Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Is it just me, or does the support offered from school administrators seem to be anything but actual support? We get the “hang in there” cat memes in our emails. We get the principal’s winking bitmoji giving us a […]
administration
Posted inAsk a Teacher
The Formal Observation: When Teachers and Administrators Dance
Every school year, teachers across the country play a sort of game. It is mostly an activity we play alone, like solitaire. We plan lessons in units to cover roughly 180 instructional days, with the intent that learning occurs. Most tenured teachers get one to two chances to demonstrate how we play this game and […]
Posted inTeacher Burnout
Dear Administrators: Let’s Not Make Meetings Suck
It’s 3:30 pm and all of the students have finally cleared campus. You start to gather your belongings to do some grading when the dreaded voice on the intercom comes on. “Faculty and staff our faculty meeting will start promptly at 3:45 pm. Please do not be late as we expect to go until 5:00 […]
Posted inSeries
Stories of a New Administrator
A little over a year ago I took over as the Director of the small, private school I taught at for six years and attended as a small child. Need it be said that I was thrilled? My staff taught by my side for several years and brainstormed with me for nearly a year. I […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School
Hosting an LGBQTA Prom
Last month the rural Vermont high school in which I teach at hosted a well attended LGBTQA prom as a culminating festivity for the 9th Annual Queer Allied Youth Summit. It was a first of its kind for our county, our community and our school; its success lay in the hands of a few teachers, […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education, Principals' Corner, Series
10 Ways to Fix Education: Stop the Revolving Door of Administrators, Teachers, and Students
By: Lori Rice & Jake Miller In our previous installments of 10 Ways to Fix Education, we focused on providing teachers more teaching time. For quality work to occur quality planning and reflection are an important part of the process. Today we’re here to talk for the need to stop the revolving door. Just like […]
Posted inCharter Schools
Administrative Frankensteins (Charter School Diaries)
Year 2 Week 1 (9/9 – 9/13) [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] So I took the plunge this year and decided to jump into school administration. I still teach and I am a department head, but […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum
The Argument for Summer Vacation
A couple of mornings ago, I happened to be listening to the radio while a popular education pundit was being interviewed. After listening to him tout his own personal accolades and his ideas for educational reform, he said something that struck me. He claimed that at his school, he did things that were beneficial for the students, instead of the teachers in the building. He continued to brag that at his school, students attend during the summer and during the year they not only have extended day (every day of the week), but students come to school almost every Saturday for more content enrichment. As I listened I thought, “How can a […]