Thursday 10 December 2020

Possip Partner Spotlight: STRIVE Collegiate Academy

This week our Partner Spotlight is on STRIVE Collegiate Academy based in Nashville, TN. Their wonderful Founder and Executive Director, LaKendra Butler, shares parent feedback updates in STRIVE’s weekly communications, which include parent calls and a parent newsletter shared via text and email. Read our Q&A with LaKendra to learn strategies for closing the parent-school …

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Wednesday 9 December 2020

Sharing Feedback: A Quick How To Guide

Sharing feedback can be hard!  Sharing feedback with your child’s school can be really hard!  At Possip, we’re all about feedback, so here are some tips for sharing feedback with your child’s school:   Build a Relationship: It’s never too late to cultivate relationships with the people that are invested in your child’s success– teachers, …

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Thursday 3 December 2020

How School Closures Gave Our Son a Fresh Start

Stephanie Fuhs shared her reflections on how school closures gave her son a fresh start.  Stephanie is an Assistant School Leader at KIPP Bessie Coleman Academy in Jacksonville, FL. She has been working in education for over 12 years and is passionate about ensuring kids have a strong start in their earliest years of learning. …

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Monday 30 November 2020

Possip Partner Spotlight: Einstein Academy

This week our Partner Spotlight is on Einstein Academy in Denver, Colorado where Mark Parmet and Dr. Sarah Levy work tirelessly as co-Heads of School. As co-Head of School, Dr. Levy keeps parents informed with weekly newsletters. She was kind enough to share an example of her newsletters to demonstrate how she closes the feedback loop with …

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Back to the Building: Preparing For In-Person School

In this topsy turvy time, in a given week, schools can be planning to go back to in-person school, and within days have to completely rethink their next steps. As one of our partners wisely shared, “it feels like we’re making plans in the sand….waiting for a wave to come in and erase them completely. …

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Monday 23 November 2020

Possip Partner Spotlight: Veritas Prep Charter School

Possip is so thankful for our school partners and want to showcase all the amazing things they do on a daily basis! We will be featuring a partner school on our blog to show off the great things they are doing and learn from them! This week our Partner Spotlight is on Veritas Prep Charter …

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Activities to Do with Students (and Yourself) that Reflect on Gratitude

For most people, 2020 has not been a year that sparks immense positive thoughts. The past twenty or so years at our Thanksgiving meal, each family member shares a few things they were thankful for. This year, my family isn’t getting together for Thanksgiving. I’m sure many aren’t. But if we were, I know this …

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How Teachers Can Model Compassion in a Pandemic

It’s no secret that the global health pandemic is taking its toll on students. An American Academy of Pediatrics study recently found that one in seven children have exhibited signs of worsening behavioral health since the pandemic forced schools to close and classes to move mostly online. “Kids 12 and up are at the biggest disadvantage with …

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Wednesday 18 November 2020

Physical Touch in a Virtual World

School Before the Virtual World Imagine school before a virtual world.  You are a busy 3rd grader in the pre-pandemic era. You jump out of bed ready for a great day of school. When you head out of the door to catch your bus, you are greeted by your neighborhood friends. You high-five each other …

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Thursday 12 November 2020

7 Tips for Educators Facilitating Hybrid Learning

Hybrid learning can be surprisingly varied. Different models we’ve seen include some students being in-person on different days of the week, some choosing in-person or while others remain virtual, and some having in-person morning or afternoon shifts. If your school is planning to move to a hybrid model soon, we wanted to share some tips …

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Wednesday 11 November 2020

Navigating Your Child’s Needs and IEP in A Virtual Environment

As a former teacher and a parent of a twice-exceptional child with an IEP and an ALP, I have always had to be an advocate for my child.  However, over the past 7 months, while my child has been at home in a virtual environment, my support and advocacy have had to look different.  Navigating …

