First, effective school leaders have to hire the right people. Leadership experts and former principals Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share tips about generational characteristics, interview protocols, and the kinds of questions principals shouldn’t ask.
Sarah Cooper’s spring U.S. history classes provided a dress rehearsal for the upcoming fall election season. Here are six classroom-tested strategies she plans to use during Constitution studies as her middle schoolers experience America’s often volatile political process first-hand.
STEM expert Anne Jolly shares the 9-step process she uses to write a quality lesson that includes some or all of the elements found in the Engineering Design Process (EDP). Included: free downloads of six STEM lesson-writing tools she developed for her new book.
Literacy consultant Regie Routman’s determination to interact meaningfully with her teen granddaughter led her to take up tennis again. Her 10 takeaways apply to life on the court and in the classroom, including the value of joy and the necessity for follow-through.
Troublemakers. Forgetters. The Clingers. The Confused. Barbara Blackburn looks at how we often jump to conclusions and miss chances to build trust, explore the needs behind the behaviors, and help students grow. Once we jump, she warns, it’s hard to jump back.
Laura Robb, author, teacher, literacy coach, speaker and expert in literacy, has done it again in The Reading Intervention Toolkit. Reviewer Linda Biondi says the book will guide teachers in providing help for students who need it most: struggling readers.
Summer offers a rare opportunity for principals to devote ample time to their own professional learning, say Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn. The leadership consultants offer four summer strategies to help assure continuous growth as an effective leader.
The last weeks of school are a time when a little hard work and lots of organization can pay big dividends in a learning experience that is smooth, structured, and fun for all, says middle grades educator Elyse Scott, who shares a dozen end-of-year activities.
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.
Evernote is a 21st century day planner. In Part 4 of his productivity series for school leaders, organization consultant and former principal Frank Buck singles out Evernote as a must-have for collecting school and home information in an easily accessible way.
