Increased funding for STEM programs in the new ESSA has heightened interest among proponents of other curriculum areas in getting a piece of the STEM money pie. Anne Jolly warns that diverting funds away from real STEM initiatives could be bad for the nation.
Wherever you are in your school’s leadership journey, Five Critical Leadership Practices can be the map to help you become a leader for student success. Assistant Principal Mike Janatovich appreciates the authors’ ability to weave the practices into an interconnected whole.
Kids on the Cusp / Kindling the Fire
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/04/2016 · Last modified 12/01/2019
PARCC testing is finally over for Mary Tarashuk’s fourth graders. Freed from weeks of test prep and days of administering them, she looks for a spark to ignite end-of-year learning and finds courage and “kindling” in the words of inspirational educator Chip Wood.
Digital Portfolios / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 05/01/2016 · Last modified 12/14/2019
This year Kevin Hodgson is moving away from overstuffed 3-ring binders and into the realm of digital portfolios to collect evidence of progress toward goals. And he’s taking his 6th graders along; they’re using Google Apps to create online repositories of writing.
Involving parents and families in a partnership with schools has a positive impact on students. What can principals do to ensure the partnership is sustained, vibrant and diverse? Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn suggest strategies to build connections.
Self-Advocacy / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 04/12/2016 · Last modified 12/10/2019
Many students with disabilities struggle to gain the language, social, or pragmatic skills they need to be self-advocates. Elizabeth Stein shares resources that can help co-teachers empower students to truly take charge of their learning and their lives.
ELA co-teaching team Rachel Wysocki Kent & Genevieve Federick share a successful independent reading strategy they designed around a challenging group goal (read 500 books) and a teen-friendly focus question: “What does it mean to be a young person in 2015?”
In The Gift of Failure, teacher/writer Jessica Lahey calls on parents to value failures along the way to help children build growth mindsets. She also effectively describes how educators can work with parents, reports retired principal Mary Langer Thompson.
Education leaders Ruth Ash and Pat Hodge examine how middle level principals, working with teachers and students, are creating high performing learning cultures using five key leadership practices. It’s not magic, they say, but method, logic, perseverance, and heart.
Book Reviews / Visual & Media Literacy
by MiddleWeb · Published 03/17/2016 · Last modified 11/16/2019
Roger Essley shares an abundance of visual strategies and tools to help a wide range of middle grades students understand complex ideas in ELA, math, science and social studies. Reviewer Anne Anderson recommends his research-based, classroom tested approach.