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Monday 9 November 2020

3 Tips for Educators Returning to In-Person School? Find Your Inner Leader

During this time, I feel like I’ve lost all control. Things that were constant sources of certainty have been turned upside down. And the realization that we will never go back to “normal” is starting to sink in.    Though our sense of normalcy is forever changed, we are seeing glimpses of consistency return. The …

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Wednesday 4 November 2020

Talking to Kids About the Election

As I sit here writing this, we still don’t know the outcome of the Presidential election.  And in all likelihood, it might be a few days before there is a clear winner– which leaves lots of time for kids to ask lots of hard-to-answer questions.  No matter how you voted or which candidate you support, …

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Friday 30 October 2020

November 4th in Your School: Tips for Teachers Discussing Election Results

As we listen to students, parents, school leaders, and teachers share some of their stressors, two things are constant in my mind. First, safety during COVID. Second, the presidential election. As an educator, the third thing that is taking up a lot of mental space is how to respond to students and staff on November …

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Resources to Make Your Life Easier

Your work is hard enough in a typical school year, and now we’ve got a once in a century pandemic and election.  We’re curating resources to make your life a bit easier.   You can download these resources and edit and adjust them for your school community. ESSA Compliance Checklist: Compliance doesn’t stop – check out …

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Thursday 29 October 2020

Student Mental Health During Covid

On the mind of many Possip parents lately– the mental health and wellness of their children. Covid and school closures have taken a toll on all of us, as we’ve discussed here and on our blog before. In a recent study from The American Academy of Pediatrics, more than one in four parents reported worsening …

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6 Guides for Talking to Your Kids About Racial Justice

It has been a little over a month since our first blog on Talking to Your Kids About Race and Racial Injustice  This is part 2!  We see in parent feedback that parents have very mixed feelings about the role schools and educators should have in talking about these topics.  Some parents love teachers and …

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Wednesday 28 October 2020

4 Tips on Communicating Academic Progress to Parents Virtually

This year more than ever, parents are interested in how their child is progressing academically. Many parents feel like their child may not be fully engaged in remote learning or challenged as much as during in-person school. And even with students learning in the next room from parents in many households, we’re hearing that parents …

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Wednesday 21 October 2020

Pandemic Schooling: Student Voices

Pandemic Schooling, from the student perspective   Thankfully, this too, will pass.  There is a post-pandemic world.  But for the remainder of the calendar year, and probably even the school year, we are still in it.  And while much has been written about the impact on parents, and mothers and the economy, and even on children, …

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Including Family Power and Family Voice into Family Engagement

We’re all familiar with the term family engagement. In the past, academics have used the term “parent involvement” or “parent engagement”, but family engagement acknowledges that parents aren’t the only ones involved in a child’s educational journey. Family engagement is crucial to a child’s success in school, but we also can see the limits of …

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Thursday 15 October 2020

Virtual Joy-Factor: Fun Zoom Games and Activities

Let’s be honest, who couldn’t use some extra fun in their lives right now? I know I can benefit from it! But it seems like the old memories of playing games together or students having fun with classroom games are so out of reach. We know virtual games just aren’t the same, but we do …

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Providing Social Support For Your Kids

Children can quickly lose their sense of community and connection while in isolation. School has always been a consistent source of social connection and support for kids. When that feeling of connection is gone, a kid’s social and emotional health can suffer. Creating connections for children—helping them not feel alone—is important for them developmentally and …

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Monday 5 October 2020

5 Questions to Ask Your Staff During The Pandemic

Successful leadership during a time of crisis can feel like a moving target, especially when each leadership context differs depending on characteristics of the community or organization. To learn what those needs are, strong leaders should ask questions about what is needed or wanted. By asking questions, leaders cultivate compassion to effectively care for those …

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Wednesday 30 September 2020

In-Person or Virtual Learning: The Parent Decision

In-person or virtual learning.  As schools begin to re-open, families around the country are faced with a not-so-easy decision—whether or not to send their kids back to the classroom. Through our Weekly Possip surveys, we’ve been hearing from parents for weeks about how stressful this decision is.  Parents are feeling a lot of pressure to …

