Celebrando a Margarita Muñiz
In November 2009, I had the privilege of attending the Thanksgiving play at the Rafael Hernandez School, a bilingual elementary school in Roxbury where Margarita Muñiz was the principal. This annual musical is a long standing tradition, and in 2009, the play was about...
Celebrating Vito
On Saturday, December 3, we gathered in the assembly hall of Boston Arts Academy/Fenway High School to celebrate Vito Perrone, who passed away in August. It was fitting that we gathered in this space, since Vito cared passionately about schools. I was so pleased that...
Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum
Last Saturday, a group of BAA students performed for the closing session of the CES Fall Forum in Providence, RI. These students created a unique performance piece combining music, visual arts, spoken word, theatre and digital media. Participants were Althea Bennett...
Visiting with Julian Schnabel
A school leader’s primary function is to ensure that teachers can teach to their fullest and best. Much of the mundane naturally falls on a school leader: clearing hallways, doing lunch duty, meeting with upset parents or irate students, making sure a broken toilet...
Literature Circles
Each year as the school year opens, we begin as a community of readers. A few years ago, we borrowed an idea from Beverly High School to implement Literature Circles. Throughout the school year, teachers and students recommend books to our librarian, who then selects...
The Art of Leadership
I wrote The Art of Leadership for the American School Board Journal in June 2011... it's also posted on the Publications tab of my blog. Comments are welcome!
Educational Disparity and Minority Youth Symposium
Last Friday, I traveled to Connecticut with BAA theatre teacher Juanita Rodrigues and five of our theatre students for the Educational Disparity and Minority Youth symposium, presented by Quinnipiac University School of Law and Yale Law School. I was invited to speak...
News from the Coalition of Essential Schools
Two exciting pieces of news from the Coalition of Essential Schools... The first is that registration is now open for Fall Forum 2011! I cannot emphasize enough what an amazing professional development opportunity this is. A Boston Arts Academy team attends each each...
Summer Reading
Beacon Press (the publisher of my book, The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test) put together a great blog that compiles the summer reading lists of education authors. Click here to see what books I enjoyed this summer (many of which are from Boston Arts Academy's...
Supporting great teachers
Each year as we begin a new school year we return to these essential questions: What makes great teachers possible and how can school leaders support good teachers? Most teachers begin their careers in the classroom, with the door shut, and develop their skills alone....