Texarkana School District: Resource Page
School accountability is on the horizon. We’ve helped schools and districts successfully navigate the accountability landscape, and can help yours too with professional development, leadership coaching, content coaching, climate/curriculum reviews, and general academic coaching.
Tools for School Improvement
Opening of School
Timeframe: Two weeks before school opens to three weeks after school opens.
Schools must understand that the Opening Period is critical. Ed Directions coaches say you can’t win the school year in the opening weeks, but you can sometimes lose it. It’s that important. The focus of the Opening Period is to get the students ready for the school. It is a time to equip them with the things they need to be successful and to develop the rituals and routines that will enable them to do the learner and performer work that they will need to grow toward proficiency. We like to say that if we have students who do not behave, cannot do the work required, or have not mastered critical rituals and routines, we haven’t opened school. In several of the schools in which we worked, the staff was still trying to open the school as a learning institution in December or even March.
Formative Period
Timeframe: From week three to the beginning of winter break.
If we have equipped students for success, our task becomes to make them more proficient learners and build their potential as independent performers. The focus is on building proficiency doing all the levels of learner work in developing the five legs that will support proficient performance in the next period. The Formative Period is critical. We can achieve a year’s growth of student potential in the Formative Period if we get all students highly engaged in rigorous learning work.
Treating Students Like Mental Athletes: A Playbook for Classroom Success
This playbook, Treating Students like Mental Athletes: A Playbook for Classroom Success, aims to provide educators and school administrators with actionable strategies to begin fostering a culture of excellence and resilience in the classroom. To this end, it provides strategies for the “teacher as coach” approach to classroom planning in addition to the traditional “best practice” approaches to content delivery and assessment.
This playbook delves into critical aspects of the holistic approach of “teaching the whole student,” drawing parallels between the discipline of athletic training and the academic rigor required for student success.
Education Topics
Understanding the Responsive Classroom Approach: Creating a Safe, Challenging, and Joyful Learning Environment
We all want our children to thrive in school—both academically and emotionally. One approach that has been gaining recognition for its effectiveness in creating such
Five Ways to Make Your Next School Staff Meeting More Engaging
In any educational institution, the staff meeting is a critical forum for collaboration, strategic planning, and professional development. However, too often, these meetings can fall
School Culture and Climate: The Cornerstones of Student Success
School culture and climate are often used interchangeably, but they represent distinct yet interconnected elements that significantly impact the learning environment. Let’s break down what