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Monday 28 September 2020

Tips for Successful Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences will look a little different this year. Even if schools are in-person, parents will probably not be able to come to the school for conferences with safety precautions.    And this year more than ever, parents are interested in how their child is progressing academically. With the effectiveness of virtual learning in question, …

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Tuesday 22 September 2020

6 Guides for Talking to Your Kids About Race and Racial Injustice…and Life (A Multi-Part Series)

Disclaimer:  We are in a time where trust and grace aren’t running high in our country or world.  That can mean we look at…well, everything…with a critical eye.  Understandably a blog post on talking to your kids about race and racial injustice will be ripe for criticism and judgment. I write this post as a …

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How to Write An Email With Feedback to a Teacher

As a former principal, it’s easy to understand how dedicated, caring, well intentioned, and passionate teachers are. Teachers truly are some of the best humans I’ve ever met. All that said, teachers still are humans. They make mistakes, need feedback to improve, and a lot of times WANT feedback to improve. Especially during this time …

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Wednesday 16 September 2020

The Building Block of Successful Schools: Trust

It can be difficult as a principal to prioritize tasks and focus on the most important building blocks that lead to school success. According to Payne and Kaba (2001), the level of social trust, the quality of staff-to-staff and staff-to-parent relationships at a school, can predict the quality of a school. This is BIG. It …

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4 Teacher Tips to Create Strong Virtual Classroom Management

Building positive classroom culture, creating effective classroom management systems, and gaining student investment takes a lot of planning and dedication from educators. It may take years to successfully create and execute a classroom system of consequence and rewards. Teachers are now trying to quickly come up with brand new systems of virtual classroom management.    …

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Monday 14 September 2020

5 Tips for Successful Kindergarten Remote Instruction

Kindergarten and 1st grade are unique in this time of remote instruction. Why? Part of the goal of early school years is to help kids love and understand school, love learning, and make friends. Kindergarten remote instruction doesn’t necessarily make any of those easy – or even possible. Remote learning is hard for everyone, but …

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Friday 11 September 2020

6 Tips for Virtual Cold Calling and Checks for Understanding

Many teachers may have perfected their in-person cold calling techniques. Popsicle sticks, numbers on desks, playing cards handed out at the door, or online number randomizers are in the in-person teacher tool belt. But now teachers are stepping into a totally new arena when it comes to virtual cold calling. This week in Possip, we’ve …

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Wednesday 9 September 2020

Think Outside the Computer: How to Set Up Great Work or Play for Kids That Don’t Involve Zoom or Video

Not surprisingly, parents and students are asking schools to add in some low-tech work or activities during distance learning. We’ve seen in our recent Possip pulse checks that parents are asking for learning experiences that don’t involve Zoom or video learning. Zoom fatigue is real and students are feeling it, but there are some easy …

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Tuesday 25 August 2020

5 Lessons From the First Weeks of Virtual Learning (Part 1)

Schools across the country have started school already. Many of those schools have started with 100% virtual learning. Parents, students, and teachers spent the summer thinking about what virtual learning would look like. A lot of them worried that it would be a complete failure. The reality of virtual learning is that it is difficult, …

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Friday 21 August 2020

How Parents Can Help Their Child Combat Zoom Fatigue

The term “Zoom Fatigue” has been floating around in a lot of articles and media stories since March when most employees had been working remotely for a few weeks. So what is Zoom Fatigue and will it impact schools that go virtual this fall? Zoom Fatigue is the term used to describe being exhausted from remote …

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5 Ways Parents Can Support Strong Teacher Communication Virtually

Parent-teacher communication has never been a one-size-fits-all path to a successful relationship. Each parent and teacher relationship is unique and requires a variety of communication styles and methods. Communication has changed in many different aspects of life due to COVID-19, and parent-teacher communication is no different. How can parents successfully build relationships with teachers virtually? …

