This week begins course registration at my school. As second semester starts we turn our eyes towards next year. But as hard as it may be to get students to think about next year, when this year is only halfway over, we actually need to get them thinking about four or five years down the […]
Course Registration can be one of the most stressful and yet most exciting times of the school year. Students are beginning to think about their futures, not only next year but five years down the road. The choices our students make today really can have a lasting impact on their high school experience and the […]
May is one of the favorite months of the counselors in my building because we get to spend the first three weeks proctoring AP Exams. Let me tell you there is nothing more rewarding than sitting in a room and announcing, you have ten minutes remaining on section 1 (apply liberal amounts of sarcasm here). […]
Last week our school completed their first round of PARCC testing. We were a pilot school for the new Common Core based exams last year, but the first full run proved to be quite different from the small scale practice version our AP English students undertook a year ago. Perhaps the biggest challenge we faced […]
Congratulations my fellow educators we’ve almost made it through half of the 2014-15 school year. Months of lesson planning, grading, assessing and forming connections with our students, have come down to a few more days of final exams. Next week we’ll be home enjoying a much deserved break with our family and friends. But first […]
Today there are no students in my building or any school in my district. In their place hundreds of parents travel from class to class at the sound of the bells. This isn’t some form of freaky Friday or trading place, it is parent teacher conferences. Of course parent teacher conferences are a common occurrence, […]
mas·ter·y ˈmast(ə)rē/ :possession or display of great skill or technique The end of the 2013-14 school year and the start of the 2014-15 school year started off with discussions of the same difficult subject, mastery. The last institute day of school introduced the conversation to our building staff. What is mastery? What does it look […]
Students who are in high school today are barely old enough to remember the events of September 11th, 2001. Their knowledge comes from their parent’s account, teacher’s lessons, text readings and documentaries. And even some of these sources are removed from the events that occurred at ground zero. It was a day that forever shaped […]
Welcome back to the start of another year here at Today In School. This year I want to bring a different voice to the blog. Last semester and over the summer, we focused primarily on the big picture or educational hot topics. This year I’m sure we’ll keep up with current research, educational reform and […]
Today has been a great day of professional development at the ASCA conference. While there was no keynote speaker today, there were a plethora of breakout sessions to choose from. In fact there were several time blocks where I had to choose between some really strong presentations. Today’s sessions were both relevant to me as […]
