So I’m reading Katy Farber’s book, Why Great Teachers Quit: And How We Might Stop the Exodus, which explores the demands, challenges, and rewards experienced by classroom teachers across the country who are staying in the trenches of public education
Read MoreWe may not be able to control the mental health care industry or the laws surrounding the purchase of guns in our state, but we can control the ways we create safety in our schools, with our own small gestures, each day with our kids.
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I was talking with a friend over the weekend and our conversation went to school and instruction. Her district went back to half-day kindergarten this year. So she is feeling the pressure of how to fit everything into a shorter
Read MoreImagine going to a parent-teacher conference with a report for the student AND the parent! Well, one Florida school district is proposing just that. http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/19/report-card-day-could-include-grades-for-parents-under-proposed/ Parents will be graded on responses to requests for meetings, attendance at conferences, completion of homework,
Read MoreMichele McNeil's article in Education Week on January 14th was a fascinating look at a near miss in California. She writes about newly-elected Jerry Brown's immediate revamping of the education agenda, only days after taking office and says: "(His) education shake-up
Read MoreMy school was featured in an article for the New York Times this week regarding technology use in education and our new iPad Lab dubbed, "The iMaginarium." This was coup for the school and we have had two major software/curriculum
Read MoreTwo years ago my family and I rang in the New Year toasting our glasses to the bright future of America with our first African-American president. For months it felt as though all was possible. As a minority, it seemed
Read MoreEvery single student, all 190 of them, have a 30-minute long, midyear conference to which they invite parents, guardians, peers, teachers, and other staff members. They share work from their portfolios, talk about their accomplishments and struggles, reflect on their growth in the Habits of Heart and Mind, and set goals for the short and long term. The advisor facilitates each conference, but the student is truly in the driver’s seat. It’s not strictly a time to show off, although that happens sometimes. The roundtable conference is a time for honest reflection and hard conversations too.
Read Moreby Jen “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” Hal Borland In January many people set goals for the upcoming year. I invite you
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