Category: Learnings

NPR reported yesterday that, “Math and reading scores for students across the country are down following years of disrupted learning during the pandemic. On Monday, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, released a full report for the first time since 2019; the results show a slight dip…

I was lucky enough to open a brand new high school. Part of excitement of the new school was the opportunity to open an Outback Steakhouse inside the campus. I remember distinctly a meeting where leadership for Outback Steakhouse met school leadership for the first time. The meeting started with both sides sharing how different…

What if young learners were able to learn what they wanted to learn, when they wanted to learn it? What if young learners had an adult learning leader to assist them in their learning quests? What is the adult learning leader and the young learner had access to the best expertise, online or in-person, the…

Mississippi usually finishes last, or near to last, when public school effectiveness is measured and evaluated. Last year, The New York Times Magazine’s Casey Parks reported on the Holmes County Consolidated School District, one of the lowest performing school districts in Mississippi and the country. The story is sobering, and you would think that the…

My wife and I have been married 36 years. As the old George Jones song says, “There’s been good days, and bad days…” But after those days, and years, I’m a lucky guy to say I’ve been part of a successful marriage with a fabulous partner and friend – my best friend. Awhile back, I…

The traditional system pays too much attention on teaching and not enough attention on learning. I was privileged to work for and with Rod Paige. In fact, Dr. Paige was the superintendent who selected me for my first principalship. Paige went on to serve President George W. Bush as his first Secretary of Education. Paige…

My wife and I like to go listen to a big band that plays in our town every Wednesday night. The band is made up of a group of excellent musicians, half of whom are K-12 band teachers. Last night a group of high school musicians joined the band for a few numbers, and then…

I ran across an article in EducationWeek recently, titled “What It Will Take to Transform Public Education (in 4 Charts).” Written by Elizabeth Rich, the article states: “The EdWeek Research Center heard this summer from more than 1,000 educators in a nationally representative survey on their ideas about whether the pandemic transformed public education. Remarkably,…

Recently I was sitting outside at a coffee house with my wife and daughter. I was trying to figure out approximately what time I would arrive in Cincinnati if I left Des Moines around 7 in the morning. I’ll spare you the details of the subsequent conversation, but let’s just say I wasn’t getting the…

At the beginning of this school year, Will Richardson, co-founder of The Big Questions Institute, wrote a letter to returning public school educators. Part of that letter can be found below: “While every school is different, every school shares a common goal: to help children learn. (If that’s not one of your goals, you may…