Can I just begin by saying, I’ve been feeling immense pride the last couple of weeks! I’m proud to be a part of an educational community that has stood up, stayed up, and stepped up to make sure that students and families feel supported.

I wanted you to have some recommendations for preparing your home for your kiddos to have school there over the next few weeks.

Yes, I agree it's important to teach kids to mind their manners, sit at a table, or sit still in school. But let's not forget about the other skills that are the precursors: play, social-emotional interaction, attention, reciprocity, and engagement. If we spend a little more time growing these skills, it's amazing how naturally things like expressive language and eye contact develop!

“We can’t just test comprehension, we must teach it.”

-The Center for Literacy and Disability Studies

I’ve seen over and over the struggle students have with summarizing texts, be it an oral or written summary. This struggle, for some, is their lack of understanding; but for others, it’s just that they need guided questions to learn how to decipher and express key points.

I sat down with a student’s education team recently and I left that meeting with some new goals for the student, but also one statement that really stayed with me. “I don’t want her reading to be perfect, but I still want her to strive for it.”

Reading is a gift. The experience of it, a gift. One that should be treasured, but is often seen as more of a “have to do”, than a “get to do”. The stress that often accompanies reading causes students to despise the task, and dream of the days they no longer have to read.

Last week, I celebrated a milestone birthday. I’ve been living and breathing for four decades! Wow! Saying that feels crazy. But alas, it’s true. I celebrated with a throwback party- an ode to my favorite decade, the 90’s. It was fun to reminisce and celebrate life back then, and it reminded me of the many changes that have occurred in each decade since.

I had a conversation with a student that went a little something like this:

Student: Tia, can today be prize day?

Me: Well, your sticker card isn’t full yet, but let’s see how close we can get.

Student: But, my stickers are so small it’s gonna take forever!

One of my favorite pastimes is a game of UNO®. I really love how every generation becomes completely enamoured with it. Though I’m not the biggest fan of all of the

Welcome to my open book!

I thought I would make my first post a fairly personal one. Fitting, right? It’s also appropriate since it’s the time of year that we are typically the most reflective. Wrapping up the end of the current year, and