Every educator is faced with the challenge of keeping students motivated and participating in lessons. When speaking to a long-time friend and educator about her best ideas for student engagement, without hesitation, she replied, “Bring in some pop culture for...
With the fall season rolling in and the school year in full swing, rookie teachers may be feeling the growing pains that come with mastering a new craft. Steven Turner, a U.S. government and world history teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia, shares his experience as...
School administrators always have to keep one eye on the future, whether it’s the first day of a new semester or the bells are ringing for summer break. For schools with an outdated student information system (SIS), administrators have to make the difficult decision...
Formative assessments, when used correctly and in context, can lead to increased engagement and improved outcomes for students. But defining how formative assessments can help educators, or even what they are for in the first place, can be difficult without a clear...
SCHOOL COMMUNICATION TOOLS In the era of the smartphone, expecting parents to get their information about school events from your marquee seems awfully out-of-date. Of course, you’re probably thinking that it’s not that simple—you might send a newsletter home...
EDTECH STRATEGIES: TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM Students who bring devices like tablets, laptops, and smartphones to school are prompting teachers and administrators to reconsider the role of technology in the classroom with every passing semester. We spent some time...
In a previous post, we discussed the importance of report card comments for providing parents with information about their students’ performance. But what kind of information should these comments provide? As education consultant Leah Davies wrote for Kelly Bear...
Teachers are used to taking work home. Assignments to grade, reading to finish, lesson plans to write—there’s always a stack of papers, a USB drive, or textbooks that have to be shuttled back and forth. But what if lesson plans and other vital paperwork didn’t...
DEFINE AND SHARE YOUR SCHOOL’S UNIQUE VALUE Private and independent schools have a lot to offer enrollees and the community at large. Oftentimes their biggest problem is making sure that both groups know why their school is special and different from other schools in...
EDTECH DEBATE: LAPTOPS IN THE CLASSROOM When used correctly, laptops and other devices in the classroom can be valuable tools that enhance student learning. When used incorrectly, however, runaway technology can become an obstacle to school activities and cause a host...
