Linda Nathan

Nov 11, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Natasha Kumar Warikoo |Linda Nathan

Massachusetts legislators have the opportunity to work with leaders in education, teachers, parents, and students to come up with something better. Testing was supposed to ensure that schools worked hard to meet the educational needs of all their students — particularly their most vulnerable students. The state cannot let this worthy goal vanish. It has the opportunity to innovate and develop a system that drives deeper learning than the MCAS could.

Sep 30, 2024 | kappanonline.org | Linda Nathan |PDK Connection |Demetrius Fuller |Nate Meyers

Demetrius Fuller developed the HOMies to promote a strong work ethic, curiosity, and risk-taking among his students at the Sokolowski Elementary School in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The Sokolowski School is an urban elementary school serving grades 1 through 4. Of its more than 500 students, 70% speak English as a second language, 90% qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, and 85% identify as Latinx.

Feb 26, 2024 | kappanonline.org | Anthony S. Bryk |Sharon Greenberg |Kathleen Vail |Linda Nathan

I will be the first to admit that I have, at times, been resistant to change. It’s unsettling and sometimes scary, even when it’s absolutely necessary. Many people who, like me, resist change are not opposed to change itself but are frustrated by years of efforts that don’t work. Changes that are purposeless — “change for change’s sake” — just pile on more work without considering what those implementing the change actually need.

Feb 26, 2024 | kappanonline.org | Linda Nathan |Ayesha Hoda |Lydia Cochrane

If schools are to meet the real needs of today’s students, they need to be structured differently. “We are not giving students what they need,” Lydia, an educator in rural Vermont, and Ayesha, an educator in an urban public school district, said to Linda, their former graduate school teacher. After teaching for many years and navigating the trials of the pandemic, all three of us are frustrated.

Jan 29, 2024 | kappanonline.org | Phyllis Fagell |Nina F. Weisling |Wendy Gardiner |Linda Nathan

A university initiative that trains mentors to support new teachers seeks their ideas for promoting work-life balance for all teachers. Schools, districts, and states, as well as educators and policy makers, have long struggled to determine the best way to support early-career educators (National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, 2021). Approximately 33% of new teachers leave the profession in the first five years in the classroom (Raue, Gray, & O’Rear, 2015).