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Multiplier Mindset
"Managers help people see themselves as they are; Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are." ~ Jim Rohn Many of us have a person in our lives...
Responding to Dysregulated Behaviors: “What’s a Book?”
This is the first installment of a four-part series chronicling the responses when a student with dysregulated behaviors joins Becca Burk's kindergarten class mid-year. Reading through the file of a...
Do I Belong?
At the end of the school year, a child handed me this poem, and I was struck by the line You make me feel like I belong here. As I...
Not-to-Do-List
As the new school year approached, I found myself reflecting on the past year’s successes and areas for growth and trying to decide what I should do differently this year....
Kindergarten Celebration of Writing
Our Kindergarten Celebration of Writing was a huge success. Parents filled the room with love and celebration. The kindergarten writers filled it with their writing and beautiful voices. They shared...
It All Counts: Getting to Know Your Teacher Candidates
In a spring 2023 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse, 34 percent of respondents said professors taking more of an interest in getting to know them...
Revisiting: Getting to Know My Students
I was recently talking to a colleague and shared, “I don’t know my students as well as I did in the past.” I could sense a little surprise in her...
A Necessary Survey for Your School Community
Authors’ Note: We, Ruth and Becca, have experienced situations with emotional dysregulation of children in a variety of settings. From our homes as we parented foster children who had lived...
Principals Are People, Too!
Headed to the office for my weekly meeting with the principal, I found myself replaying my list of discussion points. I knocked on the office door, and after a moment's...
Fostering Reading Lives in the Library
At the end of the school year I like to recognize the students who check out the most books in each grade. One student—we’ll call him Charlie—was a third grader,...
Advice from Hanks
I listened to Tom Hanks give a keynote session at the NCTE 2023 convention. I sensed that this was a big deal, but how could a movie star from movies...
Beyond the Books: A Tale of Empowerment, Influence, and Agency from the School Library
The fourth graders hurried back to the library and circled up with the school librarian, Micki Uppena. “What did you want to share?” she asked. The students had just completed...
Story Walks
Before heading home after a visit to see my closest friend, we spent the morning having breakfast in a cafe and doing some light shopping. Near the exit to the...
Early Writing Opportunities in the Library
Every child is a natural born writer. — Carole Marsh As a kindergarten teacher drops off her students for library class, she tells me, “Jacob keeps talking about the book...
Five Questions to Ask When Reviewing Literacy Curriculum
Selecting a curriculum resource is not as simple as previewing a book. As a building administrator and former curriculum leadership instructor, I find that these decisions are complex and multifaceted....
Tips for Interactive Word Study
“What do you notice?” I said to the group of third graders on the rug with me. We had a set of cards with words spread out in the circle...
Fluency Practice in Middle School
One thing I quickly learned when I began teaching middle school was that students, for the most part, just want to fit in. They don’t want to be singled out,...
Off the Hook: How to Engage With and Reframe Our Obstacles to Reduce Anxiety and Stress
“[W]e are all hardwired to suffer psychologically: to compare, evaluate, and criticize ourselves; to focus on what we’re lacking; to rapidly become dissatisfied with what we have; and to imagine...
Eight Tips to Make Virtual Learning Equitable and Accessible for All Students
“Hello, Michael,” I said, as one of my first-grade intervention students appeared in his Zoom box. He wore zip-up Batman PJs, and held a blue Sharpie in his hand. “I’m...
Responding to Appeals for Help
Sloane looked up at me with her big hazel eyes. The colorful headband perched on top of her head wasn’t doing its job, and some of Sloane’s wispy bangs fell...
Lifting Teachers by Lifting a Teacher
Moving in and out of classrooms all day brings a wide perspective on school culture. I get to experience teachers growing the minds of their students firsthand. Their craft as...
