Leader 2 Leader

                                                               Written By Richard H.  Long, MSW, MEd                Why are education leaders around the country rethinking their student discipline policies? The answer can be found in two main developments – 1) the growing body of research surrounding the efficacy of Restorative Practices, and 2) the stark realization that traditional discipline practices lead to less-than-ideal outcomes for schools while at the same time alienating and disenfranchising students and families that are already struggling to find academic and social viability.                  Despite these realizations and the growing body of research, there are still many gaps in t...

Written  By  Andrew Marotta            These have been dark times for so many people. Over the past year of this pandemic, there have been many unprecedented challenges, and likely more dark times still ahead. As I sat writing in my attic the other day, I looked over and saw our beloved dog, Ruby, laying by the window. The bright morning sunshine was laying upon her. She does this quite often. She will find where the sun hits and go lay down in that spot. My grandmother used to do the same during the late afternoons in Staten Island, New York, where I grew up. She would move a small green bench around the house looking for the sunshine and take in the warmth and brightness of the sun.           How can we do this during and beyond the pandemic? Find the light. How can we find the light in our own lives, as well as in the lives of those we serve? People do need help and are in dark places. What are some ways we ca...

  Written By Michael J. Petrilli           Students in the Sunshine State may have weathered the Covid storm better than their peers nationwide, given that more Florida schools have been open for in-person instruction that almost anywhere else in the United States. Still, a large percentage of Florida children and adolescents chose fully-remote learning for the past year, and a sizable number have gone missing from public schools entirely. Thus, addressing lost instructional time—and lost learning—is a challenge that Florida educators will have to face, once everyone is back in classrooms full time again. Given the quickening pace of vaccinations, there’s good reason to believe that such a return will be feasible this fall. Thus, it’s time to put our attention on the recovery phase of the pandemic, when we all must work to ensure that the challenges encountered by students since March 2020 do not set them back for the rest of their education career...