Teacher quality is widely acknowledged as the most crucial school-wide factor impacting student learning. There’s nothing that benefits students more than having an effective teacher in the classroom. Naturally, when the recent “State of the States” report from the National Council on Teacher Quality revealed that several states like Kentucky have backed away from research-supported teacher evaluation practices, it’s no…
Month: October 2019
We Can’t Let Our Love For Our Students Morph Into Low Academic Expectations
I remember the day like it was yesterday. The year was 2013 and I was in the oval office with President Obama to receive an award for excellence in teaching. I was there as the 2013 RI Teacher of the Year to represent the teachers in my state and to honor the hard work they do every day. I loved…
#NatGeoEdSummit 2019 | Kentucky School Talk Goes To Washington
“Why can’t school be like this?”That’s the question I’ve overheard more times than I care to admit this past weekend. It may be fall break across most school districts in Kentucky, but I’ve had the incredible opportunity to spend part of my week here in DC for the 2019 National Geographic Education Summit. You’re familiar with National Geographic, of course…
This Hispanic Heritage Month, Let’s Give English Language Learners The Support They Need
Your first year of teaching isn’t usually filled with victories, but I’ll never forget the brightest moment of mine. It was a Friday in early May, right around state testing time, when a student brought me a recommendation letter for Teacher of the Year written proudly in Spanish. Let me explain. The student had moved to our school earlier in…