Leaders like you often lead from your core values – with guiding principles shaping your work. For leader Peg Grafwallner, an important piece of school leadership is inviting teachers to identify and celebrate their own guiding principles. Her process, carried out over a staff meeting or two, can strengthen your team’s shared foundation.

When I took the helm as principal of Nathanael Greene Middle School in April 2023, one in every two students was chronically absent. This school boasted a celebrated history, but at the time, it ranked in the bottom 1% of the state – a one-star school.  It was identified for comprehensive support and school improvement.  […]

In our building, we have a commitment to honoring the experiences of all our students and families. We have students from all over the world with rich and diverse histories and cultures, and we want each and every child and the adults in their lives to feel like they belong. What’s more is that we […]

One thing I’ve come to appreciate as a leader is the power of new beginnings – the ability to create moments to reset, restart and recommit to our team’s values and goals. Creating those opportunities at the start of a new term in our building isn’t exactly the same as the conversations I had when […]

I grew up in a bilingual program here in Buffalo, New York, and now it’s my privilege to support students and educators in bilingual programs as an instructional coach. Much of my work with educators focuses on dual language instruction and amplifying students’ home language – Spanish, in the case of our community. This year, […]

Leaders like you know how tough chronic student absenteeism is to tackle. Data shows that each chronically absent or at-risk student and family will benefit from individualized support at school. But to make a difference for all your students, you and your team need consistent, scalable processes. That’s why we’ve rounded up 5 data-driven tools […]

One of my most powerful experiences as a teacher came from a principal who believed in my capacity more than I did at the time. Even though I was new to her campus, she thought I would be a good fit for a leadership role. When she approached me, I thanked her for considering me, […]

Collaboration is one of the most essential pillars of teacher and student success. Authentic collaboration sparks a natural curiosity of how we can best impact student achievement and move learning forward. When I was a teacher, I felt most successful during the years that my Professional Learning Community engaged in authentic collaboration. We implemented nearly […]

More than 23 years ago, my journey in education began as a kindergarten teacher, where I discovered my passion for teaching young children to read. Right from the start, I noticed the diverse reading abilities among my students – some were just learning their letters while others could already decode words. At that time, the […]

Picture this: You’re a first-year math educator and your students are struggling with fractions. During your planning period, you decide to drop in on a fellow teacher’s classroom. When you arrive, their students are working independently on fractions in stations. Your class might not be ready for that, but you can see the students are […]