Fellow literacy coach Sheri Barsottelli and I visited with Heather Bitka and her kindergarten students at Roy B. Kelley Elementary School today, and when we got there, we learned that THEIR CHICKS WERE BEGINNING TO HATCH! As you might imagine, this made for quite an exciting start to the morning. What was even more fun [...]
When I first became a professional development provider, much of what I was capable of doing was limited to speaking engagements, short-term projects, and workshops. I worked on a team that served over 25 different school districts, each comprised of multiple buildings. I was one of two literacy specialists in my department. Resources were tight. [...]
Internship Coordinator Sheri Barsottelli and Monica Wrobel, Studio Fellow and Intern When I stand in front of a group of teachers and advocate for change, I tend to connect with those in the crowd who speak my language. When I coach inside of schools, I tend to learn a great deal from those who [...]
Here’s one of the problems with traditional forms of professional development: I’m invited to come in for a handful of days, kick up some dust, get people who are hungry for progress excited about the possibilities, and then…..typically for reasons beyond anyone’s control…… I leave. When I leave? Those possibilities often settle to the floor [...]
Much of this week has been spent in conversation with teachers and administrators who are beginning to unpack the Common Core Learning Standards and determine entry points into meaningful work with them. For this reason, I was happy to find this invitation in my inbox today. Interested in receiving the newsletters in the mini-series described [...]
Listen. It’s not just about the kids. We don’t get to choose the teachers we work with either. We don’t get to pick the ones who meet our ideal. We are called to serve the educators who walk through our door each day, so they may serve their students well. Want to help them? Watch [...]
It’s been interesting, what I’ve learned about the schools and the kids and the teachers that I’ve worked with since I’ve made walk-throughs a fundamental part of planning professional learning experiences and assessing the impact that the work might be having. Might is an important word. I began asking to walk through buildings and visit [...]
One of my friends retired recently, and while we were out celebrating her new future, she got to thinking about the number of kids she taught during her thirty year career. Her estimated total hovered somewhere around 3500, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she still remembered every student’s name, where they went on to [...]
A few weeks ago, I was invited to share the progress of a curriculum design and mapping initiative I am facilitating in a local district with the members of the Western New York Middle School Principals’ group at their monthly luncheon. As I began planning for this conversation, I was tempted to focus on the [...]
One of the greater challenges that people in positions like mine often face is creating alignment between what learners, administrators, and teachers need in order to be successful. Sometimes, people have different perspectives about what is truly needed. They may not share a common view of what success will ultimately mean or what it is [...]
