Everyone everywhere always wants “the biggest bang for their buck” possible. Responsible allocation of public funds may not be your most exciting job description, yet it is probably one of your most important responsibilities. Taxpayers and other stakeholders deserve evidence that school district leaders spend money wisely. Communicating every dollar is allocated into learning inspires…
If you feel tired, irritable, apathetic, or forgetful, you may be showing signs of burning out. You are not alone; this year exhausted many teachers and administrators. Be aware that the negative feelings can create a downward spiral making it hard to motivate yourself to do activities that will help you feel better. Educators give…
Thoughts of summer vacation are filling your students’ heads (and probably yours too). To maximize instructional minutes, you may be thinking about end-of-the-year engagement strategies. While the basic tenets of engagement hold, the spring offers unique opportunities to reflect on learning and stimulate new ideas. The engagement strategies in this blog review knowledge without adding much pressure on…
Whether teaching face-to-face or remotely, upholding academic integrity in high school takes a consistent and multi-pronged approach. Polls show that more than 50 percent of high school students take unethical academic shortcuts at least once in high school, and some do it much more frequently. The International Center for Academic Integrity says on its website:…
The most important professional lessons often come at a price. If you are like most educators, this school year you shed tears of frustration and spent endless hours adapting your methods to provide a quality education to your students. You persevered despite overwhelming challenges. Educators are reflecting on the changes they made during COVID-19. They…
Ms. Conner guarded the door, which was ajar, so seven-year-old Mark would feel safe changing his rain-soaked clothes. As Ms. Conner discretely ensured Mark’s privacy, she pondered his destructive tendencies and realized that they were his way of expressing and releasing emotional turmoil. Now his stress and grief were manifesting as a fear of being alone, even for…
Do you want better relationships with students’ families? Effective communication is always vital to building relationships and engagement, but this school year’s anomalies intensify the need. Use this guide to hone your communication technique this year and beyond. Keep It Short and Simple (KISS) School emails are for information, not pleasure reading. Simple language…
Covid-19 Puts a Strain on an Already Scarce Resource – Time Every instructional minute is precious. You have diverse learners needing to learn a lot of material in a short time. Hybrid and remote learning has amplified the challenge of optimizing instructional time. Routines such as taking attendance, cleaning, and checking for understanding take a…
The Relationship of Emotions and Academics “Jesse” got in a car accident on the way to a job interview. He was not physically hurt, but he felt emotionally shaken. Upon arrival, Jesse snapped at the secretary. During the interview, he struggled to retrieve words. These behaviors were uncharacteristic for him and yet, consistent with the…
What It Is: As educators, we always strive to help our students succeed. Sometimes this means implementing Response to Intervention (RTI), or more recently, Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS) in the classroom as a way to intervene to support struggling students. While RTI focuses primarily on academic instruction, intervention, and assessments based on progress-monitoring and…
