When it is June and the weather is warm and the days are long, how will we determine whether 2019-2020 was a successful year in our classrooms? There are so many ways in which we can measure a successful school year including, academic mastery, year-over-year growth, socioemotional learning, memorable projects,...
What Happens When Schools Adopt a Startup Culture.
You may be in one of two places. Either, you’ve just survived the holidays with each and every family member asking the dreaded question, “What are you plans after graduation?” Or, you’ve spent the last few months (or years) thinking that you need a change; the job you thought would...
How to Foster a Growth Mindset in Teacher Development
I asked a simple question to my fellow coaches at the beginning of the year: “What is your favorite part of being an instructional coach?” Having taught for several years, I knew that the school year ebbed and flowed in difficulty and before I journeyed too far, I wanted to...
Coaching from Within the Classroom
There is a paradigm in U.S. public education that teachers of all levels of experience have come to know: two or three times a year, an instructional leader---typically a principal, vice principal or department head---will observe their classroom instruction and provide feedback to the teachers on their performance with the...
A Culture of Development Cultivates Excellence at Classical Charter Schools
South Bronx Classical Charter School II (“SBCCS II”) was recently awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award for exceptional performance. This is an impressive accomplishment and with it, SBCCS II joins an elite group of high-performing, gap-closing schools. This honor not only recognizes the hard work and dedication that our staff,...
Successful organizations don’t happen by chance and successful schools are no exception.
The origin stories of successful schools start with a similar script. Leaders and staff envision a new and better reality, define that reality in a mission, and then plan for how to actualize that mission. Unfortunately, the final step is where potential success stories start to falter. Though many schools...
