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We are delighted to launch our New Parent and Teacher Rewards Program! The addedAPPLES program is a unique tiered rewards system for teachers and parents. If you are a teacher, jump right in and sign up here! If you are a parent or education supporter, you can also join us here! Our FREE Program for parents and teachers will offer exclusive benefits to the education community, brands like Amazon, Reading Eggs, OfficeMax/OfficeDepot, Epson, and more!: *discounts on education , parenting, and lifestyle services *cash back for schools and teachers; and *extended free trials of education software products  We’ll continue to evolve these perks into a tiered rewards system that encourages great teachers to remain in the profession. Our goal is to make teachers visible and provide the education community with valuable benefits as we promote and reward great teaching and learning. You can read a

I want to share this photo I found on FaceBook. As states refuse to admit Syrian refugees and anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments surface… To educators, I offer some perspective: As of November 16th, news articles revealed that the killers in France were actually European citizens. My French and European friends/relatives further explain that France and Europe have historically struggled to integrate foreign immigrants and engage them in education and employment opportunities. Discrimination leads to unrest; idle hands, as they say, are the devil’s workshop…. those of us educators who have served in impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods know this equation far too well. Education is an important mitigating factor in situations like these. An article from Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center discussed France and Europe’s struggle to integrate minorities

1. Set Clear Strategic Priorities. If your school does not have clear, actionable goals and aligned strategic priorites for what you intend to accomplish throughout the building, you are wasting precious time! Note: this is NOT “we will raise test scores 15% points” – that is a metric. It does not indicate what actions people should take to raise student proficiency. If your goal is to increase proficiency, you’ll need your strategic priorities to be statements that everyone can sing: “i.e. TIMELY RIGOROUS PLANNING! Plan rigorous lessons based on data in advance of instruction so that these can be peer-reviewed and collaboratively refined.” That way, everyone in the building knows that if he/she is late with planning, is not using data, is not collaborating with peers, or is not applying rigor, he/she is not working in tune with the goals of the buildi

This spring we did a meta-analysis of research on successful leadership and turnaround schools. When we looked at over 25 sources, including the work of the Wallace Foundation, Vanderbilt, Marzano, UVA, Public Impact, and other notable shops, we found some commonalities among the leadership traits outlined. We believe that this is the code to successful transformative leadership in ANY school, not just turnaround environments. Below are the traits and their descriptions. The descriptions are brief, and it is important to note that the devil is in the details… it is critical to understand HOW these skills should be demonstrated and applied within the school context. Also, users must note that some of these traits can be developed, while others are innate to the individual…  thus, it may not be possible to grow in all of these areas, as emerging literature reveals. To make sure

I recently had the honor of touring the still-under-construction Phillip and Patricia Frost, Miami Science Museum. In a nutshell, it will be a world-class structure featuring beautiful interactive education displays. The museum incorporates a thoughtful approach to teaching science—even down to its 500,000 gallon aquarium that is designed to maximize cruising surface for sharks and will be primarily populated with rescue animals that cannot be returned to the wild. It is conceptually designed to connect stimulating museum exhibits to the wondrous ecology just outside in the Miami natural landscape. I could not have been more excited and pleased to see this very special gift to Miami – for real, look at my big goofy smile! Enjoy, and stay tuned for 2016!!