The how-not-to-start-a-business post turned out to be very popular, and I am now fielding lots of questions like, “How did you go from being a teacher to leading PD for teachers and leaders?” The headline answer: by accident and also very carefully. Let me first be...
Four Unintended Consequences of Togetherness Trainings
Last week, I had the good fortune to share a train ride from NYC to DC with my friend, fellow educator, and former colleague, Kathleen Porter-Magee. If you don’t know what Kathleen is up to in the world of Catholic education, read more here. After a day of training in...
Efficiency, Efficiency, Efficiency: Thank You Notes to Students
If you are like most teachers I know, I bet you received a bunch of creative, thoughtful and downright strange holiday gifts from your students. If you are like one teacher who lives in my home (ahem), they may still be sitting next to your desk (after your wife...
Student Checklists for the Elementary Set
Now that I’m the parent of an elementary school student, I’m always on the lookout for ways to help my five-year-old with her own Togetherness — otherwise known as executive functioning. My brilliant friend, Analisa B., recently described the challenge she faced,...
Student Materials, Part 1: Notebooks and Flashcards
I’m continuing my obsession with teachers who help students keep their time, space, and stuff Together. Last year, I wrote about student planners, binders and visual anchors. I’m going to start off a three-part series on Together Students. It feels timely since many...
Inside Sage’s Clipboard: A Super, Duper Student Tracker
Remember when we got a peek at Sage’s Clipboard Contraption? I promised I would someday reveal what she stored in there…today is that day! Like Jenny, Sage is super smart about informally tracking student progress in her small reading groups. Check out Sage’s Super...
Checklists #3: Student Mastery and Student Stuff
Hey wait, did I forget to finish this series?! Yikes! Summer trainings got the best of me. I should have a checklist for my checklists. I would probably live my life in a checklist if I could. Just kidding! Sort of… In our Power of the Checklist series, we’ve featured...
Meet Justin: The Together Farmer!
I’m smiling as I write this week’s post. I met Justin a few months ago down at IDEA Public Schools in the Rio Grande Valley. I could tell he wasn’t a classroom teacher when I peered over his shoulder at his calendar—and then I got REALLY excited when I learned he was...
Teacher Togetherness, Interview Style
Whether you’re straight out of college or graduate school, or shifting to a different district, it’s that time of year again: interview time. A recent conversation with Alexa M., a soon-to-be-principal in Denver, got me thinking about how to demonstrate Togetherness...
Five Steps to Coaching Others Toward Togetherness
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about coaching others toward Togetherness, maybe because of Valerie’s great question on a recent blog post or because of all the calls I get from principals trying to help teachers. On the blog, we’ve shared some great models of...