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...
More Together Classrooms
Here are a few neat photos of Together Classrooms I’ve seen recently in my travels. Thanks to Amanda and Crystal at The Prep Schools in Cleveland and the whole team at Collegiate Academies in New Orleans for providing such great material! Great way to neatly collect...
Together Space!
Ahhhhh, September. We greet you with fresh desks, organized bookshelves, and systems a plenty. This time last year, we posted a checklist of ideas for a Together Teacher Desk. In 2013, we’re taking the “pictures are worth 1,000 words” approach…please enjoy! And get...
Set Up a Together Teacher Lounge—And Our Best Contest EVER! For Now! [Enter by Friday, June 14]
For this first post in our brand-spankin’ new back-to-school series, See You in September, let’s get real about creating a GREAT gathering space for teachers. All schools have one of these so-called gathering spaces, though they go by many different names at different...
A Together School Leader and A Together School!
I recently spent time with the founding teachers of a charter school in Washington, DC. I was struck by the intentionality of the school leader, Mekia L., in setting up systems for Togetherness that will last her school, staff and students for years to come. Here’s me...