Retaining Quality Teachers Is Key to a School’s Success

There’s no denying that school budgets and staffs are shrinking while class sizes are increasing. Why should we worry about retaining teachers when there are so many teachers out there looking for their first job?

It’s a tough question but author Mary C. Clement says it’s critical for a school to keep teachers satisfied and employed, especially in a job market like this.

“Turnover lowers morale and parents complain about teacher dependability. It can impede the school mission, lowers student achievement,” Clement said.

Dealing with Student Discipline

Picture a student who comes to class late, enters the room with as much noise as possible, and then starts a loud conversation in the back row. When you ask him to please join the rest of the class on page 227 of the textbook, he shoves it off his desk and onto the floor. Instead of picking up the book, the student pulls out his cell phone and makes a show of checking his voicemail. You’re not able to teach, the students aren’t able to learn, and you decide to send the kid to the office with a referral.

Author Explains How to Eliminate the “Blank Stare” from Students’ Faces

Over 20-years-ago as a public school teacher Stanley Pogrow, Ph.D was an energetic and excited math teacher. Despite his affection for his students and his skill as a teacher there was always one obstacle he could not overcome – the blank stare students gave him whenever he asked an abstract question.

Teaching Content Outrageously

It’s fourth quarter and your students have senioritis. The problem is: they’re freshmen. It’s a common ailment among students this time of year. You might have caught it yourself. An antidote to counting down the days until the end of the school year is to inject your lessons with something unexpected and fun. Sure, you still have to teach the objective, but who says it all hast to be lectures, notes, and worksheets? It could be wigs, costumes, and props – even in math and science. It’s Outrageous Teaching and it’s guaranteed to hold student interest, encourage student engagement, and stop clock watching and sky-gazing.

How to Improve the Teacher Hiring Process

It’s hiring season and this year there are far more job applicants than job openings. So with the amount of applications, how do you sort through them and spend your time interviewing only those candidates that would make a good fit for your school?

“Past behavior is the best predictor of future performance,” hiring expert Mary C. Clement said.

Communicating with Parents and Community Stakeholders Helps Students Succeed

Inside the School seminar presenter Dr. Vera Blake said that students whose parents are active in their formal education have more long-term academic achievement. These students also have higher grades, higher test scores, positive attitudes, and good behavior.

“The school’s best ally in nurturing the students really is the parents,” Blake said.

What Every Teacher Should Know about ADHD & LD

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, statistics show that nationwide, about 7.8 percent of school-age youth are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder (ADHD), and most studies put the number of diagnosed ADHD students somewhere between 5 and 9 percent.

“We all have, in our classrooms, all of us have at least a few kids who have ADHD and a Learning Disability (LD). It doesn’t matter what you teach or what level of content that you’re teaching, we all have these kids. These are hidden disabilities,” ADHD and LD expert Sandra Rief, M.A, said.

Former Principal Advises How Educators can Close the Achievement Gap

“If we’re going to close that achievement gap we’re going to have to anchor it in research, and we’re going to have to involve our stakeholders and be data driven in our decisions. And we will have to ensure that we have capacity building in leadership,” Inside the School online seminar presenter Vera Blake, Ed.D. said.

Former principal Blake said developing a plan and using data to close the achievement gap are very important.

Middle School Classroom Management

“Middle school is a whole new experience. The difference between middle school and high school isn’t anywhere near as great as the difference between elementary school and middle school. So, for some of our students, the transition is not particularly easy,” said former superintendent Suzanne Tingley.

Tingley’s Inside the School online seminar reviwed Middle School Classroom Management techniques, reviewed characteristics, academic challenges and social concerns for middle school students. Her presentation also offered strategies middle school teachers can use for academic management, classroom management and bullying