Yep, that’s right. I’m going to brag for a minute. My 11-year old son, Tate, scored “Masters” on all 3 of the state assessments he took this past year – during the 2020/2021 school year. In Texas talk, that’s the highest level. That’s an improvement over his scores from the previous year! Now, as much…

I was discouraged today. And bored.  I sat in an ELA classroom of 11th graders, and was bored.  So were the kids.  They weren’t challenged.  They didn’t learn.  They weren’t disruptive.  But they were bored.  They were on their phones.  They were sleeping.  They were copying.  But they weren’t learning. And then there was Jose.  He…

If your district is blessed with a lot of English Learners, then you are probably more than familiar with BICS and CALP, but if not, I encourage you to keep reading! There are two basic types of language that teachers need to be familiar with – social and academic, or BICS and CALP. BICS stands…

First of all, take a deep breath. You are either finished with students for this school year, or you are probably finishing in the next week or two. You deserve a pat on the back, a drink of your choice, and probably a nap. You fought for your teachers and your students. You balanced academics…

How do we become culturally responsive as a teacher? For the past two articles, we’ve been diving into building alliances, specifically using the TESA interactions put together by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Building alliances is a key foundational component, and in my opinion, the first step towards becoming culturally responsive. There’s no…