Arts Education Needs to be Protected
Monday’s piece in the Globe by Mayor Menino and Laura Perille "Arts Education Needs to be Protected" highlights Boston’s wonderful efforts to bring access to a high-quality arts education to all of its students. As the article cites, and as I write in my recent...
Instructional Rounds
Last Thursday we hosted Instructional Rounds (IR) at BAA. Instructional rounds are the new buzzword in education, largely defined by Lee Teitel and Richard Elmore at Harvard. The purpose of the rounds is to analyze and improve teaching and learning practices at the...
Stonehill College
Last night I had the opportunity to speak to a group of emerging young educators at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. Stonehill Professor Karen Anderson (the wife of a Boston Public Schools science educator- small world!) assigns “The Hardest Questions...
Occupy the Department of Education!
I had to blog about Confessions of a 'Bad' Teacher from this past Sunday's New York Times... everyone needs to read this article so we can stop and think about how our federal and state policies are affecting teachers and kids in our classrooms. I will be joining BAA...
Reflections from Haiti
I recently traveled to Haiti with other Barr Foundation Fellows. I hope you will read my reflections on this amazing experience (though I do admit- they are long!) I look forward to hearing any comments or questions!
Reflections from San Diego and Los Angeles
In mid-December, I spent some time in San Diego and LA, visiting schools and speaking with educators. One of the most gratifying parts of this trip was reconnecting with a former graduate student of mine from the first year I ever taught my class, “Building A...
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...