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Wednesday 19 August 2020

6 Tips on How to Communicate So Parents Listen and Hear

How Do You Achieve Successful Parent Communication? Schools often complain – and wonder – if parents even pay attention to what the school is sending home.  The short answer is – maybe not. But there are ways schools can strengthen the likelihood that parents do read and internalize them. The solution lies in better communication. …

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Tuesday 18 August 2020

The Importance of Routine – Even for Students

In this week’s blog, Possip intern and Vanderbilt University sophomore Destiny Dangerfield shares why routine has been important for her during COVID-19.   The Impact of COVID-19   When the coronavirus reached the United States this past spring, it changed life for everyone as they knew it. Colleges and universities required that students vacate their …

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Monday 17 August 2020

So…What’s for Lunch? Lunch Hacks for At-Home Learning

Remote learning is only one part of the equation when it comes to at-home school. Many families rely on school cafeterias for either time-management support or financial reasons. Adding on full time “cook” to the list of things parents have on their “plates” right now just doesn’t seem possible for many reasons. Making every breakfast, …

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Friday 14 August 2020

Be “That Parent”: When You Should Have No Questions About Reaching Out to the School

Editor’s Note:  We wrote this blog when school was “in” as normal.  We know this isn’t a normal year – but still want to encourage the same perspective.  Now more than ever, schools and families are on the same team.  You are justified in being “that parent.”   As a former principal, trust me: it’s …

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Thursday 13 August 2020

Distance Learning Can Be Successful

For some schools and districts in the south, the first week of August marked the first days of school. We have the opportunity to learn from these schools and districts, as they’ve had to do what many are going to have to do in the future of distance learning.   And we have good news!  …

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5 Great Ideas (Big and Small) Schools Are Implementing

These days, schools are getting creative however they can to make this the best year possible. We know there are both big and small problems that schools are getting innovative to solve for. In a study done by RAND, principals discussed several big needs including ways to address the loss of student learning, executing virtual …

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Principal’s Corner: 6 Tips for Managing Social Media

Now that so much of our schooling is virtual, social media seems more important than ever. Social media can be a blessing and a curse. It allows schools to communicate in new ways with parents and families, make connections to other school leaders for collaboration, and provides opportunities for professional learning. However, social media concerns …

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Thursday 6 August 2020

The Family Engagement Report Educators Need to Know About

Reporting Family Engagement If you haven’t heard, The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published a report that every educator needs to read. The Parent and Family Involvement in Education Report (PFI) summarizes the important findings within family engagement in K-12 education. The PFI survey asked parents of students from kindergarten through 12th grade questions …

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Wednesday 5 August 2020

6 Ways to Help Students Avoid Zoom Fatigue

What is Zoom Fatigue? The term “Zoom Fatigue” has been floating around in a lot of articles and media stories since March when remote work began. Unfortunately, I don’t see an end to this discussion about the impacts of Zoom Fatigue for a while.  So what is Zoom Fatigue and will it impact schools that …

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Tuesday 4 August 2020

Supportive Companies During COVID-19

Companies: “We’re All In This Together” We’re all in this together: the pandemic catchphrase. What are examples that demonstrate this being lived out in our society? How can we support each other and show empathy for the difficult situations it has put so many of us in? We know that schools are taking on a …

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Friday 31 July 2020

Five Tips to Make Remote Learning More Fun

In the past few months of our Possip pulse checks, I’ve read a handful of parent comments about their child really excelling in virtual learning classes and how their student actually prefers remote learning over in-person school. However, those comments are few and far between. Most parents feel that virtual learning has been a flop …

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Thursday 30 July 2020

Getting Kids Excited for First Day of Virtual School

Help your kids to get excited. 2020 isn’t the year we wanted, but it is the year we have. And virtual school isn’t what most parents wanted, but it is what many of us have.  Our kids deserve to be able to look forward to the first days of school – even if we, their …

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6 Tips to Building a Welcoming Virtual School Environment

  Imagine yourself as a parent or family member coming to the school for a meeting about his or her student. They buzz into the building to come to the front office. What do you want them to experience? What will make them walk away feeling appreciated, cared for, and an important member of the …

