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Competitive Comparisons
We’re deep in the brave new world of remote online learning, and it has revealed a long-kept secret about education: Many of us are quietly competitive and make constant, relentless...
Remote Learning for Our Youngest Students
I’ve been reflecting on the events of the past few weeks, a still-fresh alternate reality in which I’d wake up in the morning with one plan and have it changed...
A Heart for Coaching
Friends and colleagues often ask if I miss working in the classroom. My first answer is always “Yes. I will always miss the classroom because my heart is there.” Most...
It’s Not You, It’s Me
My boyfriend and I both like to run. We both like the physical challenge of running, and we both love the mental headspace it gives us. We’re both runners, so...
Creating Coaching Visions
I have always been a should have kind of person. You know, the kind of person who overthinks everything and spends far too much time thinking about what I should...
Brain Dumps for Clarity in Coaching
I stepped into the room and was immediately reluctant to interrupt the controlled chaos before me. Diane was buzzing about the room. She cleaned up student work at one table,...
Newcomers and Read Aloud Time
I knew it was going to be a great day of learning, discovery, and reflection when I was invited to do an observation in a classroom. This time, I was...
Letting Go: Nurturing Ownership in Writing
Once a month, a group of teachers from across the district gather to take a deep dive into writing instruction. The teachers, a variety of participants from grades K-5 who’ve...
Rethinking Homework
Paul Janeczko’s poems are some of my favorites to share with students when I am introducing a poetry unit. I am sad that he passed away recently. Publishers Weekly published...
Field Notes: Stories and Courage
When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending. Brene Brown Monon Trail Elementary School built a new...
Enticing Teachers to Write
The teachers who grow the most in the art of teaching writers are teachers who write. More than anything else, I know supporting a teacher in being a teacher who...
Helping Teachers Use Their Writing in Instruction
Early in my career, Katie Wood Ray offered this advice to a room full of teachers. It changed me. She said, "I believe we all should make a commitment to...
Supporting Readers: It Takes a Team
When readers need additional support and are placed in reading intervention, our hope is always for this support to be short term. Ideally, children will enter intervention, get the support...
Aligning Commercial Practices with Excellent Literacy Instruction
“So, what are you guys using for literacy?” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked that as a school principal. It’s not a bad question or something...
Data Pictures Instead of Data Walls
I've never been a big fan of data walls. They typically consist of bulletin boards and physical space that house student data, documenting various levels of student literacy achievement. One...
Classroom Visit Protocols
I have a friend whose mother-in-law has a tendency to just drop in for a visit . . . and stay. All afternoon. Nana never calls to announce that she...
Outreach by Reaching Out
Standing on the curb on a late-October Monday morning as the bitter-cold Chicago wind sank its claws into the always unsuspecting midwestern suburbia, I was not ready to battle these...
Know Their Story
Sally was a veteran teacher. That’s what I was told. She’s one of our vets. As a younger educator, I had heard that phrase several times to describe teachers who...
Literacy Audit (Part 4): Building a Strong Team
I’m always inspired by the thinking of Milton Olson, adapted by Angeles Arrien, which highlights the teamwork qualities of geese. Geese fly in formation, rotate leadership, communicate well, and always...
Literacy Audit (Part 3): Making a Plan
Since I’ve been a leader for many years, I have the benefit of retrospect. When I have identified growth areas or launched a plan for improvement, my rearview mirror reveals...
Resisting Traditional Definitions of Productivity
The first day back at school after spring break felt like stepping on a treadmill that was going full speed. Testing season was upon us, a school recognition application was...
