Category: Teachers

  • Celebrating Black History Month with Teague Parker

      Teague Parker, Facilitator   Why are you an educator/do you work in education? Being a theatre artist brought me to the world of education! I would lead improv workshops every week through college, TA acting & playwriting classes, and soak up all the ways you could pass information. It felt to me that arts…

  • Celebrating Black History Month with Sylvia Hadnot

      Sylvia Hadnot, Facilitator and Social Media Coordinator   Why are you an educator/do you work in education? I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old. Looking back, I realize that my teachers were some of my first nurturers. I loved their love and the way it made me feel! As…

  • School Discipline Data Points to the Need for Self-Regulation Skills

    School Discipline Data Points to the Need for Self-Regulation Skills

    Terminal Park Elementary School in Auburn, WA is one of our Whole School partners. They have an active Data Team made up of staff who are leading the implementation of Sound Discipline work at their school. Data Teams in our partner schools gather and analyze discipline data – which is documentation of when a student…

  • Self-Regulation for Educators, Co-Regulation for Students

    The negative impact that COVID-19 had on our nervous systems, both as educators and students, is palpable. National data such as this report from the National Center for Education Statistics and lived experiences of educators show the pandemic has negatively impacted student behavior and social-emotional development, and teacher burnout and turnover is at an all-time…

  • Support for Trans and Non-binary Students Creates Equitable and Inclusive Learning Communities for All – Four Things Educators Can Do

    All young people deserve and require acceptance and support from their communities to learn and thrive. Prioritizing building inclusive classrooms for all students, regardless of their identity, can quite literally save lives. According to Child Trends, a recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health demonstrates the power of affirming transgender youth’s identities: For…

  • DOOL Youth Inspire Educators to Share Power and Create Equitable Learning Environments

    DOOL Youth Inspire Educators to Share Power and Create Equitable Learning Environments

    On October 8th a diverse crowd of educators filed into the Laser Dome at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. However, none of them were there to see a laser show! They had all come to experience an immersive workshop designed and facilitated by youth from Sound Discipline’s DOOL program. DOOL (Designing Our Own Learning) is in its…

  • Five Ways to Encourage Student Voice and Share Power in the Classroom

    As educators, we may (often unconsciously) hold on to the power in our classrooms. But we do have the choice to share power with our students. Sharing power and prioritizing student voice strengthens students’ sense of belonging and diffuses power-over dynamics between educators and young people. When we let go of some control, we are…

  • Auburn School District’s All-Staff Wellness Day Lays Foundation for a Culture of Care

    “SEL is about preparing students and staff for quality instruction, quality learning, and quality interaction, because that’s where we are spending all of our time.” – Assistant Superintendent Rhonda Larson, Family Engagement & Student Success Dept Thursday, September 1, we were thrilled to spend the ENTIRE day with Auburn School District Staff during their first…

  • Classroom Routines Help Everyone

    The start of the school year is a perfect time to co-create routines with your students! Routines help everyone get back into the swing of a structured school day. Investing thought, time, and energy into establishing routines creates a less stressful classroom for educators and students. When you involve students in developing, practicing, and improving…

  • Focusing on Connection and Belonging this New School Year

    We are all feeling a variety of emotions, from anxiety to fear to joy, as we gear up for the start of this new school year. Transitions are always challenging. But we may be feeling it even more given that the last three years were extremely unpredictable for school communities. We invite educators to focus…