February 2023 - STORIES FROM SCHOOL AZ

Spanish in the Classroom…Update

February 28, 2023Yolanda Wheelington Uncategorized

In a previous blog, I shared that I have several students with Spanish as their first language in my class. I have also been taking Spanish conversation classes to help better support them. I thought I would provide an update

Why We Need Black History Month

February 28, 2023Eriann Roberts Current Affairs, Education, Equity

Well it’s here, the end of Black History Month. This is the time when teachers put away their MLK posters that have been up since January 16th. They remove the “Black History Month” display from the office, end the daily

Building Relationships

February 27, 2023Sarah Kirchoff Education, Elementary, Life in the Classroom

How much do we know about our students? Do we know who they live with? Do they have pets? Do we know how many siblings they have? Do they have any other brothers/sisters/cousins at your school? One of the most

Unintended Positive Consequences of Being an ASU ASAP Fellow

February 23, 2023Yolanda Wheelington Education, Elementary, Life in the Classroom

I was so excited to learn that I was accepted into ASU’s ASAP Fellowship. I would finally receive the support and resources I needed to help deliver more meaningful STEM opportunities in my class. I was expecting for this to

Legislators are in Session

February 20, 2023Rachel Perugini Current Affairs, Education Policy, Teacher Leadership

The newly elected Arizona Legislators are off and running for the 2023 session, and already things are off to an interesting start. Here are some highlights and notable bills to watch this year. 1. The Arizona Senate and House voted

The Struggle is Real

February 20, 2023Rebecca Brinkman Assessment, Education, Elementary, Mathematics

When my students returned from winter break last month, our 3rd grade team promptly began a 5 week unit on fractions. These students were

Academic Support Classes

February 16, 2023Laura Ballesteros Games, Literacy

What are the key factors to creating an affective support class? My principal approached me with teaching an academic support class for ELA in December for students who were just shy of earning proficient in ELA. I agreed to take on

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Reason #437 to love your IAs

February 15, 2023Lynna Schiller Assessment, Education, Elementary, Literacy, Mathematics

I love my district. I really do! And as a teacher, I thrive on data, but I hate the process we have to go through in order to get the data. We used to proctor benchmark tests for math, ELA,

A Valentine for Teachers

February 14, 2023Lisa Barnard Education, Life in the Classroom

I think secondary education teachers may underestimate the power of Valentine’s Day in an elementary school setting. Having traveled up to teaching science in a middle school after teaching for seven years in 1st and 2nd grade, I brought many

Teacher Retention

February 13, 2023Sarah Kirchoff Education, Elementary, Life in the Classroom

Teacher retention It’s February, time to start thinking about next school year. Already??!! At my site, we are planning for state testing in April in addition to planning for summer school. Our admin is already sending out emails about what