student growth

Here’s What All the NAEP Coverage Missed
Articles on the release of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores rang an alarm of familiar decline: “Math scores remained relatively flat in…

Teaching English Language Learners Starts With Putting Yourself in Their Shoes
When teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), the most important and beneficial thing you can do is put yourself in their shoes. Imagine moving to a…

When This Chicago School Was on the Verge of Closure, A Visionary Principal Built the Team That Turned It Around
Back in 2013, when Principal Aaron Rucker first came to Auburn Gresham’s Ryder Elementary, he said someone in the central office warned him: “You’re being…

Starting a Debate Team Helped Unlock My Students’ Potential and It Can Do the Same for Yours
After teaching middle and high school history for almost 15 years, I believe deeply that rigorous history education has the potential to empower young people…

How Teachers and Families Can Help Students Build Reading Fluency Over the Summer
Summer is a time for trying new things. Summer can also be a time for falling backward on academic skills like reading fluency. Research shows…

Teachers, Can You Explain This Survey to Me? Because I’m Really Confused.
Dear Teachers, I just read some of the results of a survey and I’m confused. The good people over at Educators for Excellence asked a…

Coffee Break: Why Mark Rynone Left Corporate to Help Kids With Special Needs
Mark Rynone considers his passion for education as an outgrowth of family values. After all, his mother, brother and a handful of other relatives work…