Leader 2 Leader

As you prepare your students for graduation, schools are looking to use the SAT/ACT scores to fulfill ELA and math concordant graduation requirements or to help students meet the Bright Futures Scholarship threshold. SAT/ACT tests are also an area where a few simple reminders and tips from teachers can make a major impact on student scores.   A significant segment of Florida students graduate using concordant scores, and the trend has increased over time. According to WMFE (Orlando) reporting , 34.4% of graduates used concordant scores to meet the need during last year's assessment graduation requirements. With other factors now at play, including teacher shortages and COVID-related learning loss, it is even more critical to give your teachers and students all available tools for success.   The standardized nature of the SAT/ACT gives you an added advantage. These tests must test the same topics, the same way, in the same proportions every time. In addition, helping students u...

  Research to Practice: 3 principles for new-teacher mentoring programs By Kendra Schwartz, Client Success Manager, KickUp As education leaders, how do we retain our experienced teachers and leverage their support for new teachers? With the prospect of a “great resignation” — and the associated costs to replace them — well documented, that question has never been more important. Rather than add a new initiative, districts can double down on their new teacher mentorship and induction programs. Why mentorship as a key lever for educator retention? The impact of effective mentorship programs is clear: ●          Support that is responsive to socio-emotional needs of educators leads to higher retention . ●          New teachers who receive mentoring early in their careers are less likely to leave the profession .   Robust mentorship programs are a true win-win: they can minimize attriti...

     By:  Ivan Beach, Principal, Deane Bozeman School It is Tuesday night. As I write these words, wildfires are raging in various parts of our state. A short distance away, the Northern corridor of Bay County is evacuated due to the perfect conditions for wildfires to ravage both life and property. The wildfires are following the path of the now infamous Hurricane Michael from October 2018 that left an estimated 72 million tons of down trees in its wake. Already strained from the aftermath of the hurricane and multiple years of pandemic fueled fatigue, my community is in serious need of a string of good luck and better fortune. Although there have been many difficulties the past few years, this community is grateful to the local men and women, and those from all over the state who are working tirelessly to build fire breaks to protect property and those who are persevering the intense heat around the clock to extinguish the flames.   There is also anoth...

   Five Lessons Learned as an Educational Leader By Richard Surrency, Superintendent, Putnam County Schools   I am the elected superintendent of the Putnam County School District serving in my sixth year. Since my first day in office, beginning in November of 2016, our district has focused on improving student achievement and on time graduation for our 10,500 students.   In 2015, only 54.9% of our seniors graduated on time. Through a strategic initiative, we improved the graduation rate to 92.5% in 2021. This is the largest increase in Florida during the same time period.   In 2017, 11 of our 18 schools were receiving state turnaround support to improve school performance as determined by Florida’s school grading system. Our instructional team led an initiative to improve school culture and standards-based core instruction and intervention. At this time, we have zero schools receiving state turnaround support.   These improvements highligh...

By: Scott Stevens, Assistant Principal Cypress Woods Elementary Everywhere in the media right now you can find articles, blog postings, and videos of experts talking about teacher shortages and burnout. I am not saying that we should ignore these truths, but instead I would rather focus on the staff members in front of me on my campus. I want to focus on taking care of the ones that I rely on every day to serve our students. So, I ask you, what are you doing to take care of your teachers and staff members? I am fortunate to work with a principal that shares a vision of care for our teachers and staff members. Sometimes lost in the deadlines and overwhelming tasks are the simple gestures of appreciation that we all so often desire. Research­­ from the *University of Oxford tells us that 87% of those surveyed found that workplace wellbeing was an advantage for their place of employment. Their research also tells us that people who are happy at their workplace are more productive. Sha...