Chronic absenteeism, referring to a student who is missing more than 10% of the school year, is of rising concern for schools and districts nationwide. Rates have doubled since the pandemic; from pre-pandemic levels of 13% to 26% for the 2022-23 school year. When students aren’t in school, they can’t [...]
Guest post. Relationships in Education All too often, our schools are focused on metrics of academic performance and based on standardized test scores. Because of this, the significance of interpersonal relationships in shaping a student's academic and personal trajectory often doesn't receive the attention it deserves. The advisory model [...]
Back to school. Those three words are exciting for many students. But for other students, those words bring up feelings of discomfort and anxiety. You may remember what it was like a few days before the new school year started. New supplies of book bags, pens, pencils, and paper. [...]
You might be reading this blog post because you’re a student or parent who noticed a new class on the schedule that you know nothing about. Maybe you’re a teacher whose school is rolling out a new advisory program and you’re doing some research. You might, also, be an administrator [...]
I made a few promises to myself when I became an administrator: find opportunities to teach regularly, really listen to teachers to involve them heavily in the decision making process, and remember that education is a relationship business at its core. I had seen too many good teachers go into [...]
“An intervention period? There’s no time for that.” “Flexible time in our bell schedule sounds great…but I don’t know where to start.” There’s no denying it: school schedules are busy. Between classes, passing periods, lunches, activities, pep rallies, and drills…every minute at school is precious. Given this, administrators, teachers, [...]
High school can be a very stressful time for students. You are often juggling a lot of different responsibilities between school, work, and family life. For any student, a lack of ability to focus in the learning environment can have a major impact on your performance. If you're struggling [...]
Many high schools have an advisory period, but are there high school advisory program models that can help your school make advisory more effective? Below we'll examine what advisory is, what it can be used for, how you can structure it within your high school schedule, and what will [...]
Is your school thinking of adding a flex period to its schedule, but struggling to get buy-in? And how do you find time in the school day for a flexible period when your schedule is already packed? When schools are looking to make changes to their schedule, these are often [...]
How can teachers meet the needs of all students? It may seem like a daunting task.Teachers really want to help students. But, kids all have unique interests as well as socio-emotional and academic needs. In this post we'll look at how a school that functions as a real PLC, [...]