As I was preparing my scholars for student-led conferences last week, I began to recall how anxious I felt when my parents went off to school for the traditional biannual parent-teacher conference. The anxiety I felt was not even rational:
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Henry Ford and Ed Policy
“I’d like to observe your 90-minute reading block if that works for you,” says my principal as we are setting a date for my formal observation. “Well, we’ll be using literacy skills to close read and annotate a piece of
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Open Letter to Principals Who Stayed
The following letter is written to all school and district administrators who have stayed for four years or more and worked tenaciously for school improvement. Dear Leaders, Thank you. Thank you for staying put for a few years and leading
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Running and Testing
For the past several months I have been training for a half marathon. Myself and several other colleagues each had a different, unique training regiment leading up to the race. I needed to begin early and gradually increase the distance
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The Tale of Teacherless El
This past week included National Poetry Day. So, in honor of this little known holiday (Did you get any Poetry Day cards or gifts from friends? Me neither!) I offer you this contribution, as a follow up to my
Read MoreWhy Did I Have to Look at Those Test Scores?
I’m facing a conundrum. This summer I read Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching by Jo Boaler (with a foreword by Carol Dweck of Mindset fame). I was completely fired up by Boaler’s
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Trade Secrets
My husband is a professional chef. And yes, I fully understand that I am the luckiest woman in the world. He was working in the restaurant kitchen when he was asked to come out and speak with a chef who
Read MoreBack to la Escuela #3: Spanish for English?
In my previous two “back to schools” blogs, I focused on bringing back librarians and basic supplies such as tissue. I struggled more for the third topic, because the obvious choice seemed to be to bring back teachers! Recently the
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From Meow to Roar: A Journey in Advocacy
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a public hearing for feedback on the 2016 draft mathematics & ELA standards in my community. The meeting was held in the cafeteria of what once was a middle school, that was
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I’m Listening
Every summer I set my intentions for the next school year. These “New Year Resolutions” help me improve and refine my practice and keeps my teaching fresh. Often times they are built based on my learning experiences, reflections, and readings
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