I love the anticipation of a new school year! It’s like preparing for a big holiday gathering. I get to see and visit with students and colleagues I haven’t seen in a few months. There’s new hair cuts, new clothes,
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Simply Put: This is Hard
For the last three years, I have had the honor of blogging for the AZK12 Center’s Stories from Schools AZ. Each month I love having an outlet to pour my thoughts and ideas into. Each month it was easy to
Read More“We Are All First-Year Teachers Again”
When I reflect on my first year of teaching, I often joke that I wish I could go back to those students and apologize to them. Looking back, I didn’t know what I was doing. I probably used many instructional
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Last Man Standing: The Gradual Withdrawal from Online Preschool
In a bitter twist of fate two months ago, all my worst fears came true: COVID19 school closures forced my thriving preschool classroom into a virtual learning environment. It felt a bit ironic considering I wrote a piece last year
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Fill The Void
After a year-end presentation, I remember my AP government teacher chuckling and sighing “you’re either going to be an unctuous politician, or a wonderful, sincere teacher one day — could go either way.” I remember this back-handed compliment for reasons
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Lessons from the Lonely Garden
When I learned we were assigned to work from home in March, my anxiety about the safety of my family lessened, and was immediately replaced with mild panic over whether our school garden* would be left to die. At first
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What Will Fall Look Like?
As the school calendar comes to a close, schools are continuing to figure out how to answer questions around locker cleanouts, award ceremonies, graduations, and summer school. Processes and procedures that have marked the end of the year for decades
Read MoreThe Return from a Pandemic
When we do return to our classrooms, our lives are going to look different, that is clear. But how different? No one knows, but one thing we do know is that some students took part in family time, camping, building
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Public Schools Matter!
I think COVID-19 has made us aware of things that were taken for granted such as grocery store workers, the freedom to leave your house whenever you wish, having a job, and a teacher’s role in a child’s life. Many
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Virtual Classroom Community. Can It Be Done?
You know the feeling. The one when you walk into a classroom where the students and teachers are working together towards a common goal. The room feels warm and inviting. The kids are participating because they trust their teacher and
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