions made by Hispanics and suggests activities for teaching students about this rich culture. The poster also is available through the AFT Human and Civil Rights Department, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20001.

AFT members also can receive a free subscription to a new electronic newsletter for educators of English language learners, “Colorín Colorado! TELLE-Gram.” Send your e-mail address to info@colorincolorado.org. The monthly newsletter is a joint project of the AFT and public television station WETA.

Looking to teach your students about the significant role that workers and their unions play in America’s economic, political, cultural and social life? Then check out the American Labor Studies Center Web site, www.labor-studies.org, which features a number of excellent curriculum resources for K-12 educators to use when teaching their students about organized labor, the history of labor relations in America and the rights of individual workers.

The site currently features an instructional unit titled “Hardball and Handshakes,” which traces the history of labor relations in major league baseball. The unit is a joint effort between the center and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Also available on the site is a link to “Unionized We Stand,” daily lesson plans on organized labor developed by the New York Times and Bank Street College of Education in New York City.

AFT vice president Paul F. Cole is executive director of the American Labor Studies Center.

Penny by penny for the past 55 years, millions of American students, schools, parents and partner organizations involved in UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) have raised more than $127 million to assist and support children in developing countries.

This year, for the first time ever, Trick-or-Treaters will also help children in need here in the United States—those affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Last Halloween season, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF collected nearly $5 million, a new record. The program combines meaningful service with structured learning opportunities for all ages. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’s free education materials provide teachers with resources to increase their students’ awareness of the issues that affect children in the developing world.

Recording artist Clay Aiken, official spokesman for the program this year, is a former teacher. “Your talent as an educator is essential to children’s development,” says Aiken, “just as students are essential to UNICEF’s efforts to advance the rights of their global peers.”

This year’s free education materials for grades K-6 were developed by TIME for Kids and include a special eight-page student magazine, classroom poster, teacher’s guide and other reproducible resources. Materials for grades 7-12 include a series of cooperative global studies lesson plans.

To obtain your free Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF education materials visit www.unicefusa.org or call 800/4UNICEF. For additional teacher resources, visit TeachUNICEF.org, a new online resource created to help teachers engage students as active global citizens. The AFT is a supporter of UNICEF.

“CNN Student News,” the cable network’s daily news program for middle and high schools, returns for the 2005-06 school year with an improved Web site and a new segment for educators.

The 10-minute commercial-free educational program airs Monday-Friday on CNN Headline News at 3:12 a.m. Eastern time. The news segment is also shown live on the Web at www.cnn.com/education, where you also will find free educational resources. 

New on “CNN Student News” this school year is a segment called “10 Questions for 10 Minutes.” This feature, available Monday through Thursday, offers recall and critical-thinking questions associated with the day’s top news stories that educators can ask their students. On Fridays, “CNN Student News” will offer a news quiz that will require quick recall to answer questions from a week’s worth of shows.

“Our educational content is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the curriculum, as well as to accommodate differing learning styles,” says Jerry DeMink, vice president of CNN News Services.