Summer Break RESET
Teresa Marchant I have never wanted summer break more this year compared to any other year! Like many other educators around the country, this past school year has stretched me emotionally, academically, and physically. Late nights were filled with grading papers, checking emails, flipping lesson plans, developing additional online lessons, learning new technologies, and attending […]
Decisions and Impacts of School Choice
Meredith Biesinger Once upon a time, there used to be limited K-12 education options for students and their families’ decisions. Now, so many options are available that it can be overwhelming for families to decide on the best fit for their child. It can also be equally overwhelming for businesses trying to market K-12 schools […]
Stakeholders in the Public School Setting
Teresa Marchant Identifying all stakeholders is a necessary step in the design process. This process is a strategic way to identify needs and implementation of solutions. Stakeholders can provide various perspectives that help decision-makers identify needs in a school or district. Receiving input is an integral part; otherwise, a school district, in reality, could be […]
Stakeholders in the Public Elementary School Setting
Teresa Marchant Identifying all stakeholders is a necessary step in the design process. This process is a strategic way to identify needs and implementation of solutions. Stakeholders can provide various perspectives that help decision-makers identify needs in a school or district. Receiving input is an integral part; otherwise, a school district, in reality, could […]
Decision Making, Solutions, and Value
Craig Perrier Education is not easy. It is an experience where we can guarantee that regardless of the outcome, we will always hear that we got it wrong. It is important to note that guiding their decision-making as familiar principle educators will point to as a factor in their process. It says, “What we have […]
Decision Making, Solutions, and Value:
Craig Perrier Education is not easy. It is an experience where we can guarantee that regardless of the outcome, we will always hear that we got it wrong. It is important to note that guiding their decision-making as familiar principle educators will point to as a factor in their process. It says, “What we have […]
Preparing Students for their Educational Future: Not Falling Between the Cracks
There has been heightened awareness about learning inequalities. This has led to many predictions about our students’ deficits this year. Some are calling it the “covid slide.” However, there have always been gaps in student learning for various reasons. These have been created by high absenteeism, little or no background knowledge, home environment or support, […]
Preparing Students for their Educational Future: Gaps and Opportunities
Craig Perrier The first high school I worked at in the late ’90s had an elective course designed to prepare seniors for life after high school. As you may suspect, it was a popular class – innovative, unconstrained by state mandates, student-focused, and made explicit connections between life and the course students were taking. Nevertheless, […]
Academics, Life Skills, and the Future of Education
Meredith Biesinger There’s often a misconception about preparation when students transition from high school to higher education. No matter their GPA, or the number of college prep courses taken, students are often unprepared for higher education and all it entails. Yet, these areas tend to trend in life skills, academic rigor, and retention. Four-year universities, […]
Academics, Life Skills, and the Future
Meredith Biesinger There’s often a misconception about preparation when students transition from high school to higher education. No matter their GPA, or the number of college prep courses taken, students are often unprepared for higher education and all it entails. Yet, these areas tend to trend in life skills, academic rigor, and retention. Four-year universities, […]
Looking Forward
Teresa Marchant My phone vibrated on the coffee table… The caller ID displayed “Superintendent”. The Governor had just held a press conference announcing the closure of schools in Montana. I grabbed my phone and took a deep breath… In some ways, this past year has been a blur, in other ways it has felt like […]
Planning for Next Year? We Are Too! | Post-Covid Classroom Concerns
Meredith Biesinger I don’t think anyone has ever said, “Come to Mississippi, we have everything!” Of the many positive things, I believe Mississippi has, strong internet access is not one of them. Being a Dyslexia Therapist and Director of Professional Development in a rural area in northern Mississippi, I am just ten miles from the […]
Education and Change: Are You Ready?
Craig Perrier As the history and social sciences curriculum specialist for a large school district, it is probably no surprise that I often apply knowledge of the past to inform my understanding of the present. One practice I adopted during the pandemic was to try to internalize the philosophy of Greek Stoics. Their wisdom has […]
Virtual Learning is Here to Stay…Make Sure You Are Too
By Craig Perrier The 20-21 school year has been like no other. Of all the disruptors that have impacted teaching and learning, at least one of them is here to stay – the shift to virtual learning. With each semester this shift impacts schools’ practices, systems, and purchasing so that leadership can better support their […]
Teacher Turnover and its Effects on Schools, Staff, Students
Teacher Turnover and its Effects on Schools, Staff, Students By. Teresa Marchant You can call it a teacher shortage or high turnover, either way, teacher turnover is a problem many school districts across the country are facing. This is especially true in Montana, where the wages are low and districts are struggling to fill vacancies. […]
Virtual Learning and Tomorrow’s Classroom
Meredith Biesinger Virtual learning is here to stay, in one way, or another…and most likely in a variety of ways, for a variety of reasons. The number one reason? Flexibility. Virtual learning and its ability to provide flexible options for students is most likely our future. The past year has been a model for how […]
Professional Learning Networks: Opportunities and Leadership that Matter
By Craig Perrier Ok, I admit it – I love networking. More specifically, I love developing professional networks, both mine and the people I am connected to. In fact, it is one of the most rewarding professional practices I get to facilitate. The value of a successful, productive introduction connecting people who didn’t know each […]
Safety and Success Within CyberSecurity
By. Meredith Biesinger The 2019-2020 school year ended abruptly for many school districts due to COVID-19. Many teachers and parents scrambled to conduct virtual classes in order to make the best of a difficult situation. We are now quickly approaching 2021, and for many students and educators, virtual learning is still their “new normal.” […]
From the Front Lines
By: Teresa Marchant As we inch our way toward Winter Break, I have never felt more like a tightrope walker learning how to juggle. This year has been a constant balancing act between managing digital and face to face instruction combined with finding resources that work in either setting. Now add the lack of substitutes […]
Be Relevant – Teach Current Events!
K-12 education has an ongoing challenge to remain relevant (current event teaching). As a public institution, shifting practice and policies is a slow process often resulting in technological and cultural lag. It does not feel good to admit that, but consider these two items: Exhibit A – technology devices and bandwidth in schools compared to the private sector Exhibit B – public school desegregation largely began in […]
Classroom Reflections on 2020, and Preparing for 2021
By: Meredith Biesinger As 2020 comes to a close, teachers everywhere are uncertain about what 2021 will bring. While many had hoped for a return to a traditional learning model, that does not appear to be on the horizon for many school districts, in many states, across the country. During one of the most unprecedented times […]
Finding Your Virtual Niche
By: Meredith Biesinger There is no such thing as a “one size, fits all” virtual learning resource. What students and teachers need is so varied, that it’s impossible for a single company to produce a product that suits everyone, all the time. However, it is very possible to produce and market a product that suits […]
Good, Bad, Ugly of Virtual Learning
By: Michael Niehoff Saying that virtual learning, or the entire impact of the pandemic on schools, has been overwhelming would be an understatement. That being said, there have been lots of positives, especially this fall after lots of real time learning last spring. These include, but are not limited to greater technology integration, collaboration, experimentation, […]
Digital Learning: My new favorite representative(s)
Digital Learning: My new favorite representative(s), and how he/she wooed me in the time of Corona. By: Craig Perrier Remember when you first started working with schools? Think back to those days. What parts of your professional self were elevated by the freshness of the job? How proactive were you with clients? What was your […]