Below are a few education stories I've bookmarked recently.

Building trust and rapport with each student individually is one of the first things to consider when building a culturally responsive classroom community. 

 In an ideal world, our classrooms are populated by children who are well-rested, well-fed and have everything they need to reach their full academic potential.

 ...

Transformation to student-centered learning environments required a shift in culture, curriculum and instruction. 

Below are a few education stories I've bookmarked recently.

September 8, 2017, is International Literacy Day, when governments, organizations, and communities around the world recognize and celebrate the magic of books and reading...

We know that as soon as school supplies hit the store shelves, summer is over. Although January 1 is the official start of the New Year, many educators consider Back to...

A commitment to reading and learning can and should reach every member of the school community—district and school leaders, teachers, students and the parents who support...

The images and news stories coming out of Houston and its surrounding areas are horrific. Massive flooding—the result of Hurricane Harvey—has affected hundreds of...

Many families were eager, not just for just the books, but also for workshops and materials around family literacy and the home-school connection. 

If you want to inculcate a love of reading, you have to provide a context for the goal, one which makes sense and is inspiring and relevant to your students.

Just as not all children come to school ready to learn, families may also be apprehensive, nervous, or skeptical at first.

A mid-year check-in on EDU's top stories from the last 12 months.

Disrupting Thinking is proving that it's not just students who are changed—the book is inspiring fervor among educators.

As school leaders approach improvement planning for the upcoming year, what strategies can be employed to address the pervasive barriers that many students face?

Can an effective approach to engaging families in the learning lives of their children improve outcomes, specifically those important literacy outcomes?  Absolutely.

Summer often lacks structure, and if there is no routine around reading, it may get overlooked for other activities.

By writing often and with purpose, students grow as thinkers and as human beings. 

Below is but a sampling of the conversations I picked up on #EWA17.

Teaching writing is like making a fire. You can add all the firewood you want, but unless you leave space for air the fire will sputter and go out. 

"People refer to education as the great equalizer. But the reality is that the great equalizer is inequitably distributed."

I focused on the concept of modeling: I thought that if students saw adults reading, they would be more inclined to do it themselves.

Our reporters recognize the power that their own words have. They are telling the stories of their generation.

To be honest, I was not sure what the building had to do with family engagement. 

The report explores the views of teachers and principals on the importance of reading, independent reading in school, the home-to-school connection, & summer reading...