Abeo School Change

Not to brag, but we are often told how much people appreciate our particular brand of professional development. Our Instructional Rounds network members routinely claim their experiences to be the most powerful of their careers. We hear the same from our College Prepared Project participants, be they veteran teachers, central office administrators, or building leaders. [...]

I read a blog the other day in which the author, in what I think was an attempt to discredit the value of collaboration, equated group-work to group-think. Even more interesting was this individual’s claim that promoting the opportunity for students to work alone and independently was a more innovative learning experience than one where [...]

A wise colleague once noted that even the most researched strategy is no better than your best bet. However certain you may be, you’ll not truly know if it works until you try it. So until it’s proven – in your context, with your students, and with your teachers, it’s still at best (or worst) [...]

Teachers learn best by studying, doing, and reflecting; by collaborating with other teachers; by looking closely at students and their work; and by sharing what they see. Linda Darling-Hammond I wasn’t prepared for the complexities of teaching when I began my career as a teacher nineteen years ago, but I should have been. I attended [...]

They’re the newest thing out of Harvard: Instructional Rounds. But aren’t they just walkthroughs repackaged? We think not. After years of working with those responsible for developing the instructional rounds protocol and facilitating a number of iterations across the country, we can say unequivocally that walkthroughs and rounds are not the same, nor should they [...]

Here’s what we know: resourceful schools do more with less. In other words, they are successful regardless of the resources at hand and here’s why. Successful schools are focused. They do more with less by design. They limit their initiatives to a few strategic priorities (this is the “less” part) and make sure they are [...]

I have lived many lives in my profession – primary teacher, literacy coach, literacy coach developer, instructional & systems coach. Through it all I have worked alongside teachers puzzling over the complexities of literacy. We’ve struggled with the literacy challenges of students and the “right” approach. We’ve struggled to find the time to teach all [...]

Another new year. They seem to come faster and faster and with each we weigh the evidence that suggests a more equitable education system with success for each and every child. Progress? Not enough, we think, as we reflect on this 1974 quote from Ron Edmonds: “We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach [...]

In our quest to support school improvement through partnership with individual school communities, Abeo School Change will launch iPLN in the fall of 2012. iPLN, the Innovative Principal Leadership Network, will group school leaders in collegial networked environments to learn the specifics of successful turnaround leadership that will lead to school transformation. Network participation will [...]

Sometimes standards can be a little cumbersome to look through. Complex in language and phrasing, standards take a lot of time to unpack. It is crucial that teachers take the time to unpack these standards, so that they understand what students really need to be able to do to meet standard and pass not only [...]