Usually, administrators visit classrooms to observe educators. In the best version, we’re able to see what the teacher is doing that’s really working. And while I am a big proponent of teacher coaching, this past year, our team has focused our lens on the experiences of students in our building through intentional, student shadowing.  The […]

Three Ways Principals Can Lead for Math Equity As adults, we often carry distinct memories of how we experienced math as students. If we experienced K-12 math in the United States, chances are, we subscribe to one of these common binary beliefs: Either “I’m a math person” or “I’m not a math person.” I know […]

We’ve been looking at the so-called “achievement gap” for decades and too often misreading it as a sign that some students innately do better, perform better or are just somehow better than others. Depending on your environment, that’s not something you might say out loud or take seriously as an idea. But it could still […]

For 19 years, I worked in the same school district. I started as a teacher, then various Instructional and Climate Support positions, and then transitioned to the role of Assistant Principal. Then last year, I started a new role as Principal in a new building and a new district. It was important to me to […]

One day during a staff meeting, our team was discussing school culture and strategies to focus on student strengths and family wisdom. A teacher spoke about the importance of centering student voice in all of our communications – and that inspired us to create a “student voice feature” for our school newsletter, highlighting one student […]

As a math coach and education administrator at the county level, I collaborate with leaders and teachers to support mathematics instruction across 23 districts. Every school has its own unique culture, students and staff, and when the collaboration with a school leader begins, I build their instructional leadership priorities into our plans (such as supporting […]

As a math curriculum specialist working with teachers and school leaders, I find that principals are sometimes a bit apprehensive when it comes to math. Feeling hesitant in a subject that you are not comfortable with is natural. It is what we do with that uneasiness that makes all the difference. School leaders like you […]

I grew up not understanding mathematics. I didn’t know why at the time; I just didn’t connect with it. When I became an adult, I joined the military and began to retake classes as I worked toward my associate’s degree. I was astounded to find that I liked math. Something that hadn’t made sense to […]

This was my first year of teaching, and even though it was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience, it was a lot of fun. I’m excited to come back, largely because of the support I found in my administrators. As a non-binary person looking for my first teaching position, it was important to me to find a school […]