School nurses have always played a critical role in schools, but their work became more important once the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020. The end of the 2019-2020 school year ended with students learning from home. Then, many schools reopened at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, reminding us all of the impact of…
If you work in special education, then you have likely worked on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). IEPs are plans developed to ensure that students with identified disabilities receive the instruction and accommodations they need to become successful. These are essentially legally binding documents, and they contain confidential information. IEPs are not top-secret but they…
I was a childless educator when I entered the profession. Although I did not have children, I believed I was a strong advocate for ensuring children have the proper education and the supports they needed to finish school, become productive citizens, and add value to our society. Once I became a mother, my advocacy accelerated…
It is around this time every year that I can expect to receive a host of goodies and knick-knacks from people. My school brings lunch or breakfast. Students sometimes give me nice cards. One year, some wealthy benefactor actually donated tickets to an NBA game. That is certainly a nice gesture, and I did enjoy…
It can be easy to get stuck on all the negative aspects of the coronavirus pandemic. There were also some positive developments for some students. Teachers were forced to find new ways or enhance old methods of providing instruction. Some of those students received that instruction remotely, and they thrived. Since the COVID-19 vaccination is…
Earlier this week, I shared that my husband and I had opted our fourth grade twin sons out of ILEARN. Part of the reason I shared my story was so many parents had reached out to me to find out if they could actually opt their children out of testing. Some of the parents, when…
Tuesday, May 4 is Teacher Appreciation Day. One day is not enough to show love toward educators especially when they have had to sacrifice more time and energy to teach during a pandemic. Last year, during the pandemic, teachers did not have to administer standardized tests. This year, on top of doing their jobs, they…
There is a meme going around, well not a meme, a genre of a meme. They typically feature kids from visibly different ethnic backgrounds getting along swell. Usually, the kids are in some type of physical embrace: hugging, holding hands, or something of that nature. This picture is usually labeled with a caption like “Kids…
I’m wrapping up year 15 as an educator this school year. Before I moved into the role of a middle school academic dean, I taught English for almost a decade. I had taught a tested content. Although testing time can be stressful, I knew that standardized tests captured a snapshot in time. The data is…
Most school districts are moving into their standardized testing period. After that, the school year will begin to wind down. Most schools are planning to return to a semi-normal state of existence next year. Much of our discourse around coronavirus has centered on how we could get back to normal and options we are ready…