Environment Matters! Today's scholars are bombarded by media and messaging across print and digital means. Today's teachers want to ensure that classroom walls reach and teach today's 21st-century scholars. Our students are more likely to benefit from the classroom environment if they are empowered to create content that pushes learning beyond the school building.In the classrooms I have observed over the years, I have found the most successful classroom environments to host: Highlight Student Work Products that Show Growth AND Exemplary Performance: Students enjoy learning from each other. And they are more engaged and motivated if they know their work is "the star of the show." Some of the most formidable student-work samples came from students who worked incredibly hard to grow based upon teacher feedback and held cultural capital in their classroom. Again—some students are more apt to learn from each other before they may learn from us (smile). Incorporate Interactive Wall Displays that Scream—"Come Learn With Me": Prior to the launch of morning meetings, some of my early-childhood teachers ask survey questions that are posted on easel paper and will connect to integrated studies later. For example, if you are doing a unit of study on traditional literature, a teacher may inquire which building material would serve as the best defense against an angry wolf who wants to blow your house down. Students are able to find materials in their classroom and put them into a collection jar or draw pictures on Post-it notes and add them to the easel chart. Open-ended questions work well because they solicit a wide range of answers. I have seen teachers also incorporated Gallery Walks, Interactive Word Walls, and Carousels. Student-Friendly and Student-Generated Learning Tools: Today's classroom-learning-community environment must be a hub for independent process and production while also aiding in supportive collaborative student-engagement experiences. In other words, when students are deep in learning, there must be displays of useful tools such as number lines and number charts to support computational accuracy and process; or a wall of annotated poems by poetic device to generate figurative-language genius among student poets; or even a genius bar with QR codes for digital sites students can use to create their next graphic novel, video documentary on the almost extinct snow leopard, or a focus-group talk with kids living with illnesses aided by ancient Chinese medicine that advance learning beyond the classroom teacher. When teachers empower student voice and agency in the teaching and learning process in the form of tools, resources, and exemplars—magic happens! Read the full article here: https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2018/12/response_ways_to_use_classroom_walls.html
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In the Spotlight: Passion is the Priority
Principal, March/April 2019. Volume 9, Number 4. NAESP MagazineCraig MartinPrincipal Michael J. Perkins Elementary Boston, Massachusetts The stats:
@CraigCMartin12 Introducing himself to his fellow 2018 NAESP National Distinguished Principals®, Craig Martin wanted more than anything else to share his passion for the principalship. At South Boston’s Michael J. Perkins Elementary, the challenges his students face are the ones he has to address as school leader. “We’re going to grow—together—beyond anything that comes against us,” he says. On managing the challenges of poverty and trauma Each scholar we serve joins us with cultural, intellectual, social, and emotional capital we can engage; their circumstance should never dictate our level of service or care toward them. We use the tools, resources, and networks we have to create access and opportunity for every scholar to thrive within the realm of their giftedness. Additionally, our staff members collectively have participated in more than 100 hours of professional development in trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive practices, self-care, and mindfulness, and [we] created classroom “safe spaces” that encourage student self-efficacy in managing their own emotional or behavioral episodes. On ensuring family engagement in a commuter school We make a conscious decision not to allow physical space to serve as a barrier to connection. We use social media and digital tools such as Twitter, Flipgrid, and Google Hangout as a bridge to the real-time gap. During our site council meetings, I host Google Hangouts live so that parents, students, community partners, and/or staff members can participate virtually in our conversations and decision-making. Additionally, our parents and guardians receive an electronic news blast from me biweekly. On the meaning of being a principal The role of the principal is to ignite passions rooted in purpose, principles, and possibility. Principals serve as the chief agents of change in our school communities. Guided by the lens of equity, cultural responsiveness, inclusivity, and equality, we are called to position the right staff members in front of our youth; embody and promote our core values and vision; galvanize family and community partners who are willing to invest time, talent, and treasure in that vision; and educate, elevate, and empower each young person to their greatest potential. On principals’ greatest challenge The greatest challenge principals face in 21st century America is remaining vibrant and visionary when the challenges of race, gender, class, and economic status meet us at the door each day. Many of our scholars enter our spaces disenfranchised by trauma, homelessness, divorce, substance abuse, domestic abuse, and more. And to a certain degree, so do many of the parents and staff members we serve, as well. On the most rewarding part of his job The most rewarding part of my job is having those aha! moments with students and staff. Self-discovery is so powerful—especially when someone strongly questions whether they have the grit to persevere through the challenge of learning something new. Read the full article here: https://www.naesp.org/resource/in-the-spotlight-passion-is-the-priority/
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October 2021
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