We are all familiar with Newton's third law of motion which states "what goes up must come down." In other words, Earth’s gravitational pull will eventually bring whatever is thrown up in the air back to the ground. On a trail run this weekend I encountered a long downhill section. For long distance trail runners […]
Even as the pandemic continues many schools are beginning their transition from distance learning back to in-person instruction. As we make that switch it is important to analyze our students', and our LCAP subgroups in particular, experience during distance learning to determine who will need the most support moving forward. Regression, or learning loss, is […]
Over the past few weeks I have been trying to get an idea of how schools can gain a better understanding of the losses students are facing as a result of distance learning during the pandemic. The COVID slide is real and by the very fact that it will have been over a year since […]
I have been reading a lot lately about the idea of a COVID Slide during distance learning. Similar to the Summer Slide, it is predicted that many students will need significant intervention to help narrow learning gaps widened over the past year. Measuring Learning Loss Much of what I have read indicates that we don’t […]
I am 50 days into a 60-day writing challenge. Initially this was conceived by Daniel Bauer of Better Leaders Better Schools as a 30-day challenge. Then, on day 30, one of the members of our writing collective, Joe Clausi of The Traveling Principal, upped the ante to another 30 days. At the time it sounded […]
As indicated in this graph, the severity of learning loss due to the pandemic is real, with 97% of students impacted. There is no question that we are going to have to address these learning and achievement gaps as we transition back to the classroom. The way path forward is to get at what drives […]
“The way schools care about children is reflected in the way schools care about the children’s families. If educators view children simply as students, they are likely to see the family as separate from the school. That is, the family is expected to do its job and leave the education of children to the schools. […]
I have watched over the past year while my 1st grader learned to “go to school” through a screen. My children attend a public Waldorf school and there is little to no technology or screens in classrooms. The switch to distance learning for my daughters, 6 and 11, was big. At first, if I am […]
The more I read and talk with teachers and schools the more evident it is that educators have been pushed to their absolute limit during the pandemic. This time of year is always a mix of fatigue from the school and relief that the days are getting longer and the summer hiatus is around the […]
There is a lot of conversation around student learning losses due to the pandemic. But there seems to be less talk about the toll it has had on teachers. I was working with a school faculty last week and during our training session the principal shared that the district had decided that they would go […]
