What a 'balanced' tenure system might look like

A new brief from The New Teacher Project envisions what it is casting as a "balanced" teacher-tenure system. Under this system, teachers would be eligible for tenure after five years. Tenure would be awarded for sustained strong performance, and could be revoked for ineffective performance. Appeals could contest process and bad faith, but not judgments about performance. Hearings would be limited to a single day,…

Traditional PD: 'totally useless'?

In a guest post on the Answer Sheet blog in The Washington Post, Alvin Crawford of Knowledge Delivery Systems, which offers online professional development, writes that few can argue teachers today are getting the support and training they need to be effective and efficient, whether they stay in the classroom or not. In a 2009 report from the Center for Public Education, for instance, asked about experiences with professional…

One result of the introduction of the Common Core Standards is a need for a curriculum review.  District leaders are called upon to be sure that classrooms, grade levels, and subject areas are aligning their curriculum with the new standards. The Common Core may have been the provocation this time, but curriculum review, routine for some, should be for all; if not before, at least now. …

I'm always looking for clearer and more profound ways to explain why phonics is essential and you will destroy children if you make them memorize sight-words.

 Rudolf Flesch thought he had explained it completely in 1955. But he actually did not close the deal, so the International Reading Association was able to go right on pretending that Whole Word makes any sense at all-- for another 60 years.

 This tells you how subtle and slippery the whole thing…

Beyond Preschool: Alleviating Poverty Over a Lifespan

Robert E. Slavin 

Judgment Call: Maturity, Emotions and the Teenage Brain

by Amy Williams

In today’s connected world, it may seem like truly understanding your students is out of reach. Between the limited amount of time spent with your class, and the vastness of their lives both at home and through social media and modern communication, understanding the teenage mind has never been more puzzling.

Never…

We shouldn't just watch this drama unfold.  Action to advocate for a zero tolerance for violence, not only in our schools, but in society, will help diminish the numbers of children affected...and they will be better learners and more whole as humans. Should we refrain from entering the domestic violence fray because what happens at home isn't our business?  Can we take another thing on? Do we have a choice? According to the research, there is a connection between hitting…

Our school leaders deal with the challenge of meeting increasing State mandates and student needs everyday.  A wonderful network of educators will be in Nashville October 29th to November 1st to share inspiring stories like the one below, as well as strategies to create an environment where students AND staff will realize their potential.  Please consider sending a representative from your school to learn about positive alternatives to control oriented mandates. Please read on to learn…

Apps to call on students randomly – This Educational Leadership item suggests three apps to cold-call students:

• Pick Me! www.classeapps.com/pick-me generates student names and keeps track of who’s called on.
• Class Cards http://classcardsapp.com lets the teacher quickly rate the quality of a student’s…