As the year ended for my students and me, and we finally received their AZELLA results, I examined the test scores with a mixture of mostly pride in my students’ progress, along with a bit of sadness and a good
Read More
Should School Ratings Matter?
I started my Mother’s Day doing the unthinkable…arguing with my mother. She had sent me a text stating she felt bad for a high-performance charter school that took a full page ad to defend itself against all the bad press
Read More
Clarity through Focus (Part 2) and #RedforEd
What I discovered at our school was something that we already knew: Although we are an urban-based public school within a district with issues mirroring the nation, we had little to no annual teacher turnover. Our students return to a
Read More
Now Is The Time for Critical Friends
In the aftermath of “Red for Ed” and in anticipation of the next election, it is imperative that we take the lessons learned these last few weeks and start expanding our networks. I was impressed by the volume of
Read More
Five Things I Learned in the Red for Ed Movement
Over the past six weeks or so, I have served as site liaison for Arizona Educators United as the Red for Ed movement evolved from t-shirt activism to an unprecedented statewide walkout of Arizona teachers. It has been an intense
Read More
#WEIRDforED
I’d rather cough than take medicine. Sure, the medicine provides a good night’s sleep. But it makes me feel weird for days after. My mind lacks focus and doesn’t follow through on thoughts. My work ethic goes into the toilet.
Read More
You Have Changed. Now What?
Epic week, right? And it just keeps going. AZ educators have been on fire, passionately advocating for AZ kids. We have sacrificed time and taken big risks. We’ve been criticized by people who don’t understand what we’re fighting for. We’ve
Read More
Why I Walked
An invited response to Angela Buzan’s heartfelt piece on why she won’t walk out: http://www.storiesfromschoolaz.org/wont-strike-perspective/ I’m tired. I’ve taught in Arizona for 13 years of my 19 year career. I’ve watched from the front line as our state has starved the
Read More
Deep and Wide
“Deep and wide, deep and wide…” goes the children’s gospel song that circulates through my head during these trying two months of my life. I’ve lost my second job that supports my teacher salary, and on top of it, I
Read More
Having ESP: Why I am Red for Techs
When we were kids we used to joke about having ESP, extra-sensory perception. We thought it would be a blast to be psychic, read people’s minds and look into the future. Now, as a junior high teacher, I am often
Read More