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Wednesday 29 July 2020

Five Reopening Best Practices to Replicate

Times of crisis call for collaboration and sharing of best practices that are working for students and families. Educators shouldn’t be living in silos during this time, but learning and listening to each other to create the best possible experience of reopening school. We’ve been seeing some really great practices from schools around the country …

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Tuesday 28 July 2020

Three Keys to a Reopening Plan that Parents Can Support

School and district leaders are in a bit of a no-win situation when making the contentious school reopening decision. Possip’s partners are sending reopening pulse checks to ask families about their comfort and what model they prefer in the fall (hybrid, in-person, or remote learning). Many parents are split into almost equal thirds. This means that …

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Friday 24 July 2020

Inclusive and Equitable Pods

We can create more inclusive and equitable pods.  This is happening….so let’s do it right. Thanks to author Sara Peters who is a Mom, former educator and Possip team member.  This is one of a series of blogs from our Possip community with ideas on “thinking outside of the school building”.   There are many words …

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Wednesday 15 July 2020

The Possip Difference: Ten Ways to Improve Decisions and Change Surveys for Good

Possip isn’t a traditional survey – and that is by design.  We have heard, “these questions are so simple and this survey is so quick.  Can you learn anything?”  The answer is, yes! We believe the Possip difference is what helps leaders improve decisions and people feel heard. The questions are simple and the survey …

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Wednesday 1 July 2020

How Districts Are Reopening Schools Around the Country

One of our partner district leaders described making plans in these times as akin to drawing a plan in sand near the beach. Just as you finish the plan, the tide comes in and erases the plan.  What an accurate analogy!  And the truth is some of the very plans we are highlighting below may …

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Monday 29 June 2020

Principal Corner: Messaging During Difficult Decisions

The Possip team read through tens of thousands of parent comments this past month while reporting on our district re-enrollment pulse checks. We asked parents to make decisions around their preference for reopening schools. They chose between in-person, distance learning, or a staggered hybrid schedule. The data was eye-opening, to say the least. The entire …

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Maximizing Impact Through Strategic Budgeting

Before working at Possip, I worked at Procter & Gamble in Finance for 13 years. I had a number of roles while there including as the leader for the forecasting and budgeting process of Tide the Company’s largest Brand with over $8B in revenue. I held this role during the recession period in 2009 and …

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Wednesday 17 June 2020

Preparing for School Reopening During COVID

Our country is thick with 3 challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic, long-standing racial injustices, and economic insecurity.  As schools and districts prepare for the Fall semester, all three of these themes converge. The reality is COVID-19 leads families to have to consider all these issues as they consider their Fall plans.  Through our work with districts …

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Friday 12 June 2020

For Leaders: Reopening Plans That Hear Voices of Black Families…and Whispers

We believe these steps are great for any school leader.  One of our White team members wrote it to give White leaders, in particular, an additional lens.  Our country is beginning to reopen after unprecedented nationwide closures. Leaders in every company around the world are sharing their detailed plans. The phrases “maintain 6 feet of …

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The Power of Listening

Lately, I have been reflecting on the power of listening.  Good listening is a spiritual effort.  It sounds a bit extreme – and I am far from the listener I aim to be. Yet my limits shouldn’t define aspirations. As we think about what could have happened if the police officers in the George Floyd case …

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Teacher Schedules: New Normal, New Opportunity

Routines, schedules, and consistency are the guiding principles in the life of a teacher. Teachers plan their bathroom breaks to the second, their planning period work time to the minute, and create time-stamped lesson plans. The coronavirus pandemic has thrown that into a loop. Many teachers are at home without their productive, student-focused, and comfortable …

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Wednesday 10 June 2020

For Leaders: Reopening Plans That Hear Voices of Black Families…and Whispers

We believe these steps are great for any school leader.  One of our White team members wrote it to give White leaders, in particular, an additional lens.  Our country is beginning to reopen after unprecedented nationwide closures. Leaders in every company around the world are sharing their detailed plans. The phrases “maintain 6 feet of …

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Tuesday 9 June 2020

What Does It Mean to Call For Your Mother?

