Future Principal

I must admit. I do not know if it is this program has changed my mind of being a school Principal or is it the many responsibilities of the Principal that have altered my decision.Having the position of Assistant Principal is grueling enough, but having the weight of the world on your shoulders of being a school Principal is completely minding blowing. I ask myself when completing these 8 to 10-page papers for our classes, are we learning anything from what we are asked to complete?  In the stage that I am in as a professional and level of education, wouldn’t real world opportunities or application be better suited to build capacity with further building leaders? I understand that building Principals have to be instructional and researched based leaders, but what about things other than instructional practices Principals have to be well versed in knowing. I see myself being an Assistant Principal for awhile with no plans of taking the position of Principal. Building capacity amongst Assistant Principals to be  future Principals is not what it use to be-we’re getting left in the cold!

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/21/maryland-grooms-assistant-principals-to-take-schools.html

-Copy and paste this link. Very interesting article on how Maryland is building capacity with their Assistant Principals.

Kiska

Summer School-Yeah Right!

The Extended School Year program I facilitated this summer was located at a Atlanta Public School High School this year. This was the first time the North Metro Program was placed in another building for ESY. The transition was not only difficult for our students with Special needs, but also for our staff who were accustomed to the procedures of the program. This blog is not about the difficult transition that took place at the High School, but what I saw at the school. The APS school was a summer site for the district, so many students from all over APS traveled to attend summer school at this particular High school. The very first day was chaotic, to say the least, but that is to be expected. However, as the weeks progressed and the schedules for the students started to streamline; the picture was self-explanatory. I witnessed teachers spending their entire time outside of their classroom in the hallways laughing and talking with their colleagues while the students worked on computers. Now and then, the teacher would assist a student but majority of the time was spent in the hallways making more noise than the students in the classrooms. Where is the instruction? Were students being cheated of real teaching? Moreover, why was this okay from the high school’s administration?  Summer school can be the breaking point for most students but why not make it worth it to the students. It should not matter how and why they needed to re-take the course; all that matters is that they are re-taking the course so they can further their path towards graduation. As a parent, I would be very disappointed in those particular teachers in their non-educational behaviors that were exhibited during summer school. So the question is, is summer school worth it?

By
Kiska Threatt

ISTE 2017

Good Evening, 

Recently I had the opportunity to go to ISTE 2017 in San Antonio.  It was such an amazing opportunity.  Someone I know asked me what sessions did I go to?  Honestly, I do not go to sessions like that when attending a conference like this.  I go to connect with others. I learn people.  I do not go to try to find me next job opportunity, but rather learn from them.  This was my fourth time going and the main point I can make about attending a conference like this is learn the people.  Often times you learn more from the presenter and their craft by networking with them versus going to their session.  Now I did go to a few.  I main explored the poster sessions where you can go and find out information.  I also spent a great deal of time prepping for my own presentations with my co-presenter.  I cannot explain the magnitude to which this trip meant to me.  To find out more about it, please feel free to read my blog on it at Never Stop Learning.  

Math Curriculum Planning

So, over the past few weeks, I have been settling into a new position.  I am currently, the new School Improvement Coach for math at my school.  I am really excited because I feel like I am getting to use my K-5 Math Endorsement at its fullest potential.  While this has been exciting, I did not realize how much I am actually in charge of the instructional infrastructure for mathematics.  I did not realize how much input I have about instructional decisions for mathematics.

I will say that has been very exciting... leading Curriculum Planning.  I have redeveloped the framework, scope and sequenced every unit for K-5 for the year, as well as laid out the structure to help teachers plan for the upcoming year.  We have gone through to learn the CRA model for math, decompose standards to have a better understanding of what the first two units of math are asking, taking the district assessments, revising the assessments, and developing what formative assessments we would like to use during the instructional pieces of the unit.  I am excited about this upcoming year!

Wrong Class

Good Evening,

I am just realizing that I was posting in the wrong section.  I was still under Dr. Hogan's class.  This semester seemed very insightful.  I cannot lie, I wish the Principal course was a tad bit longer.  I thoroughly enjoyed that class.  I think the best thing about it was the case scenario and the discussion about different conversations that related to the true job.  Many other classes in this program to me have felt very theory based, whereas this one did a great job mixing theory with practitioning.  I feel this semester was a great one and one I have learned the most from.

Congenial vs Collegial Dialogue

Collaboration in our schools happens at various levels and this approach to our work is effective.  The article, Leading Deep Conversations in Collaborative Inquiry Groups, extends an invitation for us to examine the type of collaboration that exists in our schools.  Congenial conversations can easily appear to be effective; however, the authors caution about the superficial nature of this type of engagement.  Congenial collaborative groups tend to "preserve the status quo" and teachers often do not challenge each other's thinking which stifles professional growth.  Often, the focus of the collaborative group is conflict avoidance.  Collegial collaboration set in the context of an effective professional learning community can be impactful. Here, teachers understand that when practices are critically examined it is done with the purpose of improving instructional practices and for the benefit of all students. Because conversations are deep, the use of protocols to guide discussions buffers the emotions of the collaborative group. Although groups are congenial and seemly work well together, functional definitions of effective collaboration need to be challenged.  Being congenial and "just working-well together" does not lead to meaningful interactions that exact school improvement. 

The article poses some interesting points about collaboration, inquiry processes, and how to move from congenial to collegial collaboration.

Here is the link: http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesPLC/PLF/2012_Module/Handout5_Nelson2010LeadingDeepConversations.pdf

Nelson, T. H., Deuel, A., Slavit, D., & Kennedy, A. (2010). Leading deep conversations in collaborative inquiry groups. The Clearing House, 83(5), 175-179.

New Year, New Me (Within Reason)

I just finished my first day back for the new school year and I am psyched!! Today and tomorrow, I, along another one of the assistant principals at my school, am hosting the New Teacher Orientation for the teachers at our school. We are going over policies and procedures that are specific to our school and sharing expectations of instruction for our teachers to implement. We have thirteen teachers in attendance. All of the teachers are new to the school, but only five are new to the county. They all share our enthusiasm for the school year to start and are thinking positively about what the 2017-18 school year will offer.

One thing that we talked about today was how each year we try to reflect on the year before and make changes as needed. As the teachers were sharing their ideas, I thought about my own year. Last year was my first year as an assistant principal and my first year at Lilburn so I spent a lot of time stepping back and just measuring the temperature of the school while building relationships. I tried not to change much in terms of procedures unless it was something that was not best practice. This year, a few things may change. These are changes that I feel are necessary based on my experience and some of the knowledge that I've gleaned from this program and research I've conducted based on my major project.

As I go forward in my second year, I am more confident than I was last year. Why wouldn't I be? I have a better idea what to expect in terms of my duties and responsibilities. I've also built solid relationships with my team and the staff and students at the school. This year is going to be great and I'm excited to begin this journey. I wish you all the best and I hope we'll keep in touch. Kiska, Christian, and Lisette: I'll see you in a few weeks.

E + R = O

I am really enjoying the book Above the Line by Urban Meyer. In my 1st blog I talked about what it means to live and be above the line. I also shared the equation:

Event + Response = Outcome

I am going to share with you Urban Meyer's 6 ways to respond to an event so that the outcome is positive. 

1. Press Pause- Give yourself the time to think in order to make the best decision 
2. Get your mind right-Our own inner thoughts can be our downfall. Remember to focus on the positive and productive thoughts. Think of this is more as having a growth mindset. 
3. Step up- We all will face challenges. We cannot run from these challenges and must meet them with above the line thinking. 
4. Adjust and adapt- Change will occur at some point in your life. Life will only get more difficult if you don’t adjust.

5. Make a difference-Make a positive impact on others.

6. Build Skill-Be willing to learn and grow. “Greatnesss is a choice.”

The rubber meets the road when you respond to an event. How you respond will determine who you are and your success.

As I reflect on the 6 R’s, I can say that I have used all six responses. I have also been in situations in which I have done the opposite. When I pause and get my mind right things tend to work out better.

Reflect on an event that did not turn out quite the way you planned. How could exhibiting one of the 6 R’s possibly changed the outcome of that event?

Focus on Leadership 7-17-17

I enjoyed having a book study and reading Focus on Leadership. Loved the themes of simplicity and literacy across the curriculum. I found myself completely buying into these two themes, wishing my schools embraced them, and loving the case studies. There were some parts of the book that surprised me. Two in particular. For one, I thought the type of lessons the author described as being best practice was interesting. As a special education teacher, the lessons seemed very similar to Direct Instruction, which many schools are against. Learning seems to be much more of a constructionist approach at this time in education.  The second piece that surprised me was the author's stance on differentiation. I was surprised to read that he felt if you embraced the evidence-based lesson plans he described that differentiation is not needed in the sense we as educators push for it today. I am curious to know how others felt about these two pieces? I wonder if strong lesson plans and literacy across the board were in place if less differentiation would indeed be needed?

RTI

Response to Intervention

For the 2017-18 school year I will be working with the response to intervention (RTI) process. This is a new role for me as I am now working on prevention of special education rather than the implementation of special education. The RTI process has been very flawed in my district. For the most part, my district just started the process of enforcing RTI. The lack of training to support general education teachers in the implementation of the RTI has been and ongoing issue since the inception of the system. Educators has long felt that the response to intervention strategies creates a process that is tedious and overwhelming. The teachers feel the lack of training creates frustration and low teacher political morale. The positive is that if RTI is implemented with fidelity, it could possibly provide students with the intervention that can help them succeed and ultimately reduce the number of students that are evaluated for special education services.  My principal has indicated that RTI is one of the priorities for the school and will be enforcing implementation with teachers. My goals is to help the teachers with implementation and training so they will not feel frustrated and overwhelmed. Hopefully, this will ensure that students who are referred to special education will truly need the individualized intervention. Wish me luck….. 

School Environment

School Environment

Over the week I watched a documentary on HBO that addressed the economic changes that were happening in San Francisco.  The purpose of the documentary was to review how the economic impact the technology industry has had on the city. One of the components of the documentary addressed how the technology industry attracts the best and brightest of workers throughout the country and overseas to come to San Francisco. The documentary addressed how well the technology companies treat their employees. The employees have a very relaxed working environment, in which they can dress down and most do not wear suits and dresses. They do not have the typical cubbies and stark atmospheres that you typically see in office buildings. In these companies, they have music rooms, full eatery/lounge, game room, and vending machine for computer parts that are free. This the is the new working atmosphere that our students will be become accustomed to. This lends to the question; What type of school environment does your students have?  It is a stark, bare classroom where the students do not have access to technology. It is a friendly environment that is welcoming and students feel comfortable to learn. In our school two of our teachers tried a concept of alternative seating. The teacher moved most of the desk out the classrooms and brought in floor pillows, crates, bar chairs. All of this was done to create a more relaxed environment where the students don’t have the typical seating arrangement.  I am not sure if this contributed to an increase in learning, but it lends to think about since this is how the new working environments are transforming to. 

End of Summer

Well it's officially closing in on the end of summer as my county starts back with pre-planning this Friday (7/21).  Although I enjoy my time off, it's definitely safe to say that I'm ready to start back.  I'm so much more productive it seems during the work calendar.  I'm excited to get back and see the students I know and of course to meet the ones I will be teaching this year.  The one silver lining is that the end of summer also signals the end of this program for me.  Although I've enjoyed the time and experiences with all of you, I'm ready for a break from school.  It seems as if I've been continuously going to school since I started grade school way back when.  I got my master's before I started teaching right after my undergrad and then my specialist after year two of teaching followed by this program after year 7.  I'm going to take some time and take a few breaths before I start the march on my doctorate.  Hope all is well with everyone.

13 Reasons Why

This past school year really seemed to be a tough one for many students. In this school year alone, our 8th-grade class had three students that returned to school after suicide attempts and others that that practiced cutting as a way to deal with emotional trauma, anxiety, or depression.  At the same time, 13 Reasons Why, a Netflix series was taking the class by storm and many students were talking about the series or reading the book.  And, nationally the series sparked much controversy and debate. Some argued that the series glorified suicide and provided an unrealistic representation of depression. Others felt that the series and the book brought light to a subject that is often considered taboo and needed to gain attention. I've read the book and watched the series in one full binge because I wanted to be able to understand both perspectives as well as form my own opinion.  Even after that, I can see why there are such varied perspectives. Many schools are considering and some are going through the process of banning the book and other school districts have sent communication out to parents with regards to the delicate nature of the series and book. At my school, our counselor worked with parents and students that could be considered vulnerable to the messages in both the book and the series but no communication went our school-wide.

I have been alarmed but not surprised at the suicide data both nationally and in our state specifically in our youth considering increases cases of cyberbullying.  In Georgia, suicide is the third leading cause of death for ages 10-24 while in contrast the eleventh leading cause of death amongst all Georgians (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention).  This past May, deputies in Bibb County were able to save a teen who went live with her suicide attempt via Facebook ( New York Daily News, 2017).  According to the Georgia Office of Child Fatality, “Although rates vary somewhat by geographic location, within a typical high school classroom, it is likely that 3 students (1 male and 2 females) have made suicide attempts.

Source: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

13 Reasons Why, while not appropriate for many teens, in my opinion, does offer an opportunity to open dialogue about teen suicide. I know many parents that are choosing to watch the series or read the book along with their teen to discuss misconceptions or offer space to talk about suicide in a constructive way.

How do we support our youth?
How do we support teachers in being able to identify warning signs and offer continued support?
How do we support our community?

References

"American Foundation For Suicide Prevention." AFSP: Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2017.

Boroff, D. (2017, May 4). Georgia deputies save teen attempting to commit suicide on Facebook Live: 'The right people were watching'. New York Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2017, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/georgia-deputies-save-teen-attempting-suicide-facebook-live-article-1.3136414

Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel Annual Report - Calendar Year2013 (pp. 75-80, Panel Presentation). (n.d.). https://gbi.georgia.gov /sites/gbi.georgia. gov/files/related _files/site_

page/2013%20CFR%20Annual%20Report.pdf

New Look Into a Principal's Job

My twenty-day tenure as the administrator for Summer School for my school gave me the opportunity to get a glimpse of what my principal is responsible for doing 365 days. I've got to tell you: it was pretty daunting. Having everyone looking to me for guidance and my say-so being the last say-so was not something that I was used to; and I never got used to it.

As an Assistant Principal, I make decisions all the time for my department, but I usually run those decisions by my principal first. My principal was around during summer school, but many of the decisions that I had to make were split-second ones and I only had time to tell her about them later. Fortunately, they were all good ones.

Needless to say, I went home exhausted nearly every day and have a new-found respect for the kind of tired that principal's go home with. I had become accustomed to the assistant principal tired and stress that I started with at the beginning of the year and could manage it. This new kind of stress and tired that comes with the role of principal was different. I felt the weight of the summer school program on my shoulders and wanted to make sure the students got what they needed from their teachers and the teachers had the support they needed to complete their jobs. Along with that responsibility came the logistics and organizing of resources for the program; as well as planning for and setting up retesting for the GMAS. It all went well and I got great feedback from the parents, students, and teachers. I enjoyed myself and am able to walk away from the experience knowing that I did everything in my power to ensure its success.

Cell phones...eventually then end of the world?

As I sit at the beach on vacation, I look around and take notice to what everyone is doing.  Now don't get me wrong, my phone is an integral part of my life, but I can definitely say that it does not consume my life.  I'm 31 years old and remember when I was young and when I would be at the beach, it was always continuous activity it seemed.  Playing in the ocean, digging and building in the sand, fishing, or throwing the football or baseball were daily activities for myself, my brother, and my dad.  Looking around now I see the majority of people sitting in their beach chair scrolling through their Facebook or Instagram profiles, uploading pictures, texting, or sitting with their headphones in talking to no one.  The amount of time phones seem to consume people of all ages, but especially school age children, is absolutely terrifying.  Social skills are diminishing almost annually it seems with no improvement in sight.  Maybe it is just me, but consider me worried.

Summer-What is that?

It never fails, each summer when I am catching up on doctor appointments, home repairs, and spending quality time with my family etc... I hear... "Oh, you're a teacher... must be really nice to have weekends and summers off".  I smile and shrug it off because I've heard it before. Nonetheless, it leaves me wondering about how many in the public perceive the job of educators, administrators, and other school personnel. And, even summer time is often utilized for planning lessons, going to conferences for professional development, graduate work, professional reading, and a host of other activities that in some way are related to being better at our work. It seems to me that so many people are unaware of the demands that serving a school community brings with it. The list of duties and responsibilities are endless. But, we do it because we want to serve and make a difference in the lives of others (and the money $$$$ LOL!).  

Research indicates that "the emotional needs, labor, and work for a teacher are significant compared to other professions" ( Mei-Lin, 2009, p. 194). Furthermore, the high demands of the profession often lead to teacher burnout. The following chart offers an interesting look at the causes of burnout. This provides school leaders with a possible focus on where to offer support to decrease burnout. 

Summers-What is that? For many teachers, this is not a suffient amount of time to recover and supports are needed throughout the school year to avoid burnout. 

*Click on Image to View

Reference

Mei-Lin, C. (2009). An Appraisal Perspective of Teacher Burnout: Examining the Emotional Work of Teachers. Educational Psychology Review, (3), 193.

First Interview Today

Well colleagues I had my first interview today for an assistant principal position at Veterans Memorial Middle School in Newton County.  I feel like the interview could not have gone better.  I'm hopeful for the opportunity to begin my administrative career.  Although middle school is last in line in terms of personal preference for me, I'm just eager to get started in the administrative realm of education.  As soon as I hear something I'll let everyone know.  If you don't mind maybe send a prayer my way and keep fingers crossed.  Hope all is well with everyone's summer (or lack there of if you've been working as much as I have).  See you all soon.

Parents and discipline

As my first year as an Assistant Principal ends, I think about the many parents that I’ve conferenced with to discuss discipline issues or concerns. As I met with parents, I noticed brand new Jordans, new outfits, fresh hairstyles, or new jewelry. I would find myself asking the parents how the student received the new item when they were recently suspended or violated a code of conduct. I cannot recall any of the parents being able to justify the reason the student received the item, although the students’ behavior did not warrant the reward. Parents often pacify their children so they can be seen as the friend instead of the parent. When there is limited discipline and structure within the dynamics of parent-child relationships, the child suffers social, emotionally, and cognitively. Also, parents fail to realize that they give up their power when they just succumb to their children wants instead of making them earn them. I guess some parents need to understand the exact definition of “wants” and “needs.” A child needs consists of clothing, shelter, food, and love; while “wants” consists of items that children desire to have. If parents start at an early age instilling in children that they have to work hard and follow directions; they will be rewarded for their good behavior. Parents can’t wait until children are teenagers to try and start being parents that discipline.
Kiska

Above the Line

I have chosen to focus my summer semester blogs on the book Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and a Life from a Championship Season by Urban Meyer, which is the book our leadership team is reading for the summer. Next year I will lead several professional developments based on this book.  I was introduced to the phrase "teach above the line" from my previous principal. While we did not study the book nor did I truly understand the full meaning of the phrase, the basic premises of thinking above the line stuck with me.  My current school has continuously performed well academically. We have ranked higher than the state and county on standardized and local assessments.  I am going into my third year as an assistant principal at this school and there has been a noticeable change in the students and their abilities in comparison to prior years. Now before I get into the "WHY" we are using this book next year, I want to to introduce you to the above the line way of thinking:


The great thing is this is an easy model to understand and live by. It can apply to all aspects of life.  


Although we have ranked high in the past, our enrollment has increased by 200 over the last two years. Students (and parents) in grades 1-5 who are transferring from other schools tend to struggle with the rigor taking place in our classrooms.  This fact is based on the extensive amount of phone calls I get because what we do is "to hard" and the increased number of students being put on our SST list. I have spoken with countless parents and assured them that their child will make improvements. In most cases this is true. In other cases additional support is required. I have a hard working staff and overall I think we exhibit a growth mindset, but I am hearing more below the line thinking from teachers when they have more than 2-3 low level learners in their class.  
"I have called their parents and they don't return my call so there's nothing else I can do."
"He never puts forth any effort in completing task."
"She is disruptive and defiant so she is not going to learn."
While these phrases may be partly factual, it is the "now what" that determines the above or below the line thinking. Johnny does not put forth effort when completing task. Do you
A) write him off because its his fault not yours 
OR 
B) take ownership of that student's learning by asking yourself what strategies can I put into place to motivate this student to do better? 
If more teachers chose answer B, I think our SST list would be shorter, our students in the RTI process would decrease, and academic achievement will increase for struggling learners. 

I am excited to read this book and put into practice the Above the Line thinking model.  I also look forward to sharing with you key points from my reading. 

Kool-Aid and Essentialism

(Author's Note: This post was originally posted on the EPEL 8970 Blog created by Dr. Hogan on June 15, 2017.)

I don't know about you guys, but I feel like my soul is running barefoot through a grassy field with my arms spread wide singing, "Hallelujah!" The Dispositions and Indicator assignment, the book study selection, Essentialism (McKeown, 2014), and our discussions in the EPEL 8650 class are exactly what I need right now.


I am ready to confess that I have been working harder, not smarter, during the last two years.

I thought that leading with a "Servant's Heart" meant doing what I can to make the lives of teachers, students, and families easier. With that in mind, I've tried to be all things to all people and it hasn't worked out quite the way I had hoped. I thought that the little tasks I spent many hours doing to make a big impact would take the burden away from others and simplify things for them.

WRONG.

