2.2.23 Lauren Bardwell 4 ways to work smarter—not harder—at giving feedback on student writing I loved being a high school English teacher: introducing teenagers to new literature and sophisticated topics, supporting them as they grappled their way through complex texts, and helping them... Read more
2.1.23 Erin Ryan Kick-start Black History Month in your classroom (and keep it going all year) Black History Month began in 1926 as Negro History Week, an event hosted by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. By the late 1960s, the annual event transitioned to a month-long... Read more
1.31.23 Erik Ruzek Invite high schoolers to participate in our data science competition starting in February In a digital world, data is everywhere. Every time you interact with a platform, whether it’s a website, app, or game, you are generating data on your use of that platform. Data scientists work... Read more
1.26.23 Miles Davison 3 ways teachers can contribute to a restorative justice program’s success In my last post, I wrote about the factors that administrators should consider when implementing restorative justice (RJ) practices. This post will provide some research that may guide how to... Read more
1.24.23 Michelle Warner Building student ownership through portfolios and student-led conferences Under my bed at my parent’s house, there is a big, flat box full of my preschool and elementary school work. Every now and then, I root through those items, recalling projects and activities I did... Read more
1.19.23 Kailey Rhodes Student-centered assessment literacy: A conversation between two teachers School equals tests, right? While we aim to transform schools to hubs of joyous learning, for many reasons, school is often considered one giant escape room of tests. Tests to end a week, a unit, a... Read more
1.17.23 Candi Fowler How Todd Whitaker’s advice to principals inspired me Ever feel like the universe is just messing with you? Like you don’t really have control over what you know you should have control over? The last month of 2022 felt like that for me. I constantly... Read more
1.12.23 Julie Richardson Make writing real: 5 reasons authentic purposes and audiences empower student writers There was a heightened sense of excitement, a noticeable hum in the air, as we walked into the middle school library. The space was filling up fast with parents, siblings, teachers, and community... Read more
1.10.23 Lindsay Deacon 5 grounding tenets for successful instructional coaching relationships As the landscape of education has dramatically shifted post-pandemic, the needs of coaching and professional learning have also shifted. There is much research to support the need for instructional... Read more
1.5.23 Miles Davison What administrators should know about implementing a restorative justice program In my first two blog posts, I defined restorative justice (RJ) and highlighted relevant research of RJ programs that shows both the promise and potential challenge of implementing RJ in schools. In... Read more
1.3.23 Cindy Jiban How do students learn to read? We all want children to be able to read well so they can read all kinds of texts for understanding. How does this happen? What are the basic moving parts that describe how students learn to read with... Read more
12.29.22 Kailey Rhodes Revisiting classroom culture mid-year At the beginning of this school year, I was invited by superstar and design thinking wizard Katie Krummeck to imagine what it would look like to ask students to co-author classroom agreements from a... Read more
