I am lucky that I get to see both side of the educational world when it comes to working with parents. As an educator, I get to see the perspective of teachers and administrators and how hard they work in the best interest of their students. As a parent of two school-aged children, I getContinueContinue reading “5 Ways Today’s Parents Are Different Than Our Parent’s Generation”
Category Archives: School Culture
5 Ways Leadership is Like Building a Sandcastle
Being a leader is not easy. Leaders must be steadfast during the storm and be able to remain standing through thick and thin. I was lucky enough to spend some time this summer on a beach building sandcastles with my children. As we built our castle, I was reflected upon my own work as anContinueContinue reading “5 Ways Leadership is Like Building a Sandcastle”
5 Ways To Use Technology at Open House
It is Open House season! Every year at this time, teachers invite parents into classrooms to view student work, projects, and to share successes from the year. This year, spice it up a bit. By the time that parents get to the upper elementary grades, they have seen it all. All Open Houses will blend togetherContinueContinue reading “5 Ways To Use Technology at Open House”
5 Ways To Smartly Purchase Educational Technology
Edtech is a multi-billion dollar business. Edtech purchases have increased 5 times over the past five years. However, are these purchases actually doing students any good where it counts? Are they actually benefitting students in the classroom? As a technology in schools advocate, I urge all educators to carefully research and purchase devices and programsContinueContinue reading “5 Ways To Smartly Purchase Educational Technology”
Five Ways To Ensure Your Next IEP Meeting Runs Smoothly
IEP meetings are some of the most important facets of an educator’s job. Ensuring that appropriate placement and services are being provided for some our most at-risk students should always be a top priority. It is vital that these meetings are productive, collaborative, and student focused. Sadly, too often these meetings get derailed by emotions,ContinueContinue reading “Five Ways To Ensure Your Next IEP Meeting Runs Smoothly”
5 Ways to Make Classroom Walk-Throughs More Powerful
Conducting classroom walk-throughs (CWTs) is not a new concept. Educators have been walking through classrooms, gauging instructional practices for years. Unfortunately, CWTs are often conducted due to mandates from downtown and not from the internal desire to improve educational practices. Administrators go through the motions of walking through without the school getting the benefits ofContinueContinue reading “5 Ways to Make Classroom Walk-Throughs More Powerful”
5 Educational Concepts We Need To Eliminate In 2017
As we come to the end of another year, it is time once again to think about the changes we will make in the next 12 months. The world of education is changing rapidly. However, there are still many areas that need to be addressed. Here are five educational practices we need to say goodbyeContinueContinue reading “5 Educational Concepts We Need To Eliminate In 2017”
5 Ways to Create a Powerful Response to Intervention Plan
Schools across the country are creating intervention plans for students. However, most of these plans fall short and are just mere shells of what they could and should be. Schools are spending thousands of dollars and wasting precious time implementing plans that simply do not work, further frustrating students, teachers and parents. Students are stillContinueContinue reading “5 Ways to Create a Powerful Response to Intervention Plan”
5 Ways to Differentiate Professional Development for Teachers
We often talk about the need to differentiate instruction to meet the diverse needs of students. Rarely, do we speak of differentiating teacher professional development to meet the diverse needs of teachers. Teachers, like their students, are in different places in their careers. They have different skills sets as well as different areas of strengthContinueContinue reading “5 Ways to Differentiate Professional Development for Teachers”
7 Ways To Support English Language Learners
When working with English Learners, educators often hear such phrases as: Model. Watch your rate of speech and offer wait time. Use non-linguistic cues. Provide opportunities to build background knowledge. Have clear expectations and instructions. Check for understanding. Encourage development of home language. All valuable instructional strategies and key phrases that are often thrown aboutContinueContinue reading “7 Ways To Support English Language Learners”
THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK 