As the Thanksgiving holiday closes and the Christmas holiday season is underway, it is increasingly easy to feel heaps of gratitude. That gratitude comes from many places, including time spent with family and friends, amazing meals, and a warm house that provides shelter from the snow that found its way to the Midwest. Among all … [Read more…]
There is a great deal of pride in reflecting on the work being done in our 7th – 12th grade building around literacy interventions and support for our special education staff and students. Our teachers, coaches, and administrators are working incredibly hard to rectify an unfortunate reality: 34% of our students are not proficient … [Read more…]
One of the closing lines of a recent Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast addresses some angst that I have been carrying around supporting struggling middle and high school students. In episode # 237, phenom Jessica Toste says, “So if we do assessments [and] their fluency is not where we want it to be and … [Read more…]
The Reading League Iowa’s entire group of board members gathered in the windy city this week for The Reading League’s 9th Annual Conference. A flurry of text messages between our group reveals that our heads are still spinning from three days of intense and immense learning! We can’t wait to recap the conference on Tuesday, … [Read more…]
I went for a run yesterday and was frustrated, yet again, at my decreasing stamina when it comes to running. Several factors are contributing: a second bout with a respiratory illness, tiredness because of the illness, being out of shape due to lack of running, and sore hamstrings that have been a factor since late … [Read more…]
Zach Groshell’s Progressively Incorrect podcast dropped another stellar episode recently. He hosted two literacy greats: Linda Diamond and Paige Pullen. They discussed a topic that is gaining much-needed attention. I describe the topic as “The Trifecta.” I had written about “The Trifecta” in May after finishing Harnessing the Science of Learning by Nathanial Swain. In … [Read more…]
The needs in our district’s special education system are vast… and I’m quite certain the needs are not unique to our district or our state. It would be easy to point the finger of blame in many directions, but at the end of the day it boils down to this: there are many cogs in … [Read more…]
When I was a teacher in my fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms, I was pretty good at what I did. I wasn’t anywhere close to great, but I was pretty good. (See how “ego” made its way into today’s title?) 🙂 I enjoyed my students and their families. I listened to my students and valued … [Read more…]
Over the last several weeks, I have had the opportunity to support special education teachers and students at the 7th through 12th grade level. I have learned a ton, and have a ton more to learn! My colleague and dear friend, Rachella, is retiring soon – just four short school days from now. Yikes! Although … [Read more…]
In January of this year, George Couros wrote a blog post titled, Decoding Digital Deception: A Journey Into AI and Bias. In the post, Couros raises excellent points about the impact our own mindset has as we navigate all of the information at our fingertips. Our personal bias often influences us to choose the information … [Read more…]