Not Normal It has been an eventful week. On Wednesday, our students returned to school via Google Classroom and distance learning. On Wednesday evening our district Governing Board made the difficult decision to continue virtual learning for the entire first quarter of the school year. As you can know, based upon the national dialogue, the … Continue reading What are Your Metrics for Success?
[Note: the thoughts and ideas in this blog post are my own and are not intended -- in any way -- to represent my employer. This post represents my thoughts as an individual and I do not have any personal insight into what July will bring -- yes, our students return to school in July] … Continue reading School Re-Opening: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Recently, I've been thinking, reading, and writing A LOT about the new school year and what it might look like. This is because our school year starts on July 22 -- which feels a lot like tomorrow. I've seen many plans that get points for effort, but are essentially the equivalent of shoving a square … Continue reading As We Plan for a Return to School – Don’t Forget the Teachers
[Note: the thoughts and ideas in this blog post are my own and are not intended -- in any way -- to represent my employer. This post represents my thoughts as an individual and I do not have any personal insight into what July will bring -- yes, our students return to school in July] … Continue reading Thoughts on a New School Year, Part 2
[Note: the thoughts and ideas in this blog post are my own and are not intended -- in any way -- to be representative of my employer.] As an educator, the past few months have been challenging, but certainly manageable. The adjustment to distance learning has not been easy -- I miss being around the … Continue reading Moving Forward: Thoughts on a New School Year
This week I delivered a number of Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots to students in our school community. I was surprised by the mixed emotions I felt as I stopped at trailers, houses, and apartments to drop-off the devices. It was great to see my students and register their excitement at the prospect of being able … Continue reading What Will Next School Year Look Like?
I have student behavior on my mind. The search for solutions is keeping me up at night (or waking me early in the morning). I have this vision of what success should look like, but I am struggling to find the pathway to that vision. I have this notion that a school does not necessarily … Continue reading 5 Thoughts and 5 Questions: Behavior and Discipline
Years ago I ran across this political cartoon by David Fitzsimmons, published in the Arizona Daily Star. At the time, I remember thinking "This guy gets it." The "it" being public education. I wrote him a quick note and asked for permission to use his work in a blog post. He gave me his blessing … Continue reading The Seating Chart that Shouldn’t Be
This past week I stopped to visit with a colleague who has been absent from work due to a health issue. Our conversation began with college football but eventually drifted to work. "I'm just trying to get caught up," he lamented (as he stared at his computer screen and what I imagined was an overflowing … Continue reading My Plan to Deal With Overwhelm
This week I took a break. I packed up some of my gear and headed into the mountains near Payson, Arizona for a two-night camping trip. October in the mountains in Arizona is true fall weather -- something I don't often experience in Phoenix. It was beautiful, with highs in the low seventies and lows … Continue reading Go Ahead and Take a Break
