Month : October, 2017

You Down with PLNs?

October 29, 2017Jess Ledbetter Life in the Classroom, Professional Development, Teacher Leadership

Have you ever had one of those REALLY GOOD ideas that gets you super excited? I’m talking about the kind of idea that could make your grade level or school really better–or an idea that might even improve education in

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The Requirement of Reflection

October 27, 2017Beth Maloney Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Life in the Classroom, National Board Certification, Professional Development, Teacher Leadership

My teaching assignment changed this year, about five weeks into the first quarter.  Due to a district policy of only counting “bodies in seats,” not enrolled students, our 5th-grade class sizes were huge (36 – 38 students in tiny portable

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“The Dream Catcher” or The Girl Who Championed Self Doubt

October 23, 2017Yolanda Wheelington Assessment, Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Life in the Classroom, Love, Mathematics, Mentoring, Professional Development, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership, Uncategorized

I’m not sure if she was solving multiplication problems with the Checkerboard or working in Read Naturally when I called her over. I noticed she took a deep breath and had that faraway look in her eyes, but she shook

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NCLB. For Reals.

October 19, 2017Eve Rifkin Education, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues, Uncategorized

At yesterday’s weekly whole-school meeting, the video announcements included an extended slideshow from the recent Annual Junior College Road Trip that took students on visits to the in-state universities and camping at the Grand Canyon. In the slideshow was a picture of Victor sitting at

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Lock Down

October 18, 2017Mike Vargas Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Social Issues

Lock Down   When I lived in Europe on a military base, our students would not only go through fire drills once a month, but we would also practice bug out drills and lockdown drills. In a bug out drill,

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Why I Became a Teacher

October 16, 2017Leah Clark Education, Life in the Classroom, Uncategorized

I’m a teacher. Three little words that pack a punch when someone asks, “What do you do?” The recipient of those words usually replies with, “Oh, wow! What age group? I can’t imagine.” Along with these words, there is usually

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Dream On: Stressed Students at the End of DACA

October 15, 2017Amethyst Hinton Sainz Current Affairs, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

Policies, local and national, shape our classroom practices, our instructional decisions and our interactions with students and colleagues.   Sometimes, that connection is hard to see, especially when policies create a culture of silence which makes it difficult to track

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Reset

October 12, 2017Jen Robinson Education, Elementary, Life in the Classroom, Teacher Leadership

First quarter has drawn to a close and I am taking some time to reflect on the past ten weeks. Taking a breath and looking with open eyes and a clear mind. Wondering what is working and what needs to

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On Being a New Administrator

October 8, 2017Jaime Festa-Daigle Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Teacher Leadership

October is National Principals Month. To celebrate, I decided to interview the newest assistant principal at my high school. What a surprise for him! I have known Brady Krueger for a decade; I taught with him in the social studies

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Revising Results-Based Funding

October 5, 2017Beth Maloney Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues

Results-Based Funding With little fanfare last month, 288 schools in Arizona received the first payout of results-based funding, the largest education initiatives outlined in the Governor’s State of the State address. The initiative became SB1530, a $38.63 million bonus for

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