It is nearing the end of September, and the work remains difficult. As I’ve written several times since the start of this school year, our district is implementing lots of change. Lots. via GIPHY We have gone from a four-building district to a two-building district, meaning new grade levels and new staff are housed under … [Read more…]
In our work with Solution Tree, we often hear about Instructional Tights as related to the PLC process. As defined in Learning by Doing, the suggested “Tight Elements in a PLC” include: Educators work collaboratively rather than in isolation, take collective responsibility for student learning, and clarify the commitments they make to each other about … [Read more…]
I’ve been receiving some pretty persistent nudges lately that have to do with finding clarity around where I place my priorities. Some of those nudges have been a bit in-my-face: Bill telling me that I need to “Quit working so much and learn to relax.” (This isn’t a new statement from Bill, but it came … [Read more…]
Commitment to Solutions that Work I had the amazing opportunity to attend Solution Tree’s RTI at Work Institute in Des Moines, Iowa this past week. It was just the rejuvenation I needed as the end of the school year approaches. One of my favorite things about the event was that the information presented fell in … [Read more…]
When I sit down on Sunday mornings to write this blog, I often have lots of thoughts swirling around in my head about the direction my writing will take. Often, but not always, I have already started a draft earlier in the week. Sometimes, the writing goes in the direction I had been thinking a … [Read more…]
I wrote about the importance of students being leaders of their own learning in October. At the time of that writing, I kept thinking about the parallel between students as leaders of their own learning and teachers as leaders of their own learning. And it’s pretty exciting to watch teachers take hold of that learning. … [Read more…]
Two weeks ago, I wrote about Celebrations, Joy, and Delights; one week ago, I wrote about the Letdown. Today, I find myself reflecting on this past week with an equal mixture of both celebrations and letdowns. In other words, hills and valleys. There continues to be much to celebrate in Fort Madison Community School District. … [Read more…]
This week, I have found myself overcome with joy around all that there is to celebrate. Some of these celebrations are bigger than others, some are smaller, but all will be delights that will energize me for some time. My writing this week reminds me of a blog that I enjoy reading. Dean Shareski shares … [Read more…]
In my role as a literacy instructional coach, I am fortunate to have access to more professional development than I did when I was teaching in the classroom. Some of that access is available during the school day; much is available outside the school day. When I was in the classroom, I rarely took advantage … [Read more…]
Seeking Transparency and Clarity Around Learning Using learning targets in classrooms is not a new concept. Teachers have been doing some form of this for years. When I reflect on my own use of learning targets, it has evolved from: not using (or identifying) learning targets at all, to posting a page number or topic … [Read more…]