Leader 2 Leader

  There are only three ways to improve student learning at scale: You can raise the level of the content that students are taught. You can increase the skill and knowledge that teachers bring to the teaching of that content. And you can increase the level of students’ active learning of the content. That’s it…everything that’s not in the instructional core can only affect student learning and performance by, in some way, influencing what goes on  inside  the core.  –Dr. Richard Elmore   Dr. Jared Myracle joined the Impact Florida staff as Senior Director of Programs in July 2022. I once worked with a principal who was fond of saying “good teaching is good teaching.” I have always appreciated the sentiment, although the phrase needs a bit of unpacking to arrive at actionable advice. The tried and true elements of what makes an effective lesson are universal: a challenging curriculum, a skilled teacher, and an engaged student. These elements, known collectively as the “instructional core

   Sharon Michalik Director of Communications, Bay District Schools There’s an old adage that if you don’t tell your own story, someone will tell it for you and nowhere does that ring truer than in education today. School systems are often the target for community vitriol and criticism and while that’s draining, and unfortunate, there are some things that savvy school leaders can do to mitigate the damage and get ahead of those who seek to divide us. At Bay District Schools, we run four very active social media platforms and are approaching 29,000 followers on Facebook … no easy feat for a district with 25,000 students. About 75 percent of our followers are in the 29-52 age demographic so we’re confident we’re reaching a large chunk of our parents and guardians using this platform. It’s worth noting that our Facebook platform had only 3,000 followers four years ago so our exponential increase in followers tells us we’re doing something right! Additionally, we’ve leveraged the power of

 By: Amy Mason, Principal, Madison County Elementary School, Gurley, Alabama The opening general session at the NAESP Pre-K–8 Principals Conference in Louisville was tailor-made for educators who live their “why” every day as leaders of learning communities. Simon Sinek, who literally wrote the book on the topic— Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action —opened with a thought-provoking take: “We don’t get to create our ‘why;’ we get to discover it.” In a live, virtual conversation, L. Earl Franks, Ed.D., CAE, NAESP executive director, served as a moderator and Kaylen Tucker, NAESP associate executive director, Communications, shared questions from the audience, as Sinek elaborated on the path to discovering our “why.” We are all a product of how we were raised, said Sinek, and this has formed us into who we are today. As educators, we are helping to mold kids into who they will become one day, long after they leave our schools. The “why” typically is defined by

by Renee Bunch, Cardonex Account Executive The current shortage of teachers and available substitutes is impacting all aspects of education – central office, campus administration, teaching teams, and most importantly, our students. With higher-than-normal teacher turnover, aligning staffing plans with emerging student-centered master scheduling needs has never been more important. Connecting hiring practices to school master scheduling facilitates equitable learning opportunities, maximizes current staff capability and improves the classroom experience for both students and teachers. According to the National Education Association, 80% of educators indicate that burnout is a serious problem. With educators leaving the profession or unavailable for long stretches, many districts have turned to uncommon hiring practices to complete their teams when necessary. This raises the question – are all students receiving the high-quality instruction they deserve? The educational community as a

  By: Dr. Moira Sweeting-Miller, Assistant Principal, Monarch High School, Broward County    Today, I want to focus on the mental well-being of our youth. When you look at what takes place in schools, we focus on reading fluency and math fluency all to help the students grow up to be productive citizens. But what about mental health fluency? This is a much-needed part of the puzzle and probably the most important part. Since COVID, we have seen a lot of focus on the social and emotional well-being of not only adults but students. Both adults and students experienced the same trauma during the pandemic but as adults we know when we need self-care and know what to do to take care of ourselves. Young adults do not have that awareness and struggle when things are not going well. They find it hard to pinpoint the cause of their angst and thus cannot help themselves through the emotions. This is where mental health fluency comes into play. Mental health fluency involves teachin