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Why Focusing On Adult Learning Builds A School Culture Where Students Thrive

Katrina Schwartz

Mindshift

In order to work at their highest levels, all members of a school community have to be learning and growing. The adult culture is a critical element. "To get to that place, adults need to be part of a community of colleagues who support their growth. They need to feel safe to be vulnerable, to admit failings or mistakes and to trust that their colleagues are giving feedback in order to help them improve."

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Kent Pekel: Getting Relationships Right (TEDx)

Kent Pekel

TEDx

Kent Pekel, head of The Search Institute, describes the need for "developmental relationships" in the life of young people and offers some practical strategies for getting to know young people better.

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Understanding Trauma-Informed Education

Mathew Portell

Edutopia

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Reframing Adult-Youth Relationships

Eugene C. Roehlkepartain,

Search Institute

This blog post from Search Institute argues for greater investment in and support of adult-adolescent relationships and reframing what those look like.

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CDC: Childhood Trauma is a Public Health Issue and We Can Do More to Prevent It

Rhitu Chatterjee

NPR

The CDC issued research showing that a significant percentage of young people are affected by childhood trauma and that it has long-lasting health effects. Among the factors that can ameliorate the effects are caring relationships with trusted adults at school.

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Family Guide to Fostering Whole Child Development

Rebecca Bauer & Helen Westmoreland

Center for Family Engagement/National PTA

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What is Whole Child Education

Rebecca Bauer & Helen Westmoreland

Center for Family Engagement/National PTA

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4 Things Principals Can Do (and 4 Things They Shouldn't) to Build Relationships with Teachers

Madeline Will

Education Week

The article offers an array of commonsense strategies that school leaders can use to build trust and shared purpose among a school staff.

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10 Strategies for Schools to Improve Parent Engagement

Jennifer Larson

Getting Smart

The article outlines multiple factors that are making it more challenging for schools to communicate with parents, and offers 10 strategies to communicate in a timely, positive, effective way.

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Stories from the Field: Fostering Strong Relationships

Akira Gutierrez and Katie Buckley

Transforming Education

This brief summarizes research about the benefits of strong teacher-student relationships, as well as offering a few practical strategies for strengthening these at the classroom level.

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How to Survive the First Year of Learner-Centered Transformation (Hint: It's All About the People)

Dr. Suzanne Freeman

Education Reimagined

This article describes lessons learned in the first year of Pike Road Schools in AL, specifically how they supported older learners who weren't used to engagement-based practices; staff who needed help with learner-centered lesson design; and parents who had questions and wanted to be more engaged.

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The 3 Secrets to Scandanavian Innovation in Education

Kyle Wagner

Getting Smart

This article explores how Nordic schools are ensuring work-life balance, prioritizing relationships, and creating egalitarian school communities. Especially noteworthy is how time is used within a school day and across a school year.

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How to Artfully Enroll Parents in Learner-Centered Transformation

Marie Banks

Education Reimagined

A quick read about how one elementary school engaged families as it transformed the school model to be more progressive and student-driven.

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The Evolution of a Trauma-Informed School

Alex Shevrin Venet

Edutopia

An interview with a school principal two years after the school began implementing trauma-informed practices--great piece about organizational change and the evolution of their thinking about how best to support a specific population of students.

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Here's Why We Must Open Schools to Authentic Parent Partnership

Dr. Landon Mascareñaz

Education Post

The article describes the pitfalls of "closed" education systems that keep families and community members at arm's length, and what truly "open" systems might do differently.

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5 Ideal Traits Of A Project-Based Learning Teache

TeachThought staff

teachthought.com

Project-based learning or inquiry-based learning can be done in many different ways. As we have traveled the country visiting classrooms (#EngagingSchools), we have seen many different approaches. One of the most important shifts toward a more inquiry-based or project-based classroom may be for the teacher to get comfortable giving up some control in the classroom. As Mike Kaechele summarizes it in this article: “Less of us (teachers), more of them (students).”

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In an All-Gender Cabin, Summer Campers ‘Don’t Have to Hide

Dan Levin

NYT

This article helps illustrate an important aspect of Radically Reimagined Relationships: the safety and space to be our true selves

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Parents, it’s okay for your kids to see you missing them. It might even be a good thing.

Jonita Davis

The Washington Post

A perspective piece from the Washington Post, reminding parents that while letting go is necessary, it's okay to acknowledge how hard it is.

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Teacher Calls Parents With Positive News About Their Kids***

Liz Schlemmer

NPR's Here and Now

This story from NPR's Here and Now is about how a teacher in Louisville, KY is building relationships with students and their families by taking time each week to reach out to families with positive feedback about their student's work and progress.

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Eight pieces of wisdom for parents sending a child off to college

Joanna Nesbit

The Washington Post

For many families, sending kids out into the world for the first time - for college or other endeavors - brings an array of emotions. We appreciated the advice in this perspective piece from The Washington Post. It really comes down to imparting the message "You've got this!" and having faith that they do.