I’ll never forget walking my daughter to school on her first day as a kindergarten student. We lived in Austria at the time and the public kindergarten she was to attend was only a few blocks from our home. I felt especially anxious because Paige didn’t speak German and the kids in her class didn’t …
I see it every day. Typical scenario– Me: Let’s start by celebrating. Please share with us something you’re celebrating about student learning or you can celebrate about your own learning. *Crickets* Me: What would you share with us that you’re celebrating. *Again, silence* One brave teacher: I think we’re all a little overwhelmed and frankly …
Last week I returned for several days of educational support in a district in the Upper Midwest. The district I support there has been working to get all systems aligned in their Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). It has been about eight weeks since they started their intervention groups using Fountas and Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy …
What do a pro basketball star and a teacher have in common? It sounds like I’m attempting to be witty, but it’s no joke. Several weeks ago, Kelly Gallagher tweeted a link to an article in the New Yorker that begged this very question. In the article, James Surowiecki writes about the transformation of athletic …
This blog post was published here on my site previously. Earlier this week I was with several groups of teachers on different campuses. Those teachers were holding it all together under unbelievable circumstances and honestly, I don’t know how. Resposting this today so educators can remind themselves to focus on self-care. #HUGS Everyone knows that …
Recently, I was invited to a fifth grade classroom to model for a teacher. She wanted to watch me assess several of her students with a new assessment tool her district introduced earlier this year. Each time I sit down to work with students in this type of scenario, I spend about 7-8 minutes getting …
We recently launched a subscription box for educators, school counselors, and families. I’d like to share with readers the “about us” content from the ScholaBox website. ScholaBox got its beginning two decades ago. I was a kindergarten teacher at the time and had six students in my boisterous group of learners who were celebrating Ramadan. …
What a great reading summit Scholastic had in Austin, Texas on July 16. Highlights for me: Jenni Holm being interviewed by John Schu. Donalyn Miller’s keynote. Yuyi Morales keynote to close out the summit. This was the highlight of the summit for me. #brilliantartist #beautifulsoul Getting to meet the 130+ educators in the breakout session …
Pamela Koutrakos’s book, Word Study That Sticks: Best Practices, came to me at the perfect moment. I’d been talking that week with some teachers I support and we needed some new ideas to breathe life in to word study. Word Study That Sticks was the resources I needed to facilitate great discussions when collaborating with …
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) 2018 was held in Houston, Texas. I was there and on a cloudy Saturday morning I was up bright and early. Anne Goudvis and Stephanie Harvey were leading a session on inquiry. It was of no consequence to me that it was 8:00 AM on the weekend. …
I’ve followed Dave Stuart Jr. for several years now. He is a teacher, author, speaker and thought-leader. His work has deeply impacted my thinking (and, I hope, my practice) as an educator. Dave started out by exhorting teachers to adopt a common-sense approach to the Common Core. Dave’s message has evolved to address more than a widely …
