Dr. Stan Paz, vice president of the Urban Advisory Resource and former superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District, explains that the four-step process for pandemic preparation begins with education. District leaders have a responsibility to inform students and parents about the dangers of H1N1.

Working very closely with local health departments, administrators need to communicate all the information -- how H1N1 is transmitted, what can be done to protect a family, what the symptoms are -- in multiple ways and in every language appropriate for the district. Information can be placed in district newsletters, on district-owned television and radio, and on web sites.

Second, school leaders need to work with the health officials to begin prevention by re-educating students on ways to practice good hygiene: frequent hand washing, proper cough and sneeze behavior, and making it a habit to keep fingers away from faces.

Third, preparation must include the anticipation of very specific procedures and policies, such as guidelines for when children may not attend school, staff absentee policies and school closure guidelines. Many additional issues, such as what happens when children miss mandatory standardized tests, must be considered.

This preparation includes having multiple communication strategies in place, including toll-free hot lines, telephone trees, e-mail, fax, cell phones and broadcast, to inform staff and families about the status of the pandemic and district actions.

Fourth, plan for the long haul to educate the children after schools are closed after an outbreak. A menu of possibilities can be considered including home instruction using parents as teachers with materials sent to the home or provided through online distance learning.

"While no one ever wants to plan for these types of situations, preparing in advanced can help everyone remain calm and able to respond in an effective way," Griffin said.

About McGraw-Hill Urban Advisory Resource

The McGraw-Hill Urban Advisory Resource is a team with a deep understanding of the challenges facing urban districts. These experts work closely with districts to find the best solutions to provide better quality instruction, curriculum, and assessment to their students.

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of print and digital instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at MHEducation.com.

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education

http://www.mheducation.com

Ms. Zike's renowned graphic organizers, Foldables(TM) are incorporated into Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures, a comprehensive collection of engaging literature and nonfiction with integrated skill development and targeted differentiated instruction for Texas students in Grades 6-12.

In the session, Ms. Zike will get teachers excited about involving adolescents in active learning by exploring the use of 3-D graphic organizers. She'll show how these organizers can become powerful, tactile rechargeable tools to immerse adolescents in cross-curricular literacy and vocabulary development, build vital learning ownership, and maximize multiple modalities and intelligences. Ms. Zike will share numerous examples of how 3-D graphic organizers can be used to motivate and engage middle and high school students.

"The Foldables activities are ideal for Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures," said Steve Mico, senior vice president of the McGraw-Hill Literacy & Humanities Learning Solutions Center. "Our literature program engages students through high interest literature and nonfiction presented through inquiry-based Big Questions and Big Ideas, and Foldables activities give students a reason and a tool for taking notes as they explore each unit."

Ms. Zike has spent more than 30 years teaching, speaking and inventing new ways to help students grasp complex subjects and improve their study skills. Foldables are incorporated into many of McGraw-Hill Education's programs.

For more information about Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures, please visit, http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com.

About McGraw-Hill School Education Group

McGraw-Hill School Education Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of print and digital instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com.

SOURCE Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

http://www.mheducation.com

College and university case studies have shown that ALEKS has increased pass rates by more than 20 percent versus traditional online homework systems, and by more than 30 percent compared to using a text alone. "This is the fifth year we have used ALEKS for all remedial mathematics courses. I have been very pleased with its ability to determine the gaps in student learning and provide students with an efficient way to fill in their missing knowledge," notes Julie McQueen, instructor of mathematics at Abilene Christian University in Texas. "Seventy-four percent of all students who used ALEKS in their course passed during the first semester, and almost half of these students finished the course early. The pass rates are much better than what we experienced in a traditional course," she adds.

"Student retention will increase even more in developmental math courses that utilize ALEKS. At the same time, course management will be simplified for instructors," said Kurt Strand, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education's Science Engineering and Math group. "It is critical to McGraw-Hill Higher Education that we continually enhance the learning solutions that customize instruction to each student's needs and abilities. These tailor-made solutions empower students to achieve academic success."

"User feedback and learning results are critical to our success, so we assess every aspect of the ALEKS experience, understand how instructors and students use the program, and make improvements based on what we learn," said Wil Lampros, president of ALEKS Corporation. "As a result, we have added approximately 150 new topics to our developmental math course products in order to provide better curriculum and textbook coverage."

The expanded Basic Math, Pre-Algebra, Beginning Algebra, and Intermediate Algebra course products are available for immediate use through McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

About McGraw-Hill Higher Education

McGraw-Hill Higher Education is a premier provider of teaching and learning solutions for the post-secondary and higher education markets - preparing students worldwide to meet the increasing challenges of the 21st century knowledge economy. It is a division of McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mhhe.com/.

About ALEKS Corporation

ALEKS Corporation is a leader in the creation of Web-based artificially intelligent educational software. ALEKS assessment and learning technologies were originally developed by a team of cognitive scientists, mathematicians, and software engineers at the University of California, Irvine, with major funding from the National Science Foundation. ALEKS is founded on groundbreaking research in mathematical cognitive science known as Knowledge Space Theory. Through adaptive questioning, ALEKS accurately assesses a student's knowledge state, and then delivers targeted instruction on the topics a student is most ready to learn.

ALEKS has been used by millions of students in more than 50 academic subjects ranging from Basic Math to Precalculus at thousands of institutions throughout the world. For additional information, visit http://www.aleks.com.

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Higher Education

http://www.mhhe.com

Out of 273 regional winners, an independent jury of construction professionals selected 76 national finalists and 24 national winners in 23 categories. Projects were judged on innovation, safety, contribution to the community, aesthetic quality, and craftsmanship.

