This quote is a fairly common one in education circles. I’ve heard it before, but it hit me like a ton of bricks this week. I’ve been working with Zach, an amazing high school special education teacher, around a goal of improving reading outcomes for his students with reading goals. I have run diagnostic assessments … [Read more…]
George Couros has done it again – he has provided the just-in-time, just-right motivation I need. In his most recent blogpost, “The Power of Consistency: Do What You Say and Deliver More Than Expected,” he reminds readers of staying true to your word. He reminds us to keep the promises we make to ourselves and … [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…]
This week has proven to be yet another in which I have found myself in pursuit of perseverance. As I’ve been writing recently, our district is shifting its instructional coaching model from an invite-only model to a systems coaching model, which means that we no longer wait to be invited into classrooms to support teachers … [Read more…]
The summer learning season kicked off in beautiful fashion this past week. On the very first two days of summer break, the Guiding Coalition members from each building in Fort Madison Community School District spent two days assessing our data, prioritizing areas of concern, and developing a targeted action plan for the upcoming 23-24 school … [Read more…]
On Saturday, I was on a mission. I was bound and determined to trim the shrubs that adorn the front of our house. This is an annual task, one that was skipped last year, and I was committed to making sure that didn’t happen again. I approached the job with little to no plan. I … [Read more…]
It takes time. This a phrase uttered in multiple educational arenas when talking about student proficiency. It takes time. I have been reminded of this over and over again in my work as a teacher and as an instructional coach. Most recently, I have been reminded of this with three exceptional learning opportunities: 1) Episode … [Read more…]
As I listened (two or three times!) to Amplify’s Science of Reading the Podcast, Season 5, Episode 5, I was reminded, yet again, of the importance of educators focusing on universal instruction first. For those outside of the education world, this may seem a bit strange. An outsider may think, “Of course teachers would focus … [Read more…]
One Word Last week, I wrote about identifying my One Word for 2022. I love the way the word clarity has become a part of how I reflect on my actions: before, during, and after. The word is not consuming me; instead, it is offering another layer of thought around what I think, do, and … [Read more…]