A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 24, 2022

ConnectEDD Publishing was the perfect partner for this project as Jimmy Casas and Jeff Zoul have immense experience in the realm of school culture. I regularly create supplemental material through this blog that weaves together additional research connections, practical examples, and deeper insight.

Leadership 527

Leadership Cultures Research Education 527

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 29, 2021

Now I didn’t refer to them as these in the book, but the purpose of my blogging is to share my reflections and expand on ideas. In Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms , I identified six dimensions of disruptive thinking.

Project-Based Learning 545

Project-Based Learning Cultures Pedagogy Education 545

Society for Classical Studies

AUGUST 27, 2024

Blog: Culture-Heroism in Vergil’s Eclogue 5 and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian Xander Tyska Tue, 08/27/2024 - 14:17

Cultures 111

Cultures 111

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 15, 2021

To do so, the right mindset and strategies are needed to create classroom cultures where learners are empowered to replace conventional ideas with innovative solutions to authentic solutions. I have been blogging since the book was published to align updated content, ideas, and strategies to each chapter to deliver on this goal.

Cultures 545

Cultures Research Education 545

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 8, 2020

The Book Professor blog provides the following perspective: How often have you heard the saying, “Experience is the best teacher.” I struggled to earn a good grade in both classes, but because of the classroom culture he created, I worked hard. I vividly remember the food and atmosphere, but not the score of each game.

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K-12 Government Cultures High School 531

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 24, 2014

Administrators and teachers alike will work to establish a shared vision and subsequent plan of action for meaningful change that will hopefully lead to cultural transformation. Administrators will conduct countless observations and walk-throughs while spearheading larger change initiatives to improve achievement and school culture.

Artifacts 391

Artifacts Cultures Tradition High School 391

Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

September 8th is International Literacy Day, a great time to think about promoting a class culture that values reading. Below are strategies and resources I’ve used to cultivate a reading culture in my classroom. Cultivating a culture of reading doesn’t happen overnight. Guest post written by Amy Tobener-Talley.

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Cultures Controversial Topics Library Tradition 199

A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 27, 2015

With advanced digital tools under their belts, students grow to develop their own learning tasks—such as pod­casting, blogging, or digitally storytelling—that stretch their creativity, originality, design, or adaptation. Pedagogy first, technology second when appropriate.

Artifacts 477

Artifacts Pedagogy Leadership Cultures 477

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 26, 2018

It was this shift that got me thinking about how tools could be used to amplify the fantastic work of my teachers, administrators, and students to showcase efficacy in improving school culture. It all comes down to this. If you don’t tell your story, then someone else will. How good is your current strategy at taking advantage of this?

Artifacts 397

Artifacts Leadership Cultures Community Engagement 397

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

I have written extensively over the past couple of years about our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative at New Milford High School at the Huffington Post and on my own blog. It has been interesting to look back at all my blog posts to see how far we have come with BYOD at NMHS. Take a look at the traffic at each access point below.

High School 355

High School Professional Development Cultures Education Policy 355

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 9, 2014

Each and every one of them has played a huge role in transforming the learning culture at NMHS. For it is they who made the choice to go down the road less traveled five years ago when we began transforming our learning culture. The community welcomed me with open arms and I inherited a staff eager to grow and learn.

Leadership 419

Leadership K-12 High School Cultures 419

Passion for Social Studies

DECEMBER 15, 2024

In this project, students will create a magazine cover or documentary project that illustrates the culture, politics, art, music, and lifestyle of the 1920s. By joining the email list, you will receive freebies for blog exclusive subscribers! There are projects ready for essential US History topics, such as the 1920s.

History 130

History Primary Sources Critical Thinking Social Studies 130

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 26, 2015

The idea then popped into my head that I should archive all of these in a blog post. An idea is wasted if it is not acted upon leading to change in culture and/or practice. As I looked through my updates I noticed that I had posted quite a few quotes, ideas, thoughts, and opinions on leading change. It is time to do what you do better.

Leadership 401

Leadership EdTech Archiving Cultures 401

A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 19, 2021

For SEL to be more than a buzzword or fad, it needs to be embedded into school culture. HERE are some great ideas from the HMH Shaped blog. Efforts need to be made, and an array of supports offered to ensure the well-being of staff, especially those on the front lines who are in direct contact with students daily.

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Pedagogy Lesson Plan Classroom Management Cultures 495

A Principal's Reflections

MAY 10, 2015

An added bonus is that there are so many free tools such as Twitter, Google+, blogs, Facebook, and Remind that are free for all to use. As our learning culture began to change it was critical that I was able to articulate these changes to my stakeholders. Leaders have the power to shape the culture of schools.

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Leadership Tradition Cultures Education 334

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 1, 2012

Image by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano- www.langwitches.org/blog based on image (CC) by Alec Couros- /educationaltechnology.ca/couros/79 Your PLN will provide you with the seeds of change, but is up to you to plant, take care of, and cultivate them in order to witness their growth and development into transformative culture elements.

Professional Development 343

Professional Development Educational Technology Cultures Teaching 343

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 17, 2010

Sustainable change relies on understanding people, culture, and processes. MS Office), simultaneously collaborate on and edit various document formats, access your documents from anywhere in the word, and embed links to your docs in emails, websites, blogs, etc. Blog: Type of website with regular commentary, reflections, and opinions.

Education 345

Education Educational Technology EdTech Professional Development 345

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 17, 2022

Decisions must always be made, and sometimes delegation and consensus—both powerful elements in building a positive culture—are not suitable courses of action. The simple fact, though, is that the process is rarely easy. There are so many unique variables that just cannot be taught.

