Throughout the year, RISE will be shining a light on some of the many talented educators we partner with to achieve our mission of ensuring all students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. This month we learn more about Robert Lalla, Special Education teacher and Summer Melt Coordinator at Maloney High School in Meriden. Q: What led you to get into the field of education? My Father was a teacher at Naugatuck High School. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher/educator. During the summer, I would go with him to school and sit in h ..read more

Previously, we shared a blog about RISE’s history with data tools and their use with our network of educators, followed by a blog exploring specific components of the RISE Data Hub. Over the coming months, we will introduce you to educators working with the Hub as part of their daily practice supporting students, starting with Matthew LaPlaca, Social Studies teacher and FAFSA Task Force Coordinator at Naugatuck High School. Matthew is a member of RISE’s recently launched Hub Innovation Fellows, a group of educators who are providing feedback to better understand their experiences and help us d ..read more

Bravery was the theme of the day at RISE’s Spring Convening, where educators from across the network came together to create connections and share inspiring strategies to promote student success. Throughout the day, the 110 educators in attendance reflected on the notion of bravery and explored how embracing courageous and innovative decisions and actions strengthens our ability to support successful student outcomes. The day started on a high note with an inspiring and thought-provoking presentation and reflection session led by keynote speaker Dr. Ebony Green. Dr. Green, a former teacher, pr ..read more

At RISE, a key element of our school partnerships is the coaching support provided by members of our Freshman Success, Postsecondary, and Engagement teams. For an inside look into this important aspect of their work, six RISE coaches got together and talked through shared experiences, challenges, and how they can achieve the greatest impact with their coachees. Q: How has your approach to coaching evolved? What was a recent moment in coaching that stood out to you? Gaby: It’s been an evolution for me. Because I’ve been in the high school space for so long, my default was to think “When I was ..read more

Throughout the year, RISE will be shining a light on some of the many talented educators we partner with to achieve our mission of ensuring all students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. This month we learn more about Andrea Pringle, Assistant Principal at Middletown High School. Q: What led you to get into the field of education? I first came into education through being an SAT tutor once a week for students from low-income backgrounds. This experience sparked my dedication towards the power of helping students grow personally and acade ..read more

Previously, we shared a blog about RISE’s history with data tools and their use with our network of educators. In this second installment of a multipart blog series on the RISE Data Hub, we dive deeper into specific components of the Hub, RISE’s newest data tool. In subsequent stories, we will introduce you to educators working with the Hub as part of their daily practice supporting students. Follow our RISE Blog to learn more. “Having the Hub is really that central piece that organizes your meetings,” says James Donewald, Grade 9 assistant principal at Maloney High School in Meriden. “It make ..read more

Networks for school improvement are critically important to spreading highly effective practices.  Too often, educators work in silos within their schools without the input and collaboration of peers from other school communities who can offer fresh insights or perspectives.  Cross-school learning engagements, where educators from different school communities come together to share their knowledge, successes, and challenges, empower educators to support one another in pursuit of equitable student outcomes. A cross-school learning opportunity among our Core Network schools is our “Rol ..read more

Grade 9 on-track performance is highly positively correlated with on-time high school graduation and postsecondary access and success. Through the Freshman Focus Network (FFN), and building on a foundation of years of impactful work within our core network, RISE aims to partner with schools and districts to strengthen structures, systems, and practices to further establish key Grade 9 conditions for success. Previously, we shared how the FFN provides actionable strategies to support students through the Grade 9 transition. Here, we check back in with the 2023-24 FFN cohort to share how schools ..read more

Throughout the year, RISE will be shining a light on some of the many talented educators we partner with to achieve our mission of ensuring all students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. This month we learn more about Ms. Joseth Da Costa, Grade 9 Mathematics Teacher at Hartford Public High School. Q: What led you to get into the field of education? A: As a young child, I can remember thinking that I wanted to be a police officer or a firefighter. I never thought I would go into education. However, this changed for me once I realized that ..read more

Imagine being a high school principal about to welcome 500 new Grade 9 students with little information about which students may need extra support to manage the transition. Or a Grade 9 English teacher who wants to check in with students during Advisory Period about their goals and on-track status, but can only see student grades for English. Or being a school counselor with a caseload of 400 high school students and having no central way to track what their postsecondary plans are, or whether or not they have completed the steps to achieve them, without spending hours logging into five or se ..read more