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On: 05/07/2012 - 10:04am
Have you found Class Meeting topics emerging in your class that don’t quite fit those found in the program? Perhaps you—like many teachers we know—are modifying the content of a problem-solving meeting to suit the needs of your class.
One teacher I know held a meeting about the problem of “Fake Friends” (...
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On: 04/24/2012 - 9:46am
How often are you having Check-in Meetings? Do you often wonder what topics you should raise in these short 5–10 minute meetings? Here are a few suggestions based on teachers I know.
At this point in the year with the Caring School Community® program, Problem-solving or Decision-making Meetings occur about once a week. They introduce a...
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On: 03/13/2012 - 12:51pm
It was like being the ultimate Common Core insider. One of the writers of the 2014–15 math assessments was briefing us on what the test is going to look like and how to prepare our students...starting NOW! The surprise was the connection to strategies in the Caring School Community Class Meetings (pdf).
Alan Schoenfeld from the...
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On: 02/22/2012 - 7:00am
Some of you may remember a question that I shared a few months ago regarding assessment from a teacher named Michelle in Port au Prince, Haiti. Michelle is working with one of our consultants to implement Making Meaning®, Being a Writer™ and Individualized Daily Reading (IDR) in grades K–3. In an email to Developmental Studies...
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On: 11/21/2011 - 11:47am
With the school year well underway, we invite you to take a moment to reflect and congratulate yourself on just how far you’ve come. Routines are established, and students have a good sense of both what to expect and what you expect of them.
But it’s also likely that you’re becoming increasingly aware of that thief called “...
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On: 10/28/2011 - 2:55pm
This semester I'm going "back to school" myself and taking part in a course that I guess you could categorize as personal growth. I'm learning so much about myself but I also find the themes in our readings, conversations, and homework completely relevant to the work I get to do at DSC.
In our last assignment we explored the...
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On: 10/27/2011 - 10:56am
Over the past two months I have logged many, many miles across the country to support the schools we work with. Whether I was doing lesson study with districts, supporting the Caring School Community® program, or speaking at a conference, I have noticed a specific kind of thinking creep into the conversation. Below are a couple of examples...
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On: 10/05/2011 - 6:18am
Bullying is back in the news. The Internet seems covered with reports of schools' challenges with bullying. My issue with all of this attention is that it paints a murky picture of the problem. We only hear about the extreme examples. Newspapers call our attention to it when a middle school student commits suicide or when an elementary school...
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On: 09/26/2011 - 9:45am
This time of the year is really the best time for educators. It is a time that reminds us of the unique opportunity we have to start anew. The beginning of school—which used to be in early September but has increasingly moved to August—for many districts was a time for a little adrenaline rush as we faced the possibilities and perils...
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On: 08/31/2011 - 6:00am
In response to requests from many teachers and principals implementing the Caring School Community® program around the country, we have created a series of additional Professional Development sessions that you can implement in your schools. These short sessions—20–30 minutes each—can be done in grade-level meetings, PLCs, or...