Leadership 429

Leadership Cultures Education 429

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 10, 2014

He centered his changes around a culture. This culture can be seen as soon as you set foot on campus. I could list an incredible amount of things I saw that day (BYOD for instance) but if you are reading this blog than you probably already know what NMHS is up to. It’s intangible yet completely surrounds you.

High School 266

High School Cultures Social Studies Education Policy 266

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 8, 2018

In a previous blog post, I wrote about the importance of focusing on the why as it relates to learning. Sara Briggs sums it up nicely: "Research shows that relevant learning means effective learning and that alone should be enough to get us rethinking our lesson plans (and school culture for that matter).

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Pedagogy Lesson Plan Cultures Teaching 388

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 10, 2013

The only thing though is that this day was just like any other typical day at my school as digital learning has become an embedded component of our school''s culture. Millan’s Sociology students learned how to use and create their own blog using Blogger from their Gmail accounts.

Sociology 270

Sociology Heritage Cultures History 270

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Image credit: [link] The fact is they can, but culturally, we may be dissuading them from doing so. This drop-off of interest in STEM subjects among young female students is typically attributed to how our culture views women who demonstrate an interest or ability in the STEM fields. Underlying the lagging performance of U.S.

Economics 301

Economics Cultures Public School Research 301

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

It made me feel very awkward, as my success has only come to fruition as a result of their willingness to embrace change and transform our school culture. In the past I have blogged about how amazing Sarah Almeda is, but what she did touched my heart like nothing before. I do not say this lightly. Her video is below.

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Education Leadership High School Cultures 367

A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 30, 2018

There are many reasons I continue to blog regularly, but the biggest is trying to add a practical lens to many of the ideas we either see or hear about on social media. Image credit In my opinion, you don’t have to be a great writer to blog. With and without technology, it is crucial to create a thinking culture.

Pedagogy 290

Pedagogy Cultures Research Education 290

Passion for Social Studies

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Students will love studying popular culture while immersing themselves in some pretty rad times! Political Culture Politics and culture came together during the 80s. Political Culture Politics and culture came together during the 80s. From political aspects to pop culture, there was always something going on.

Cultures 130

Cultures Social Studies Economics Tradition 130

Digital Promise

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

Culturally responsive education is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Developing their own cultural awareness , discussing race , and selecting culturally responsive texts are three strategies, supported by research, that help educators to sustain inclusive learning environments. Developing cultural awareness and discussing race.

Cultures 149

Cultures Education Professional Development Library 149

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

A great deal has changed since I began writing this blog back in 2009. The premise of the image aligns with work that I help facilitate in that there has to be a focus on sound pedagogy while creating a culture that truly prepares learners with the qualities they need now and well into the future.

Pedagogy 412

Pedagogy Middle School Leadership Cultures 412

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 19, 2014

It is uncommon to leave PD sessions with applicable ideas and strategies that we can implement immediately to positively change school culture. I experienced firsthand the value of these learning activities, as sustainable change and cultural transformation took hold at my school.

Leadership 356

Leadership Professional Development Tradition Cultures 356

Digital Promise

AUGUST 11, 2021

Establishing a strong culture of coaching, however, requires structures to be in place in a school or district such as designated time for coaching, and ongoing professional development for coaches and administrators. Note that Spanish-language versions of the micro-credentials listed in this blog were earned by pilot participants.

Cultures 126

Cultures Professional Development Leadership Tradition 126

Edthena

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Improving school culture is high on many school leaders’ lists of building priorities. But cultivating a strong school culture doesn’t happen without intentional thought and planning. Why is this key to improving school culture ? Check out the highlights of what we’ve been reading below, as well as links to the full resources.

Cultures 105

Cultures Psychology Professional Development Classroom Management 105

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Focus on elements that align to a thriving school culture such as innovative learning, student achievement, staff accomplishments, college/career readiness, partnerships, unique traditions, and extra-curricular activities. The result can be greater levels of motivation and appreciation, which helps to develop a positive school culture.

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Tradition Cultures Education Leadership 317

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 11, 2019

I remember like it was yesterday when I began blogging back in 2009. The result has been the creation of a vlog (video blog) in the form of a YouTube Channel, which you can access HERE. Trust when I say that it’s a struggle these days to either come up with new ideas or to add a unique angle to what has already been written.

Archiving 317

Archiving Humanities Cultures Education 317

A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 4, 2013

It is also cross-posted at her blog Worlds of Learning. Our Makerspace is about creating a genuine and committed culture of innovation at New Milford High School, encouraging tinkering, play and open-ended exploration for all students. The following post was written by Laura Fleming who is the Media Specialist at my school.

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Artifacts High School Cultures Teaching 325

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Additionally, I have been able to network with other amazing educators from all over the world and actively share how we are transforming the culture at New Milford High School. For a brief summary check out the synopsis by Nick Provezano at The Nerdy Teacher blog.

Cultures 307

Cultures High School Teaching Education 307

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 29, 2013

More time and emphasis was placed on managerial tasks rather than those that could transform the culture of the school. As many readers of my blog know, the big changes in my career came when I discovered the value of social media as a leader and learner. Image credit: [link] I led in a way that I thought was best.

Professional Development 296

Professional Development Cultures Tradition Education 296

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Hirsch, a professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia, argues that democracy benefits when the citizenry shares a body of knowledge and history, which he calls cultural literacy. Now its a cognitive science argument that a core curriculum is also good for our brains and facilitates learning.

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Teaching Charter School Social Studies Geography 137

A Principal's Reflections

MAY 18, 2011

Students making a difference and having a say in the culture of our school are two of the many defining characteristics that make NMHS a special place. Please share your thoughts on this initiative and the concept of students driving changes to school culture as both Disha and Jessica will be reading the comments.

High School 266

High School Cultures History Education 266