The Hudson Chronicles

As we launch the 2021-22 school year, the vast majority of students across the country will be returning to full-time, in-person learning.  This reality requires every person in the system (i.e., students, parents, teachers, administrators, board members, and taxpayers) to not only reacclimate themselves to school, but, also, reimagine what school is, feels like, and looks like. People who want to spin things in a negative light will talk about "learning loss," while those who choose a more constructive course will utilize the term "unfinished learning."  Others will gravitate to the obvious social-emotional and/or equity concerns that were in play prior to the pandemic and have only been exacerbated.  As I pointed out in my previous blog, each are equally concerning.  It is not an either-or proposition. However, even in good times, should anyone recall such a thing, public educators have been challenged to ignore the shiny object.  I call this conundrum "Progr...

In addition to improving and refining specific skills and strategies for classroom efficacy, high quality professional learning in schools builds the leadership capacity of everyone in the organization.   Leadership should not be entirely role specific.  However, when establishing annual professional learning priorities, many districts mistakenly invest almost exclusively in teachers and neglect supporting the growth of those in formal leadership positions who are held accountable for ensuring outcomes are met. According to Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005), leadership does matter, but the type of leadership matters most.  Instructional leadership has an effect size of .42 as compared with .11 for transformational leadership. High quality classroom teaching has always been critical to student learning, but as teaching becomes increasingly complex, even the best teachers do not thrive to the maximum extent possible in mediocre schools.  High quality leadership ...

Early in my administrative career, I significantly downplayed the importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL).  My basic premise was essentially that there are too many children who leave our system unprepared to participate adequately in the economy and achieve adult independence.  Until educators start assessing students properly and can ensure that all students learn, grow, and leave our system with the necessary skills to be employable and productive, then, well, there are only so many hours in the day, so we're going to focus on literacy, critical thinking, writing across all content areas, and, most importantly, assessment. I also felt, as I sometimes do today, that the realm of SEL is more comfortable for teachers and, at times, provides a shield from truly reflecting on instructional practices and the extent to which students are achieving academic proficiency  However, I made a huge mistake.  I committed the mortal sin of leadership that I caution everyone...