staff morale matters A happy team lives the dream, right? Several studies cite the importance and correlation of a positive work culture on team efficiency and productivity. In education, staff morale is critical to teacher retention, student achievement, and the school’s health. As a school leader, having a strong pulse on team culture is vital to ensuring a school is positioned to reach goals, keep highly effective teachers, and work towards school sustainability and overall well-being. School leaders play a significant role in creating the conditions for staff to feel successive and thri ..read more

I wrote this on Instagram and received a few requests to bring it my blog, so here we are! Please share your comments below! The phrase Great Resignation has been used to describe the millions of American who have quit their jobs since 2021. People across different fields have let their jobs and that included the field of education.  As a school leader, I have seen this up close and personal. Here is study conducted by Education Week  that surveyed school leaders on staffing shortages. Schools across the country are dealing with shortages across school communities. While people ..read more

The key to maintaining classroom discourse involves having multiple strategies to engage students in the process. The goal is to invite as many students and ideas into the conversation as possible. If you are just getting started, consider these habits to create a strong foundation. DiscussioN Strategies Stop me if you’ve been here before- You put tons of energy and effort into lesson planning for a dynamic conversation. Start off with a great discourse question, give students time to prepare, and… crickets. I’ve been there, and when I realized that being frustrated with my student’s lac ..read more

If the structure does not permit dialogue the structure must be changed. Paulo Freire Tweet Education is about the cycle of learning, revising, challenging, accepting, refuting, and reimagining. Discourse allows students to deepen their understanding of the texts’ ideas and values while strengthening their oral and written argumentation and active listening skills. It enables the education process to move forward because students can share and push their thinking collectively. But how? Prior to starting it’s important to have norms, rules, and habits in place to lay the foundation for ..read more

What norms and unwritten rules does your school adhere to and why? Who do these “codes of conduct” benefit? Who do they marginalize? What can be done to disrupt them?  As my school works to become anti-racist, we’re trying to scrub our habits, beliefs, and routines for the evidence of White Supremacy Culture in order to create a more welcoming environment and promote equity. Dr. Tema collaborated with a number of researchers to create characteristics of White Supremacy culture in organizations and antidotes for uprooting and dismantling these standards. Our school is using these charact ..read more

What is Self-Awareness? In the last 6-7 years, the phrase “Social & Emotional Learning” has taken a gigantic step into the educational landscape. Educators, researchers, and families are all working to understand the knowledge and skills that promote healthy self-perception, development, and relationships. In short, the goal is for individuals to experience success in all avenues of life. Self Awareness is one of the “Big 5” competencies identified by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)  designed to support lifelong development and learning.  But wh ..read more

My team is working on this list to improve our school community. We’ve read the books and know the statistics and solutions take time and work. These ideas work with suspension, meaning a student is suspended and engages in them. community contract A shared agreement between the student, their family, and the school includes guidelines and expectations for working together to support the students’ goals. It’s a commitment or recommitment to the community rooted in shared accountability. See examples here and here.  There are three critical points to the community contract at my school: S ..read more

Brought this over from Instagram. It’s a truly personal post that reflect my thoughts as a first year principal. As a principal, one of the most significant responsibilities I have is determining consequences for student choices in the school community. It’s complex and weighs on me. I knew the statistics on the racial disparities in school discipline and the disproportionate number of students receiving special services and students of color being suspended. I will admit to being naive about difficult this would be – especially in a global pandemic. I have done my best and there’s still so ..read more

Black history commemorates the relentless and ongoing struggle for justice, peace, and self-empowerment. February is designated as a tribute to the contributions and achievements of Black people. School communities should be clear and committed to the purpose of their celebrations and ensure that reflections uplift the accomplishments of Black people and go beyond surface-level celebrations.   Tip #1: Ground in purpose Clarify for the school community why Black History Month is important by holding space for staff and students to strengthen their connection for the importance ..read more

Well, 2020 has been a season of learning and critically evaluating our teaching and life practices.  As our world works to heal and continuously improve, it’s important to rethink how we are raising the collective consciousness of our classes and empowering students to create and challenge their thoughts and beliefs. It’s not a political manuever, but rather a life skill required to navigate the world. I’m honored to collaborate with 11 secondary ELA teachers to share ideas and strategies to organically include social justice themes in the classroom. Unit Planning & essential Quest ..read more