Those who have watched the George Floyd murder talk about the moments of last breaths. It is here when he calls out for his “Momma”. “Momma!” Floyd called out, “Momma! I’m through.” His mother is already deceased. Still, his call for her speaks to me – as a mom and a Black mother, and as …

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The Power of Listening

Lately, I have been reflecting on the power of listening.  Good listening is a spiritual effort.  It sounds a bit extreme – and I am far from the listener I aim to be. Yet my limits shouldn’t define aspirations. As we think about what could have happened if the police officers in the George Floyd …

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Thursday 21 May 2020

Teacher Schedules: New Normal, New Opportunities

Routines, schedules, and consistency are the guiding principles in the life of a teacher. Teachers plan their bathroom breaks to the second, their planning period work time to the minute, and create time-stamped lesson plans. The coronavirus pandemic has thrown that into a loop. Many teachers are at home without their productive, student-focused, and comfortable …

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Five Ways to Motivate Your Child

What do I need to do to motivate my child? A very important part of social-emotional learning is helping students own and control their own motivations and behaviors towards work. Getting students to be intrinsically motivated and energized by any work, especially schoolwork, is already a challenge for most teachers in a classroom. Now it’s even …

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Thursday 14 May 2020

Will Schools Reopen? “What Happens If…”

Parents everywhere are asking that question about school. What happens if it’s closed again next year and it doesn’t reopen? And what happens if my school does school intermittently and I don’t have childcare? What happens if school starts back? Will my child be safe? The amount of “what ifs” could drive you crazy. Most …

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Celebrating Senior Graduations and Milestones

As we all know, COVID-19 has changed our world and will definitely be impacting how you plan for graduation and end of year ceremonies this year. In our weekly Possip parent pulse checks, parents are asking about how to celebrate our seniors and other “end of year” milestones that students are really looking forward to. …

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Wednesday 6 May 2020

Engaging Children Under 5 in Learning at Home

80% of children’s brain growth occurs in the first three years of life. A lot of this includes learning at home. Here are a few quick tips on how to interact with your Pre-K child and make it a learning experience! The first two strategies are going to be more focused on parent-child interactions where …

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Tuesday 5 May 2020

Building a Community During School Closures

Building a strong community is more important now than ever during these school closures. Students, parents, teachers, and leaders all need the support system of a strong community to get through this time. Possip surveyed parents all around the country about needs they have during the school closures- and we found that interestingly, what parents …

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Wednesday 22 April 2020

Parent-Teacher Communication During COVID-19

  Especially during a time of crisis, there is not a “one size fits all” solution to parent-teacher communication during COVID-19.  Teachers are diverse people – as are parents.  So what may be the perfect amount of communication for one parent might be too much communication for another parent.  Similarly, what one teacher may feel …

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Principal’s Corner: Creating a School Culture From Afar 

Many students, educators, and families are having a difficult time after losing their strong support system that was built through a positive school culture. School culture is the heartbeat of a school. The positive feelings, traditions, diversity of perspectives, and support that have been lost in the shuffle of moving to remote learning during this …

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Monday 20 April 2020

Principal’s Corner: Supporting Families with Diverse Learners

In this time of crisis, educators and parents of diverse learners are getting creative with remote teaching to meet their needs. How do we meet the unique needs of students with disabilities and English learners, both academic and non-academic, in an at-home setting?   Many students with diverse needs may be having more heightened levels …

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Sunday 19 April 2020

Remote Learning Models During COVID-19 School Closures

Schools all over the country have moved to remote learning. However, the models that schools are utilizing to support learning at home vary greatly. Depending on your community, teacher availability, student needs, and family responsibilities, remote learning can take many different forms. Have you reflected on which one works best for your school?   We’re …

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Thursday 16 April 2020

Parents Working and Teaching from Home

  Last week we welcomed four parents to share about how they are handling working and teaching from home.     Many parents have been unexpectedly put into the role of a teacher at home.  We had a webinar this week that allowed us to hear from three parents about how they are managing working and …

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Addressing Children’s Social-Emotional Needs During School Closures

Parents are wanting to know how to meet their children’s social-emotional needs at home during this time of crisis.    Social-emotional learning is critical to managing anxiety at this time for our students.   If kids don’t know how to deal with the current lack of control, lack of normalcy, and feelings of uncertainty, their …

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Tuesday 14 April 2020

If Someone in Your School Community Gets COVID-19, What Next?

