7.28.21 Next year cannot be normal: New research confirms widening educational inequity during COVID-19 At the start of the 2020–21 school year, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to inflict massive disruptions on all aspects of daily life, presenting educators, students, and their families with... Read more
7.22.21 3 ways to be a “math person” Although I have a degree in mathematics and taught middle school math, it took nearly a quarter of a century before I identified as a “math person.” I’m certain you can name a least five... Read more
7.15.21 Embrace mistake making in math Everyone makes mistakes. It’s inevitable. But it often triggers feelings of guilt or shame, which can be difficult, especially if we struggle to embrace our mistakes. Learning mathematics... Read more
7.13.21 5 myths about emergent bilinguals—and how to challenge them Did you know that the population of US public school students who speak languages other than English is on track to grow to 25% by 2025? The majority of these students are Spanish speakers... Read more
7.8.21 Pointless points and plotless plots: The dangers of accelerating mathematics learning Everyone likes a good movie. Good movies tell a story. They have a plot. They keep the viewer engaged and interested. Some movies, though, are forgettable. The story line might be impossible... Read more
7.6.21 Begin your assessment empowerment journey with principle #1: Learner context I am the youngest sibling in my family, and like many youngests, I would hear, “Oh, you’re so-and-so’s little sister” a lot from teachers growing up. I would politely nod while also... Read more
7.1.21 How to democratize your school improvement planning process In our last post, we talked about how it’s insufficient to rely solely on student outcome data like grades, graduation rates, and test scores to inform school improvement. Focusing too... Read more
6.29.21 Why success depends on having the right mix of data—and how you use it In education, as in just about every other field these days, organizations are looking to the power of data to help them solve their most intractable problems. For school leaders diligently... Read more
6.24.21 Learn how to use ESSER funding to help students with disabilities As the pandemic continues to reverberate throughout our education system, schools find themselves with both unprecedented challenges and rare, potentially transformative opportunities for... Read more
6.22.21 4 indispensable frameworks for successful goal setting “If you have built castles in the air,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in Walden, “your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” In his own... Read more
6.17.21 Racism hurts kids. Here are 5 things you can do about it. The long bus ride home seemed much shorter than usual that day. The words I’d overheard my teacher say consumed me, and it was like I forgot I was on a bus at all. “They get that laziness... Read more
6.15.21 Why achieving equity in education demands innovation How does innovation break down classroom barriers to more equitable teaching practices? Meg Guerreiro, a research scientist with NWEA, partners with schools to develop assessments that not only... Read more