Creating Community

A few weekends back I went on my first women’s retreat.  Even though it was to be held in Pinehurst on a gorgeous weekend, I felt quite a bit of anxiety before I left.  Out of 60 women I would know 1 well, 3 sort of, and 56 little to none at all.  This wasn’t…

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The Ugly Duckling Syndrome

  The story of the Ugly Duckling has always broken my heart.  As a child, I just couldn’t bear to read how that poor little fledgling was teased and mistreated – and being one who cries at Hallmark commercials – I still have a hard time reading it to my students.  Now I prefer to…

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You Are One Person

From the desk of Alice… There is research that suggests students only need to be connected to one person in the school in order to be successful in high school. One person. That one person could be the secretary, the teacher, the housekeeper or an administrator. After spending time in a high school recently, I…

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Belonging – When I Becomes We

   “When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘We’ – even illness becomes wellness.” – Malcolm X My heart soared while watching the news the other day – and that rarely happens.  In a sea of negativity, Mr. Barry White Jr. was a shining example of what is right with education.  This remarkable fifth grade English teacher…

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Relationships Count

“It is the teachers who have created positive teacher-student relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on student achievement.”  – Dr. John Hattie After years of extensive research on student learning, Dr. John Hattie found that the relationships teachers share with their students have a greater effect on their academic growth…

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Mirror Mirror On the Wall

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.  What did I learn after all?” Reflection is a vital piece of the learning puzzle.  Unless we examine what we learned and how we learned it, we don’t know what worked well and what needs to be tweaked.  The end of the year is a natural time to look back…

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Professional Books Worth Studying

At ERG we believe it is important to be a lifelong learner.  One way to continue to develop yourself professionally when you have limited time and resources is to do a book study or just read a professional text on your own.  Depending on what your area of interest and expertise is, there are many…

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Strength in Relationships

From the desk of Leigh Ann… “The strength of our student relationships makes the difference in translating our passion for teaching into their passion for learning.”  – Beth Morrow The Gallup Organization’s research shows that the most effective people are those who understand their strengths and behaviors.  This week I was encouraged to take a…

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