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The Blog


6 Tips for Retaining Teachers
Let’s face it. Recruiting, hiring, on-boarding, and training new teachers is time consuming, expensive, and exhausting. Schools with a high turnover rate struggle to maintain a healthy culture. Additionally, the inconsistency in staff leads to gaps in programming, curriculum, and common language and understanding across the building. Teacher retention should be at the top of our to-do list as educational leaders. To help you achieve this goal, we’ve put together some top tips
Dianne McKinley
Sep 5, 20233 min read


Best Book Types For Reluctant Readers
Are you looking for books that help your students WANT to read? Are you trying to match reluctant readers with books they fall in love with? Books that make them keep coming back for me? Here’s my list of 5 types of books that kids just might love, even if they profess to “Hate Reading”. I’ve added some of my favorite titles to each category for you to check out.
Dianne McKinley
Jun 18, 20233 min read


What Is the Science of Reading?
If you’ve spent any time in education lately, you’ve probably heard the phrase “science of reading.” But it’s more than a buzzword. The science of reading is a large body of research explaining how people learn to read, why some students struggle, and which instructional practices reliably lead to success. It’s not a single program or trend — it’s decades of evidence that can transform how we teach literacy.
Dianne McKinley
Feb 28, 20232 min read


Conflict Resolution Strategies in the Classroom
Conflict resolution is an important skill to teach students. It’s important to teach children how to communicate effectively, how to problem solve, and how to manage their emotions when they have a disagreement. There are many strategies that can help with this. One strategy is to have students brainstorm a list of conflict resolution steps. This can help them become aware of the options they have when they are dealing with a disagreement.
Dianne McKinley
Feb 3, 20235 min read


6 Ways to Support Social Emotional Learning at Home:
Strategies for Caregivers Students flourish in environments that are predictable, safe, and consistent. One way to ensure this remains steady across settings is to support the parents and caregivers who are in our students’ homes! Caregivers play an important role in teaching and helping with social emotional learning. They support and encourage habits that promote mental wellness; however, understanding how to do that can be difficult! That being said, this one’s for you,
Dianne McKinley
Feb 3, 20237 min read


Beat the Classroom Winter Blues
As we return to school after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we soon realize that there is a long stretch of cold and dark days ahead of us. Our dreams of a white Christmas are on hold until next December and the dirty slushy roads feel more dreary than magical. In anticipation of what might be referred to as the winter blues, we can create a plan to build fun, connection, and play into our days! What are the Winter Blues? Less sunshine, colder temperatures, and
Tiffany Creager
Jan 25, 20233 min read


7 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude in the Classroom
What if someone offered you a FREE 5 minute per day strategy that boasted the following benefits for you AND your students? Would you take it? Read on to learn 7 simple ways to practice gratitude in the classroom.
Dianne McKinley
Jan 25, 20236 min read


Creating a Strong Mentoring Program
As leaders during these difficult times, it can be hard to attract, hire, and retain great teachers. One way to do this is by creating a strong mentoring program at your school.
Teachers want to feel valued, connected, and supported with the difficult work they do every day. Teachers who are new to your school, both new educators and veterans alike, need a high level of support. Providing the right support can ensure that they are successful and remain valuable members
Dianne McKinley
Jan 4, 20233 min read


7 Picture Books to Use with Older Readers
Picture books aren’t just for preschoolers and younger children, readers of all ages enjoy and learn from picture books. I LOVE picture books! They are full of rich language, beautiful illustrations and photographs, and bonus, you can typically read them in one sitting.
April Connelley
Jul 4, 20223 min read


Behavior Management Strategies That Teachers Can Use
One of the enormous challenges of being a teacher is dealing with student misbehavior. It affects not only the teacher and the student involved, but the whole class as well. The goal of behavior management is to promote a positive classroom environment conducive to learning for all students. Provided below is a list of behavior management strategies that teachers can use to keep the classroom in order. Classroom management and relationship building Classroom management is of
Dianne McKinley
Jul 29, 20174 min read


Classroom Management Strategies
Classroom management is the process of making sure that lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. It is the series of actions that teachers do to create a successful learning environment. For many teachers, it is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. In fact, some teachers leave the profession because they find it hard to manage classrooms. Professional development aims to help educators by teaching them classroom management strategies.
Dianne McKinley
Apr 23, 20173 min read
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