McGraw-Hill Construction's 2009 Best of the Best Award Winners:

    --  Architectural Design - Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Wing and Nichols
        Bridgeway, Chicago, IL; submitted to Midwest Construction by Turner
        Construction Co.
    --  Civil/Public Works - Brightwater Marine Outfall, Shoreline, WA;
        submitted to Northwest Construction by Vanir Construction Management,
        Inc.
    --  Cultural - Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Wing and Nichols Bridgeway,
        Chicago, IL; submitted to Midwest Construction by Turner Construction
        Co.
    --  Engineering Design - Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal Building at Indianapolis
        International Airport, Indianapolis, IN; submitted to Midwest
        Construction by Hunt Construction Group, Inc.
    --  Environmental - River Point at Sheridan, Sheridan, CO; submitted to
        Colorado Construction by Adolfson & Peterson Construction
    --  Government/Public - Historic DC Courthouse, Washington, DC; submitted to
        Mid-Atlantic Construction by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
    --  Green Building - Museum of Northern Arizona Easton Collection Center,
        Flagstaff, AZ; submitted to Southwest Contractor by Kinney Construction
        Services and Roberts|Jones Associates
    --  Healthcare - LAC+USC Medical Replacement Facility, Los Angeles, CA;
        submitted to California Construction by Clark Construction Group, LLC
    --  Higher Education/Research - Scripps Florida, Jupiter, FL; submitted to
        Southeast Construction by Weitz/DPR Joint Venture
    --  Industrial - MultiCare Central Utility Plant, Tacoma, WA; submitted to
        Northwest Construction by GBJ Architecture
    --  Interior Design/Tenant Improvement - U.S. Green Building Council
        Headquarters, Washington, DC; submitted to Mid-Atlantic Construction by
        James G. Davis Construction Corp.
    --  K-12 Education - Cherokee Central Schools Building Program, Cherokee,
        NC; submitted to Southeast Construction by BE&K Building Group a KBR Co.
    --  Landscape/Urban Design - Civic Space, Phoenix, AZ; submitted to
        Southwest Contractor by ForeSite Design & Construction, Inc.
    --  Office - Sony Electronics North American Headquarters, San Diego, CA;
        submitted to California Construction by Sundt Construction, Inc.
    --  Renovation/Restoration - Milwaukee City Hall Historic Building
        Restoration, Milwaukee, WI; submitted to Midwest Construction by Engberg
        Anderson, Inc.
    --  Residential/Hospitality - 200 Carondelet, New Orleans, LA; submitted to
        South Central Construction by DonahueFavret Contractors, Inc.
    --  Retail - The Arches at Deer Park, Deer Park, NY; submitted to New York
        Construction by Aurora Contractors, Inc.
    --  Small Project (tie) - David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian
        Bridge, San Diego, CA; submitted to California Construction by T.Y. Lin
        International
    --  Small Project (tie) - Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill,
        Washington, DC; submitted to Mid-Atlantic Construction by First Finish,
        Inc.
    --  Specialty Contracting - Phoenix Children's Hospital Expansion, Phoenix,
        AZ; submitted to Southwest Contractor by Schuff Steel Co.
    --  Sports/Recreation - Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, North End
        Zone Expansion, Austin, TX; submitted to Texas Construction by Hensel
        Phelps Construction Co.
    --  Teamwork/Project Management - LAC+USC Medical Replacement Facility, Los
        Angeles, CA; submitted to California Construction by Clark Construction
        Group, LLC
    --  Transportation - Package 6, Main Terminal People Mover Station at
        Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, VA; submitted to
        Mid-Atlantic Construction by Turner Construction Co.

    --  Worship - The Church of Saint Aloysius, Jackson, NJ; submitted to New
        York Construction by Erdy McHenry Architecture, LLC

Best of the Best Panel of Judges:

    --  William Browne, Jr., principal/president, RATIO Architects,
        Indianapolis, IN
    --  Larry Bruton, partner, ZGF, Portland, OR
    --  Patrick Burns, vice president, federal contracting group, Mortenson
        Construction, Alexandria, VA
    --  Tim Culvahouse, principal, Culvahouse Consulting, Berkeley, CA
    --  Don Gendall, vice president, The Weitz Co., Denver, CO
    --  Sam Gioldasis, senior vice president, Brandt Engineering, Dallas, TX
    --  Ed Hollander, principal, American Civil Construction, Frederick, MD
    --  Concettina Jancarik, architect, Chicago, IL
    --  Michael McClure, associate professor, SoAD, University of Louisiana at
        Lafayette
    --  Bryan McFarland, principal, development, Alberta Development Partners,
        Greenwood Village, CO
    --  Ken Petterson, manager, preconstruction services, Hensel Phelps
        Construction Co., Orlando, FL
    --  Alan Rindlisbacher, director of corporate marketing, The Layton
        Companies, Sandy, UT
    --  Wade Simpson, principal, Pugsley.Simpson.Coulter Architects, Las Vegas,
        NV

    --  Russell Snyder, executive director, California Asphalt Pavement
        Association, West Sacramento, CA

About McGraw-Hill Construction

McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. For more than a century, the Company has remained North America's leading provider of construction project information, plans and specifications, product information, industry news, and industry trends and forecasts. In print and online, the Company offers a variety of tools, applications, and resources that easily integrate with its customers' workflows. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource, and 10 regional publications, McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $5.6 trillion global construction community. To learn more, visit www.construction.com or follow @mhconstruction on Twitter.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, Capital IQ, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Construction

http://www.construction.com