It’s been a while since I have written on the blog.  I’ve been extremely busy putting together our newly approved charter school. www.elitescholarsacademy.com I couldn’t have imagined the additional work behind the scenes that would be required to get the school opened and running for the first day.  The typical things like hiring staff, raising money, developing mission and vision statements, logistical and facility planning are expected in the opening of any new school.  I think some of the areas that caught me off guard was the level of red-tape and bureaucracy that is...

As many of you all know, I get very excited about education.  The field of public education is unique as it is one of very few professional fields that require  and expect visible and tangible transformation; both with children and adults.  Education is a transformational process, field and career. As I consider this, I realize that there is true magic in transformation, especially in regards to public education.  Students, teachers, Superintendents, Boards and parents alike are transformed, whether they realize it or not by simply showing up.  The education system is designed in such a fashion...

Kioni Carter, Coaching the Urban Educator 5 Ways to Activate Your Natural Teacher Kioni uncovers five powerful ways to bring out your best teacher by becoming a great coach! Get your 7-Day Audio Mini Course here! Send your questions to submissions@myclassroomrules.com and check back next month to see if I answer it here or on our video blog at www.myclassroomrules.com. 5 Ways to Activate Your Natural Teacher Coach  In case you haven’t figured out by now, I am an educator, but my primary role is that of a coach.  In my opinion, coaching is one of the most important of the helping professions. ...

Deliberately Design Your Professional Presence - Accessorize & Professionalize Your Look   Accessories are a fabulous way that you can show your style and your professionalism. Attending to accessories gives others the sense that you will attend to their details, as well. If you can’t remember your jewelry and you didn’t find the belt that goes with your pants and if you didn’t polish your shoes and you didn’t iron the shirt that looks like it was at the bottom of a damp laundry basket for a week…(well, you get the picture)   .Then I will wonder if you will...

Build a Word-Rich Environment for Your Students Label Everything in Your Classroom In the vocabulary workshops I've done, I will often suggest that teachers label everything in their classrooms as one of the many ways to create a word-rich environment for their students. The kindergarten teachers, of course, knew all about labeling (chair, table, door, etc.) because this is common practice. The teachers in the other grades (right on through high school) couldn't imagine how they would use labeling. Well.here are some new ways of thinking (all of which you can modify depending on the age and sophistication...

Hey Friends.   Here’s Meggin at it again.  She is awesome.  You will like this one if you have imagination and the willingness to dream…   Graysen     Dream.Then Make It Happen   I like to dream, but I like to make things happen.” –Heidi Klum   Dreaming is definitely the first part….but then you have to kick it into gear or the dream stays only that…a dream rather than a reality. This article will include 10 ideas for how to take your dreams and then make them happen.  You need to do them in order (before reading ahead.this is a place to test your self-discipline). ...

High Performing Schools–Three Point Strategy for Success   I have recently focused a lot of my thinking on answering two primary questions.  First, what makes a high performing school system?  And, second, are the practices of high performing schools transferable to any school anywhere?    I recognize that a number of considerations go into analyzing these questions.  But, since I am a rather pragmatic individual, I stuck to the basics when I researched the topic.  After all, far smarter folks have already studied this issue, and in far more depth; wisely, I have used their findings to...

School Districts Downsizing – Ten Tips for Teachers   This week our district announced that it may cut up to 200 teaching positions.  Of course, many of the positions may be specific to teachers who have not been effective in the classroom or lack certification.  Despite this fact, 200 teaching positions are significant, but we are not the only district in the country faced with this challenge.  Almost every school system in the country is faced with some form of budget cuts.  It is a reality that Public Schools are facing financial challenges at this time.  This is sure indication that...

Teachers – 7 Strategies to Handle Criticism The field of education continues to evolve into a plethora of complex tasks and ever growing responsibilities.   As a result, we will all experience an increase in criticism.  Data is what everyone is looking at, and this creates an open door policy for our supervisors and higher ups to evaluate our practices and overall performance.  I realize that the process can seem intrusive, and can appear as micro-management (in some cases this is the case), however, there is a positive twist to handling this new era of accountability—Growth.  The bottom...

This is a great article by a friend of mine, Billy Simms.  He has a background in dealing with student bullying.  As many of you know this has become a significant issue in many of our schools.  In this article Billy defines bullying in detail to help us all recognize its various forms.  Hope you like it.  Give Billy a shout out at his website, he will appreciate it.  What Is Bullying? There are many definitions of bullying.  Bullying at school occurs when a student or group of students verbally, physically, or emotionally harass another student or group of students.  Most experts agree...