Blog
Introducing Our New Two-Part Documentary on PLCs
The professional learning community (PLC) process has become increasingly recognized as a powerful strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement. But do you know where PLC began and how it . . . Read more
Creating a Culture of Collaboration After COVID
As Robert John Meehan so eloquently stated, "The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives." . . . Read more
PLCs: The Path to Educational Equity
At Alisal, we know that being a Professional Learning Community means focusing on efforts on the four crticial questions. We know that we use data, not feelings, to drive what takes place in our . . . Read more
Social Media Influencers and Student Assessment Pushback
If you spend time scrolling through social media you have most likely seen a teacher or principal who has become a social media influencer, it is the newest “second job” for educators. . . . Read more
Pandemic Provides New Lens for Clear Mission
Over the past 17 years, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with a wide variety of schools. Some of them were public, others private or charter schools. Some were comprised of students from . . . Read more
Let's Be Prescise
On my mind a great deal lately is the precision that is required of schools. I often hear my father-in-law in my head saying, “Start straight, stay straight, and you will be . . . Read more
The PLC Journey Starts With Community
“What is labeled as ‘fluff’ is more often the stuff of leadership and culture.” —Terrence Deal, Kent Peterson, Shaping School Culture While the word . . . Read more
So, what’s changed?
21st Century Skills require a balance of content and process. How have teaching and learning shifted to meet these demands?
James Melsa (2007) says it best, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t yet been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know we have.” We can no longer prepare students for our past, we must prepare them for their future. But what does this mean and where should we start? Read more
A Tsunami Is Headed for Higher Education
A tsunami is headed directly for American public colleges and universities. The wave of discontentment with public K-12 schools that resulted in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is now lapping at the doors of public institutions of higher education. There are clear warning signs. One only has to look at the increasing number of books and articles that are critical of America’s colleges and universities. Books with titles such as The Moral Collapse of the University, The Closing of the American Mind, Profscam, The University in Ruins, and Our Underachieving Colleges consistently send the message that our colleges and universities are in disarray. Read more