How Teachers Engage Students and Stakeholders in Problem Solving
Many schools are transitioning back to hybrid and in-person education, inviting students back into the halls and classrooms that have stood empty for over a year. The logistics are daunting. Despite all of the safety precautions required to accomplish this move, the transition also offers us a chance to reimagine how our education system operates. […]
Listen to Build Connection with Your Kids
Even at the best of times, when we are balancing work, our households, and activities, it is difficult to make the time to connect in a meaningful way with our kids. Now, of course, we add remote school, working from home, and staying safe, and the difficulty is even greater. Yet, connection is key to […]
The COVID One-Year Mark: Let’s not go back
We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate, and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits […]
Including Student Voice in Transition Planning
Education is undergoing another major transition. There are voices of power from state governments, districts, and school administrators attempting to balance pandemic safety needs and the learning needs of youth. All stakeholder voices should be heard in the planning and reimagining of education, including students’ voices. Students have a unique perspective on classrooms, schools, and […]
A Trauma-Responsive School Transition – Resources for schools shifting to hybrid or in-person learning
Many schools and districts are planning and preparing for a transition back to some form of hybrid/in-person learning. In our conversations with school administrators and staff, we are hearing the need for practical and useful resources and ideas to help respond to these transitions. In response to our conversations with you, we are creating and […]
Transitioning Back to School: Redwood Elementary Shares Their Experience
“Nothing is going to be perfect, and that’s o.k.” This is how Christine Mooney, the Principal of Redwood Elementary School, opened our discussion in a Zoom event on February 11th about their school’s experiences with transitioning from in-school to distance learning and back again. Several teachers, Lisa Jaraslow, Annie Blanchard, Crystal Pump, Lorelei Dean, and Missy […]
Black History and Belonging in School
When we say, “what if every child knew they belonged?”, what exactly do we mean? Recently, I explored this question over Zoom with Dr. DeLeon Gray, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Education Equity at North Carolina State University and a leading researcher on the intersection of race, belonging, and motivation in school. […]
