Restorative Practices Roundup: 5 Leaders, 5 Stories“RP has become increasingly important as a tool for educators who are struggling to meet the educational and social-emotional needs of children surviving a pandemic.”
— Karen Webber
3 Steps to Intentional Instructional Leadership“If I want to encourage students to excel, I have to equip teachers to excel – and that means working deliberately to provide my team with the tools, structures and support they need.”
— Ranesia Edwards
It’s time to mathematize our schools“School leaders like you have an important role to play in building a school-wide positive math culture, regardless of your own background in math. Research shows that the way adults talk about math powerfully shapes students’ math mindsets.”
— Margie Pearse
SEL for School Leaders: 5 Strategies for Meeting Design & Facilitation (Part 2 of 3)
This is part of our series on supporting the capacity of leaders to foster the psychological safety and well-being of staff, in partnership with leaders in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Check out Part 1 on building emotional capacity and the full deck of strategies. Shifting meetings online can seem straightforward: You schedule a meeting, you […]
SEL for School Leaders: 5 Strategies for Fostering Your Team’s Emotional Intelligence (Part 1 of 3)
This is part of our series in partnership with leaders in Virginia City Public Schools, on how leaders can foster the psychological safety and well-being of staff. Every decision we make in our schools has to go back to the question: How is this going to impact the students we are charged with every single […]
Equity Pauses: A Tool for Creating a Whole-Child Approach to Data Analysis
As education leaders, we often encounter friction when it comes to looking at student data with our teams. One of the biggest tensions comes from the difference between using data for accountability and using it for improvement. I believe strongly that the schools we lead are the people’s schools, and our communities need to be […]
How restorative practices are transforming Baltimore City Public Schools – and where to start in your school community
Over the past several years, Baltimore City Schools has been working to transform our schools and communities by fully implementing restorative practices (RP). We’ve learned that restorative practices are not just another thing you “do” or some new thing to “try out.” They’re a way of being. Restorative Practices emanate from the use of problem-solving […]
Distributed Leadership: Empowering Teachers to Make a Lasting Difference for Students
Beulah McLoyd is a former high school principal and now serves as executive director of Program Implementation, Midwest Region, for New Leaders. You can follow her on Twitter at @BeulahMcLoyd. When I first took on the principal role at a Chicago high school for the arts, I was charged with reopening a school that had […]
#WhyILeadNow: If we want to be all in for kids, we need to be all in for staff.
In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 first prompted schools in the United States to shift to distance learning, our team was all in for kids. We connected with each family. We put together online resources. We copied paper packets. We made an “I miss you” video and organized a drive-thru car parade to wave […]
Reimagining Education: 4 steps for school leaders to leverage project-based learning and design thinking
Before the pandemic hit, I was focusing on something exciting: Getting ready to open a new 6-12 school in my district, built around project-based learning and design thinking. I want to reimagine school so students play a larger role in mapping their own learning paths – and my goal is for every student to discover […]
#WhyILeadNow: to inspire my teachers, so they can keep showing up for kids.
This year is so hard for everyone, and our teachers are feeling it. They came into this work because they love kids, and distance and hybrid learning have changed what those connections feel like. For those teaching virtually, it’s challenging to teach to 30 boxes. Putting eyes on your students helps put things in perspective. […]
#PrincipalOfficeHours: 5 Self-Care Strategies for School Leaders
“My self-care strategy is simple: look for something to laugh about and someone to laugh with.” – David Golden, principal in Fayetteville, TN “Normalize healthy habits as the leader. You don’t have to be first to school or last to leave. You don’t need to email at all hours. Breaks are okay – and needed. […]
5 ed tech tips for school leaders, from a director of technology
Martin Cisneros is a district director of technology in San Jose, CA. You can follow him on Twitter @TheTechProfe. I became a district director of technology because I’m passionate about edtech, and I wanted to have a hand in expanding blended learning practices. This school year, I’ve certainly gotten my wish. I’m amazed by what […]