Parents often ask, when should I start talking about college with my child? Or my child is in X grade, what should we be doing if we want her to do her undergraduate studies abroad? They are good questions to be asking – it’s never to early to be THINKING about this – but it […]
What you are about to read may be controversial and may generate a lot of debate. I welcome it. I believe education is a right and that everyone should have the information needed to access the opportunities that best align to their unique needs. In Colombia, more and more students are looking to access higher […]
Prior to becoming a full-time education consultant, I had the opportunity to work for a network of private schools in Colombia. As the Director of Education, I was in a position to analyze K12 education as a whole and identify the real levers of impact, the things that could move the needle in terms of […]
Today I celebrate one month as an education consultant. When life threw me a curveball, I decided to use the opportunity to do something that I have been contemplating for a very long time: going independent. Here are my takeaways one month into this adventure. Perhaps they will serve others going through a similar transition […]
A few months ago, if you had asked me about one-time professional learning opportunities, I would have adamantly explained that professional learning must be “sustained, intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused” (Learning Forward, Definition of Professional Development). Too often I have seen schools and school districts spend money for teachers to attend workshops or two-day […]
It’s been a while since I posted my educational wonderings. I have been in a bit of a rut, but I’ve kept at it and things are brewing, finally. I’ve got a lot on my plate and it’s exciting, but today I want to talk about taking the first step. For nearly a year, I […]
This past week in, in Portland, Oregon, I began my journey with Session 1 of Learning Forward’s Academy. This is a 2.5 year program (I will graduate in 2020) that supports educators to develop and tackle a problem of practice related to professional learning in their context, whether that be a school or district or […]
This year I discovered Learning Forward’s professional learning standards. I know I’m a bit late to the game, especially seeing I have been a member of Learning Forward for two years. Anyhow, I think they have the potential to be a real game changer, especially in combination with the Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI). This a […]
In the hallways of your school have you ever heard a conversation like this?: Teacher 1: Augh, we have the meeting with X about Y this afternoon. Teacher 2: Nooo. That’s today? Every year it’s the same thing. Don’t they realize we have heard this information a bajillion times? It is such a waste of […]
In a recent training, teachers were asked to participate in a role play (I know, I am not a fan either, but it got the job done) in which one person was a representative from HR and the other two were interviewing to be teachers at the school. The HR rep had to present both […]