Thanks to Adie Tate, former teacher and Possip team member for contributing to this. In these uncertain times, it is hard to have a plan for any possible event. The New York City DOE recently began releasing information, and sadly 50 staff members have died from COVID-19.  The real health impact on folks in our …

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Sunday 12 April 2020

LIVES: Leadership During School Shutdowns

Every person needs to see themselves as a LEADER at this moment.  While there is value in a great follower, this moment also requires great leaders.  Whether you are a teacher, parent, school principal, headmaster, superintendent, or other staff member, this is a moment that calls for LEADERSHIP.   As we all stay at home and …

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Thursday 9 April 2020

Voices of Students During School Closures

We are driven to engage diverse voices to strengthen school communities.  The voices of students are so important at this time.  One historian even recommended that students – and adults – journal at this time.  So we wanted to know, what was top of mind for students!  We’ll be adding to this regularly. Our first …

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Tuesday 7 April 2020

5 Questions School Leaders Have – Answered

What are the questions school leaders have? Last week, Possip hosted a webinar for school leaders on “Leading in Times of Challenge”. Possip’s CEO, Shani Dowell, discussed how leaders should take time to listen, set short-term goals, and plan with core values, communication, and change in mind. Leadership during COVID-19 is unique. We received the …

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Tuesday 31 March 2020

5 Leadership During COVID-19 Crisis Questions

Last week, Possip hosted a webinar for school leaders on “Leading in Times of Challenge”. Possip’s CEO, Shani Dowell, discussed how leaders should take time to listen, set short-term goals, and plan with core values, communication, and change in mind. Leadership during COVID-19 is unique. We received the following questions from school leaders who attended …

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Monday 30 March 2020

How Schools Are Communicating During This Time

At Possip, we observe how teachers, administrators, and district leaders are engaging and communicating with families. It’s been remarkable to watch schools and families set into action and adapt so quickly this past month. Without a doubt, the context for education is changing rapidly in our country and will be different on the other side …

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Saturday 28 March 2020

Principal’s Corner: Caring for Teachers and Staff in This Time

Principal’s Corner: Caring for Teachers and Staff in This Time Caring for teachers and staff is more important than ever.  In the weeks leading up to spring break, teachers are historically reaching “burnout” mode. They need and always appreciate the week of fun, relaxation, and self-care. For most teachers, this spring break did not give …

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Wednesday 25 March 2020

Keeping Students Engaged During Remote Teaching

We recently hosted a webinar on remote teaching and learning.  A top question?  How to keep students engaged when teaching virtually. I love managing teams virtually and working in virtual organizations – and have done it for the past 7 years.  The largest team I managed virtually included almost 200 people!  So I’m excited to …

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Tuesday 24 March 2020

Teaching During COVID – 19

As word of school closures took off, we heard about homeschooling, digital learning, families needing food, and a host of other topics.  We didn’t spend as much time thinking about teaching during COVID.  Here, Possip team member and former teacher Hannah Hall shares some of her wisdom and learning. How Teachers Feel Anxious, confused, unsettled, …

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Monday 23 March 2020

Leading During Coronavirus – What Cincinnati Public Schools Got Right

While school districts all over the country have been faced with an unprecedented challenge to serve their students in the midst of a major crisis, I have been incredibly impressed with how my child’s district has handled things. They have really been leading during Coronavirus. First, district and school staff  paused and asked questions to …

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Facilitating Virtual Meetings: Principal’s Corner

