Leigh Reagan Alley, Ed.D. is Coordinator of Teacher Education at the University of Maine at Augusta, where she designed and leads the first dedicated Master of Arts in Teaching Whole Child Education. She is an architect of the xSELeratED Schools Framework, serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Humane Education, and is the […]
School Improvement
Posted inSocial Justice
Understanding Ramadan: A Classroom Teacher’s Guide
This year at the end of February, approximately 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide will be observing the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, which begins the morning after sighting the last sliver of a crescent moon before a new moon and lasts for 30 days. The observance of […]
Posted inFeatured
The School Plague You Never Heard About Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Nadine Burke Harris begins her must-see TedTalk by referencing an “exposure that dramatically increased the risk for seven out of 10 of the leading causes of death in the United States.” That included 3x the risk for heart disease and lung cancer and a 20-year slash in life expectancy. The issue she is talking […]
Posted inPedagogy
Ready to Launch Incredible Interest-Based Mentorships at Your School? Here’s How
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! National Mentoring Month, which concluded last week, is always a great opportunity for educators to consider how to tap into the power of mentorship, and in particular interest-based mentoring, which I’ve seen transform the lives of so many young people. […]
Posted inPedagogy
“Let’s Make This Happen”: Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships
Nothing is more exciting than helping a child find their passion – but are the adults ready? Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In twenty years of helping children, families, and schools harness the power of interest-based mentoring, I’ve seen how it provides transformative educational experiences. Along the way, I’ve […]
Posted inOpinion
The Secret Lives of Young People
How Interest-Based Mentorships Can Transform Education Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Late in the spring of my first year teaching, we paused academic classes and bussed over to an auditorium for something called a “Mentorship Festival.” I had little idea what to expect. At […]
Posted inMental Health
Teachers Need Trauma-Informed Practices Too
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I have recently talked to students who have experienced more death in the last few months than anyone should experience in a lifetime. I have had more friends who have lost loved ones, including young children than I can […]
Posted inOpinion
Should We “Flatten” Education?
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! “The system of education is broken.” I hear this same statement over and over again, but I want to know what it will take to fix it. Thankfully, some have realized that we must get past blaming the elephant […]