I posted the Dispositions survey in my faculty's closed Facebook group in order get responses. At the time of this post, I had 9 faculty members participate. WOW. The comments include, "Amanda takes on too many responsibilities, spreading herself thin.", "She has overwhelmed herself by trying to do too much all of the times', "Let others take things off of your plate-don't be afraid to delegate things like SIEP. Let a teacher run it for you!" (Great suggestion-GLADLY!)


I have become a nonessentialist, y'all. 

I am certain that my behaviors are not only stemming from good intentions, but also from the fact that, for 12 years, I taught in a classroom where I was the only person to ensure "things" got done. I delegated what I could to students, parents, or teammates, but it was me that took on much of the responsibility. I didn't have an assistant, office staff, or faculty ready to assume the duties I really didn't need to take care of myself...now I do.

My goal for the 2017-2018 school year is to exercise my "power of choice" to "discover my highest point of contribution" (McKeown, p.25). There is a reason I am in the position of leadership and it's not to be the savior of mundane tasks. I have almost 100 people on my staff; really talented people that are skilled in logistics, organization, creative ideas, etc. They WANT these tasks and so...

I will give the people what they want.

(And you can hold me to that promise.)

I'll follow up with a post later in the summer to share how I plan to delegate this year and say "no" to the nonessential "stuff". 

Suggestions welcome. :-)

Summer School Administrator

Last week I started working as the summer school administrator for my school. Although I'd interned last summer shadowing my principal who was acting as summer school administrator, I have to admit I was a little nervous. sitting next to the person incharge is much different than being the person in charge. It's even different than being an assistant principal during the school year. Sure, I have duties and responsibilities, but the biggest difference is that I'm IT. Meaning that, I may have my principal there as a safety net should I need her, but my seven teachers and ninety-seven students are looking to me these sixteen days of instruction and re-testing for guidance and decision-making. It was a little daunting.

I didn't (haven't, won't) panic though. I am taking it one day at a time. The month leading up to summer school was a busy one for me. In addition to end-of year finalizing, I prepared for the students and teachers who'd be attending and teaching summer school. I used data to determine who would be invited, sent invitations and applications home, collected applications to determine the number of teachers I'd have to hire, created rosters; planned for arrival, dismissal, breakfast, and lunch procedures, planned pre-planning agenda, ordered air for the part of the building I'd be using, and other logistical tasks. The first day of summer school and days since have gone smoothly and I know it's because I planned for it. I have great teachers and the students are working hard. Twelve more wonderful days to go!

Credit Recovery Program

I was curious on other high school perspectives on the online credit recovery program.  I've been monitoring credit recovery the last two weeks and I find a couple of different aspects rather alarming. One aspect is the amount of students who do not get these courses completed even though they are given ample time to complete them.  The second issue I have is just how easy it is to actually complete these courses.  Students can work on all assignments other than the final exam or the EOC (if the course is an EOC course) at home.  This allows unlimited assistance on the material, not even to mention the fact that the students could actually have other people complete the work for them.  Do any other high school personnel have experience dealing with the credit recovery program?

#BlackLivesMatter

The Philando Castile verdict this weekend has been on my mind and heart. Through our coursework, we have discussed the value of equity and our responsibility to serve our students and our communities. I am often struck, however, how in our professional world we don't necessarily engage in the difficult conversations that force us to examine race and equity in earnest. I also wonder if we are really engaging students and helping them navigate the sociopolitical climate we know they are aware of and for many too well versed in its racism and prejudice. One of our roles as educators, in my opinion, is to provide environments where students feel safe and are empowered.  Thus, I remain curious about how and if educators and school leaders are encouraging discussions about the #BlackLivesMatter movement. If we are truly thinking about the social emotional needs of our students, it makes sense to consider the impact such news is having on them and offer support. This is the reality our students are trying to make sense of so what is our role? 

Summer Reflection

6/13/17: (this was originally posted on the past blog we have used)

One thing I love about being in education is the natural ending and starting of a new year. Even if we work through the summer, we are still allowed a fresh start with each August. I use summer to reflect over the past year; pieces of work that were successful and pieces of work that need redefining. As I begin to reflect over the past school year, I know an area I would like to focus more effort into next year is growing capacity with adults I work and coach on a regular basis. I often go into classrooms to support teachers and students and end up being called back due to a lack of sustainability with the teacher implementing the supports. Next year, I plan to spend more time working with teachers on truly understanding how to implement supports required for students with disabilities through modeling, practicing together, and observing the implementation with feedback.