Questen Benjamin & Courtney Flanders Educators are often described as superheros; this includes instructional leaders. Here's our superhero-inspired, 3 simple actions that instructional leaders can take in the next month to ensure that teachers and students marvel at their own growth this year. (See what we did there ..read more

I became an instructional coach because I wanted to share my expertise with my colleagues, so that more of our students were reaching higher, and achieving greater. I spent six years in the classroom, perfecting my craft as an early elementary educator. So, I thought my experience plus my graduate degree was all I needed to be an effective coach. Oh, how little I knew ..read more

To many in the gardening and plant world, bonsais are among the most impressive trees. Bonsai is seen as a blend of gardening and art – a way to create living sculptures. A gardener might spend decades pruning the tree, little by little, year over year, so that it grows to the gardener’s exact vision. For instance, a Coast Redwood tree that, in the wild might grow to 100’-200’, may only grow to 1’ under the curated, decades-long care of the gardener.   Recently I was listening to a podcast, where Julie Lythcott-Haims – author of best selling books on helping young people become healthy an ..read more

School district leaders face the enormous challenge of understanding and responding to how professional learning has been impacted by the global pandemic. This at a time when professional learning is so critical for educators who are navigating uncertainties around in-person consistency, increasing responsibilities, and shifting instructional modalities ..read more

A recent Forbes article said, “If the big challenge of 2021 was to get children back into the classroom, the challenge for 2022 is to keep teachers there.” With statistics showing a 66% rise in school-based departures and schools across the country scrambling to fill teacher and substitute shortages each week — all while working to bounce back from the pandemic — the need to support our teaching staff has never been greater.  ..read more

I can’t remember how many times I have been asked “Am I doing it right?” I’ve heard this question so many times in my support of over 150 schools as they implement personalized learning that I no longer count. Teachers and leaders want to know, am I “doing” personalized learning right ..read more

Noah Dougherty - Guest Author I am a recovering perfectionist. As a kid, I always colored within the lines of my coloring book; not because I wanted to follow the rules, but because I enjoyed precision. As a teacher, I bought a laser level tool so that my posters would all be hung at the exact same height. Perfectionism can bring a sense of pride, especially when applied to a tangible outcome. I admired my coloring book pages in the same way I did my classroom walls ..read more