For most educators, your day-to-day has been a highly in-person and social experience. You probably rely heavily on nonverbal cues during meetings and feel comfortable with leading meetings or professional development in front of your staff. You enjoy being around people and are energized by the community that surrounds you. Now, you’ve been abruptly asked …

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Sunday 22 March 2020

A Letter to Teachers Returning to “School”, From a Principal

KIPP Sunnyside School Leader, Rian Wright, penned this post on Facebook. Her now-viral letter to teachers represents the hopes and challenges for teachers and principals in the coming weeks.  KIPP Sunnyside is in its third year as a Possip partner. year Letter to Teachers To the teachers returning to “school” on Monday: We’ve got your …

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Wednesday 18 March 2020

It’s Time to Pause and Take a Breath

It was the night of March 2nd.  My hometown and neighborhood in Nashville, TN was hit with devastating tornadoes.  Entire neighborhoods were left in piles of wood.  We were out of school for the remainder of the week – and in shock, reeling from the loss of community…and control. It made us pause and reel. …

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Tuesday 17 March 2020

Principal’s Corner: What Parents Are Asking About Coronavirus

Schools and teachers are fast to act.  Part of what makes educators so great is our ability to act, respond, plan, and react.  Being still? Not as much our strength. While earning extra money is one reason educators work extra jobs, the other reality is we tend to be doers.  But at this time we …

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Sunday 15 March 2020

A Parent’s Guide to Kids at Home During COVID-19

The extended title: A Parent’s Guide to Having Kids at Home While Keeping Your Own Sanity, During COVID – 19 We’ve got kids at home.  Let’s be real.  Things can feel scary right now.  Two weeks ago many students and families were preparing for spring break.  For most of us, that can mean anything from …

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Thursday 12 March 2020

Keeping Schools Safe: School Safety Communication Tips

Schools have a weighty responsibility towards school safety – both for students and staff. An important part of school safety is parent communication.  Schools are often busy keeping kids safe, communicating with police, and responding to needs. This means communicating with parents often comes last, if at all. However, when schools don’t communicate with parents …

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Wednesday 4 March 2020

A Principal’s Guide to Coronavirus Communication

It’s hard not to panic about the Coronavirus when it’s everywhere in the media and constantly on the news. As expected, parents of school-aged children are putting coronavirus prevention and preparation at the top of their concerns. Schools are known as places where germs spread, so it’s especially important for school leaders to prepare and …

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Thursday 13 February 2020

6 Tips for Accurate Parent Data in Schools

Why Parent Data is Important – and Hard to Maintain “You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.” — Daniel Keys Moran said.  He didn’t say this about parent data, but the same message applies! When thinking about parent partnerships with schools, schools need parent data to have information. You …

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Tuesday 4 February 2020

Top 5 Reasons We Love School Counselors

National School Counseling Week – Celebrating School Counselors   This week (February 3rd – 7th, 2020) is National School Counseling Week.  We know we have a number of school counselors, or those who take on the work of school counselors, in our community.  We wanted to take a minute to share some of the top …

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Friday 24 January 2020

8 Things That Matter When Touring or Choosing Schools

In many cities, parents have options for choosing a school. Parents aren’t limited to what is closest to them, and can take advantage of unique features that different schools offer.  While this choice can be great, like anything, too many choices can be overwhelming. So taking a tour of schools can help.  We have found …

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Thursday 2 January 2020

The Building Block of Successful Schools: Building Trust

As a principal you have to prioritize lots of tasks and focus on the most important building blocks that lead to school success. According to Payne and Kaba (2001), the level of social trust, the quality of staff-to-staff and staff-to-parent relationships at a school, can predict the quality of a school. So building trust can …

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5 Tips to Start the New Year Right at Your School

After a long and unstructured break, students may need some adjustment back to regular school routines.  They come back to school with new hopes and resolutions.  They want to start the new year right at school.  You and your staff do too! So you’ll want to re-norm and revisit expectations both in the classroom and …

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