Blog Posts
I work as a Transformational Leadership Coach in the Oakland Public Schools. I coach individuals, schools, and the educational system towards transformation. But what is transformation? Is it possible to coach to something I can't define? I know that what we have now is not working for the...
Read More.Traditionally, instructional coaches have played a rather narrow role in schools, usually working primarily one-on-one with another teacher. This work is important and coaches can be instrumental in developing the skills of teachers. But, if the conditions are right, coaches can work in several...
Read More.Think about a time when you were really engaged in something, the kind of engagement where you lose track of time and experience feelings of joy and satisfaction. You may have felt acutely focused, physically, mentally, and emotionally absorbed in a task. I've felt this most often while writing...
Read More.Teachers and administrators all over are trying to figure out how to support English Learners (ELs). One of the schools that I work with, United for Success Academy (UFSA), in Oakland, CA, has launched a concerted effort in the last year to address the needs of their ELs who comprise some 90...
Read More.I'm tired. There's too much going on outside of work, too much work inside of work. February is a much longer month this year. And there's another six weeks before spring break (mine is not a school district that has a February break). I'm reaching the tired that obliterates memory of...
Read More.This one's for you, Alexandra.
I'm feeling compelled to add to the case for art in schools and make another plea that as budgets are slashed this spring, funding for the arts in schools is preserved.
Read More."My mom is a hero," Alfredo said, cutting me off one sentence into a picture book about Martin Luther King, Jr. His chubby second-grade body perpetually squirmed on the rug where my 32 students were seated. "She brought us here from El Salvador by herself. Me, my two sisters, and our baby...
Read More.Setting goals, resolutions, or intentions might be on our minds this week. We've probably experienced that "resolutions" don't work -- we don't keep them for more than a week and they just end up making us feel bad about ourselves. So what does work?
Read More.The responses to my post last week raised some interesting questions. I described how I offered my middle school students the letter-writing genre as a way to express their feelings. Many wrote to loved...
Read More.It was Monday of the last week before winter break. I arrived at school early, surprised to find Jenny, a shy sixth grader, sitting on the steps outside our room. "Are you looking forward to the break?" I asked as we walked in.
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