The turn of the new calendar year brings a chance for a fresh start. Do you remember the great ideas you had in August? Seems like a long time ago, but now you have a chance to continue your work. As a principal, your students should be your top priority. That is where your focus…
Have you ever wanted to do something that mattered? Have you ever wanted to make a difference truly? Have you ever thought that you could do something that takes everything out of you, but you want to continue to do it? If these are questions that you have asked yourself, then you should teach. Teachers…
It took thirty seconds of watching the video of Buena Regional High School Wrestler Andrew Johnson getting his hair cut before his wrestling match for me to have my entire perspective changed. Like most people who watched the video, I had various emotions. The first was confusion as to why he was getting his hair…
It has been about twenty-five years since I created a Christmas wish list I would send to Santa Clause the day after Thanksgiving. I wrote all the items I wanted to receive for Christmas. I remember how excited I was to make my wish list, put it in an envelope, and send to his address…
I have a scholar, who by many accounts, is a handful. We have a structured school where we create systems for every component of our school day. There is a particular way that our scholars walk down the hallway, enter the class, and exit the class. There is a specific way they sit at their…
We talk so much about the importance of students attending school daily. We harp on the fact that when children attend school on a regular basis, they can be successful. The likelihood of students having high academic achievement is tied to their overall daily school attendance. It is true there is plenty of research out…
“The decisions we make today about education are going to affect these children’s children.” ~Roland Martin School choice – the two words that spark heated discussions and often arguments all around the country. They are the two words that everyone seems to have an opinion. Usually, there is no middle ground — you are either…
It is December 14. This day used to be remembered as the day a man walked on the moon in 1972. Also on this day in 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the South Pole. Now, December 14th is known as the day of the most vicious and heinous crime in the…
Dear Dr. Ferebee, I write this not as a former employee, but as an educator who has been following you since you arrived in Indianapolis in 2013. I followed you because I saw a black man leading a major school district in the city that I grew up in and attended school. I grew up…
Stacy Matthews is a second-grade teacher. She has been teaching now for fifteen years. The day to day of being a teacher is something that is also part of her home life. She is a mother of three school-age children. She gets for school at least 20 minutes before her children wake up. She returns…