Three weeks ago, a student experienced a health crisis incident and died on our campus. It happened in our busy central courtyard a few minutes before classes started for the day. I didn’t know him myself, but the teacher next
Read MoreStressful Subbing Situation
Period subbing in a secondary school setting in the state of Arizona is sort of inevitable right now. When I first started teaching, we had a few consistent middle school substitutes but they are becoming extremely rare. There are weeks
Read MoreThe Cape: Option 3
In my previous post, The Cape: Deny or Accept, I discussed the conflicting emotions I had after reading the EducationWeek articles High Teacher Expectations Boost Long-Term Student Outcomes (Madeline Will, 2022) and Why One Principal Is Asking Her Staff to
Read MoreEducation is Always on the Ballot
As I sit here tonight, the day after election day, Arizona has yet to call any of the major races. Results keep trickling in, and I check and recheck my phone hoping to see numbers increasing and decreasing. We just
Read MoreThe Cape: Deny or Accept
I was looking through EducationWeek (digital edition) when two articles gained my attention: High Teacher Expectations Boost Long-Term Student Outcomes (Madeline Will, 2022) and Why One Principal Is Asking Her Staff to Do Less (Crystal Thorpe, 2022). As a teacher, I
Read MorePutting on my Running Shoes
I stumble into my closet half asleep after my alarm goes off way too early in the morning, and get dressed. Shirt – check. Pants – check Shoes – cute heels, check. A memory from yesterday flashes through my mind
Read MoreFinding Myself During a New School Year
I’m proud to be a teacher. I love impacting lives and inspiring others to love learning just as much as I do. However, it can be dangerous to have your entire identity only in teaching and forget the other parts
Read MoreReturning to School After Uvalde
This July marked the beginning of my 14th year teaching in Arizona. Born and raised in this state, it’s my 27th start of school in Arizona public schools. After a really hard 2021-2022 school year—staffing shortages, battles over curriculum, the
Read MoreWait, I’m Supposed To Unplug?
It’s 3:15 pm on Friday and I’ve just finished doing a “sweep” around my wing to be sure that all students have made it off campus safely. As I’m heading back to my classroom, I say goodbye to all the
Read MoreWe Started at the End…Now We’re Here (Pt. 2)
August 3rd was here! Our first day back and I already had two Montessori Student Teachers observing our class. They had a specific request to see how to start the first day of school. I gave them some history of
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