A Staff That Serves

So, I often write about the incredible school I call home and the people and things that make it such an incredible place. So often, these "things" are collections of moments; some so small and seemingly inconsequential that you might actually not even notice them if you weren't paying attention. And I try to pay attention. Because other times those moments…

Why Me, Here, Now?

Last week was our district's leadership conference and the learning centered around the word "thrive".  For our keynote, we were honored to hear Dr. Bertice Berry  speak about servant leadership. During this address, she said something that really resonated with me and, judging from our district conference hashtag, many others as well: Walk with purpose and you will collide…

Teachers and Students Leading Professional Learning

One of the unique ways we have found to support teacher collaboration and growth on our campus this year is through a weekly Staff S'more.  This started out as a one-way communication from admin to teachers, but we quickly discovered that this is the perfect vehicle for teachers to share their ideas, learnings, failures, and…

My Struggle With Wait Time

Wait time was something I tried to practice regularly as a classroom teacher. It is always in our nature as teachers to want to jump in and solve a student's problem, help them when they are stuck,  respond immediately to a question they ask or problem they have. It took a lot of focused and…

The Power of A Phone Call

I grabbed my notepad and began my typical routine that morning, stopping into classrooms and watching all the great teaching and learning going on in the building.  The first room I stopped into was a 4th grade math class. The teacher was just beginning to introduce decimals, and the class was having a discussion about what they…

The Curious Concept of Agency

I always enjoy seeing students engaged in work that causes them to take action in one or another direction in their life. Recently, my daughter experienced this type of learning. She visited a doctor to have some allergy tests run, and when she came home she spent the next few days researching all she could…

Telling Our Story

The inspiration for this idea came from a leader in New York, click here for story. One of the most important things we can do as educators is tell our story. We share all the learning and positive things that are going on in our schools and classrooms because we are doing great things and they…

Five Ideas For Creating A Classroom Community

http://vimeo.com/64763494 I love the above video "Have A Seat-Make A Friend", from Soul Pancake. No matter what type of teaching system we are in, be it self contained, team teaching, or departmentalized, creating a community of learners is one of the most important things we can do. Research has shown again and again that students…

A Reading Safari

Are you looking for something new and fun for your students to do during reading, while also hitting multiple standards? I am! In looking at the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills), there are several reading standards that I want to specifically target in the coming weeks. I also want to make sure I have some…

Empowering Families Through Student-Led Conferences

One of the best things I've done this year was to implement student-led conferences. This was a learning experience for me! I definitely stepped out of my own comfort zone here by turning over the conference to my students. I want to see students as critical thinkers in all areas,  including an awareness of their…