-
3 weeks ago | 
edweek.org | Sam Mallon |Jaclyn Borowski
School gardens offer an opportunity for learning that extends far beyond the soil and plants. Through these spaces, students absorb pivotal lessons on everything from math to English/language arts, while learning problem solving skills and building empathy for each other and the world around them. By moving, touching, smelling, and tasting, they’re actively engaged in the lessons and passionate about the topic at hand.
-
3 weeks ago | 
edweek.org | Jennifer Vilcarino |Jaclyn Borowski
The Trump administration has expressed concern that social-emotional learning is being used to mask discrimination in schools. While it once enjoyed bipartisan support from the government and was widely accepted by education professionals, SEL faced growing scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics claimed that SEL brought “divisive” subjects into classrooms and advocated for its removal. More recently, SEL has been associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools.
-
1 month ago | 
flipboard.com | Jaclyn Borowski
NowMeghan Markle celebrated the end of winter by taking her children Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3, strawberry picking. The Duchess of Sussex shared a candid snap of the family outing on Instagram this afternoon, writing, “Cheers to the first day of spring!” Meghan hid her kids’ faces, but Lili is likely …
-
1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Jaclyn Borowski
Tinaya York, a literacy consultant and founder of Literacy for Life, has worked with students of all ages in a number of different roles in education, including teacher, principal, and reading specialist. Through that work, she’s seen kids of all ages struggling to read.
-
1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Jaclyn Borowski
Colleen Metzler has an active group of students. Her fourth graders, the largest class in her Vermont school, are constantly bursting with energy. While Metzler incorporates movement breaks throughout the day, she’s also found flexible seating to be a valuable outlet for their energy.
-
1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Jaclyn Borowski
For many schools, early release days present a challenge. The half days where schedules are disrupted so students leave early—while teachers stay on campus for professional development or other activities—can be hard to manage. But one Vermont school has found a solution. The team at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., discovered a program called Project Wild at a conference, and it has completely changed their approach and mindset around early release days.
-
1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Olina Banerji |Jaclyn Borowski
On a slow December Friday, at Education Week’s invitation, Principal Jesus Sandoval got together with two of his teachers for a down-to-brass-tacks talk about morale. Two years into his gig at the high school in Burnsville, Minn., Sandoval ventured that it’s been up and down, but there is no consistent dipstick he uses. Even being asked: “What do you think about the levels of teacher morale in your school right now?” was new.
-
1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Jaclyn Borowski |Sam Mallon
Social-emotional learning is at the core of Carrie White’s 2nd grade classroom in Schenectady, N.Y.The veteran teacher has been in the classroom for nearly 20 years. Reflecting on that journey, she discusses not only how much the teaching profession has changed in that time, but how much the kids have changed, too. No longer is focusing on the academics enough, she says, as kids come into her classroom with “big emotions” that they need to learn how to handle.
-
2 months ago | 
edweek.org | Kaylee Domzalski |Jaclyn Borowski
Paris Kent, the dance director at Bellaire High School in Houston, has sent her students into physics classes to help students learn about the rotation of an axis through the movement of their bodies, demonstrating how a person’s size impacts the speed of the rotation. It’s just one way Kent works to incorporate dance across the curriculum.
-
2 months ago | 
edweek.org | Kaylee Domzalski |Jaclyn Borowski
For Mark Daniels, the theatre teacher at Weber High School in Pleasant View, Utah, some movement happens organically in his classes. But Daniels also teaches the school’s cinema class where, he says, students hope to sit and watch a movie. However, Daniels structures his classes so that students never sit for more than 20 minutes. Through games and different activities, he gets kids moving, and uses those same movement activities to build connections and create a positive classroom culture.
