Educators at Day Creek Intermediate School realize that middle school is a unique moment in students’ academic, social and emotional lives. As Principal David Apodaca notes, “you have to respect the fact that this is a huge transition time in their lives … And if we don’t recognize that and respect that, then academic success… Continue Reading Building Character and Knowledge in Middle School
While science fairs may be a familiar sight at many schools, The Charter School of Wilmington’s Junior Research Project makes student research central to their high school experience. The whole school gets involved, providing a rigorous research course to students as sophomores, mentoring them throughout their junior year, and teaching additional workshops to help students… Continue Reading Students Making Science
Ladera Del Norte Elementary School Farmington, New Mexico Overcoming Challenges to Close the Achievement Gap. Like many schools, educators at Ladera Del Norte Elementary school were committed to supporting the success of all students, but they needed to strategically overcome a number of challenges in their mission to close achievement gaps. In this audio profile,… Continue Reading Audio: Overcoming Challenges to Close the Achievement Gap
Lakewood Elementary School Overland Park, KS Activating Student Engagement Through Brain-based Learning. Educators at Lakewood Elementary School take pride in creating schoolwide, interdisciplinary curriculum that students find exciting and memorable. They ground their strategies in a brain-based approach, meaning that lessons are designed to activate students’ brains, and that educators help children understand how learning… Continue Reading Audio: Activating Student Engagement Through Brain-Based Learning
Barret Traditional Middle School Louisville, KY Advancing Racial Equity Through Culturally Responsive Teaching. Like many schools across the nation, school leaders at Barret Traditional Middle School realized that they faced academic achievement gaps among students by race. With support from their district, and through the work of committed educators willing to address this difficult topic,… Continue Reading Audio: Advancing Racial Equity Through Culturally Responsive Teaching
Maxwell Air Force Base Elementary/Middle School Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama Supporting Highly Mobile Students at a Department of Defense School. Meeting the academic, social and emotional needs of highly mobile students is a challenge faced by many schools and districts. Teachers and school leaders at Maxwell Air Force Base Elementary/Middle School in Alabama are… Continue Reading Audio: Supporting Highly Mobile Students at a Department of Defense School
Challenge Center School, (Sioux Falls, SD). The Challenge Center offers an accelerated, enriched curriculum to high ability students in grades two through five. In English language arts, the school focuses on three writing genres: personal/fictional narratives, opinion, and informative. Each day, students have multiple opportunities to write. For example, students share their rough drafts, poems,… Continue Reading Developing Great Writers!
Murray Elementary School, (Murray, KY). Murray Elementary School’s teachers, staff, and administrators believe the key to student success is building relationships with families. For incoming kindergarten families, Murray Elementary starts the relationship building with children and families in November the year before children enter kindergarten. Murray sponsors a Future Tiger Night, where families come to… Continue Reading Transitioning Children and Families into Kindergarten
Lt. Col. Horrace Meek Hickam Elementary School, (Honolulu, HI). Hickam Elementary School is located on the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. Approximately 99% of the student population are military dependents. Students are highly transient due to military mobility. One of the biggest challenges military children face is integration into new communities and schools.… Continue Reading Aloha Transition Center for New Military-Dependent Students
Hancock Public School, (Hancock, MN). Hancock Public School is a K-12 Title I school in a small rural district located in west central Minnesota. Administration includes one principal, a part-time superintendent, and a part-time activities director. While all the small schools around the district have consolidated with other districts, the community takes great pride in… Continue Reading College and Career Readiness in a Small Rural School