Last night, I was part of a conversation with a group of 20-somethings who are, God willing, approaching parenthood in the next couple of years. The conversation turned to school choice: where they will likely send their children to school when the time comes. This led to dialogue, not debate, about our local school systems. … [Read more…]
Full disclosure: Today I am writing from a position of arguably limited authority. I have been a classroom teacher (23 years) and an instructional coach (7 years) and have held varied leadership positions in the past. I am talking to and about school district leadership, though I have never held one of the positions that … [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
A post that I had written two years ago has been on my mind all week, as I keep feeling the confining pressure of “not enough time.” Much of what I have been feeling is captured perfectly in this post from the past… rather fitting as the 77th annual Tri-State Rodeo came to a close … [Read more…]
I’m 50 years old… closer to 51 than 50. And at 50 years old, I’m still figuring out who I want to be. I shared this with my dear friend, Kate, over a delightful lunch the other day. I shared with Kate that I heard a line in my audio book where the main character … [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…]
This post was started just over two weeks ago. The flu bug hit, so I was down and out for awhile. As I write today, I am enjoying the end of a week-long spring break, wishing I had my full pre-flu energy back, still unsure about the situation I wrote about below, and hoping for … [Read more…]
APM’s journalist, Emily Hanford and colleagues, have done it once again. They have taken a complex topic and made understanding of it attainable for any listener. They have shed light on contributors to our literacy crisis in episodes 1 – 10 of the Sold a Story podcast, and in the last 2 weeks have released … [Read more…]
The loooooooong wait is over! I have been revisiting this page from The Reading League’s website for months, waiting for the state of Iowa to turn dark blue, indicating that we have a Reading League Chapter. It’s official: The Reading League Iowa is now part of the Chapter Network! The Story On a Friday afternoon … [Read more…]