In 2016 a small band of physics teachers got together to address the problem of a rapidly dwindling supply of qualified physics teachers in the state of Arizona. This team took it upon themselves to go straight to the capitol
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History Has Its Eyes on You
This is part one of a two-part series of blogs written by Susan Collins and me. I met Susan through the Arizona National Board Teachers Network shortly after she’d moved from Mississippi to Kingman, Arizona. We bonded over the
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Teacher Leader? Yes, You Are
As much as we throw around the term teacher leader in education today, I think the term can feel mystical. How does a teacher know s/he has become a teacher leader? Is there a special ceremony? A secret handshake? When
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PD for Principals?
There have been two Stories from School AZ blogs focused on principal leadership this year. Beth Maloney writes a beautiful letter about what support teachers are craving in Dear Principal and Jess Ledbetter uses poetic transcription in Administrators: Be the
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Failure Is an Option
Their motions are similar: Wide-eyed, pupils darting from side to side, hands fidgeting, an upturn of a smile only to be replaced by a quick, nervous bite of the lips. They scan the room, looking for both a seat and
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What is Your WHY?
It’s easy to give advice, but sometimes it’s hard to take it. Today, we are four weeks into the school year and things are settling down and ramping up, all at the same time. If your an educator you know
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Classroom Management: Consensus on Ends, Not Means
Soon, if not already, many schools will start revisiting their classroom management systems. In his “news” letter (his quotations) this week, Jonah Goldberg provides an excellent jumping off point for these discussions: “[W]e need to return to the idea of ideological and
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Far Away Look
Wrapping up the school year is always exciting and stressful all at the same time. Regardless of who you are, parents, teachers, staff members – everyone feels overwhelmed. Often times we walk around with a far-away look in our eyes
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Two-By-Ten Strategy Part 2
Earlier this year, I shared a blog about how teachers at my school are using the two-by-ten strategy to build relationships with at-risk scholars. You know the ones. The scholars that challenge our patience. The scholars who push back and
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Clarity through Focus (Part 2) and #RedforEd
What I discovered at our school was something that we already knew: Although we are an urban-based public school within a district with issues mirroring the nation, we had little to no annual teacher turnover. Our students return to a
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