What does it mean to be a mentor? Though Mr. Webster may define it as “an experienced and trusted adviser,” we aren’t convinced his definition has been actualized in the field of education. 

After all, though many mentors are by definition “experienced,” that...

Libraries should be staging areas for dynamic collaborative programs, and yet so many only serve as storage and circulation centers for books within a school learning community.

A school library can be so much more for students and teachers, with numerous devices and various technologies that...

Instructional design is an important function in the role of teacher. It is not a product for teachers to receive; it is a crucial, creative responsibility of the job. That which teachers design, detail by detail, is the foundation for their other roles: guide, docent, disseminator,...

According to the Civil Rights Data Collection, of the 49 million students enrolled in public schools in 2011–2012, 3.5 million were suspended in-school, 3.45 million were suspended out-of-school, and 130,000 were expelled.

Another concerning fact from this source is that black students are...

Being a perfectionist, people-pleasing, or a control freak has become the routine in some schools, and it’s almost a rite of passage to being a teacher.

Thanks to social media and search engines, you can find many ways to color code, label, and use a custom font for every file, drawer, and...

Think back to when you first started teaching. Before you even stepped foot in your first classroom. You knew you wanted to make an impact. You knew you wanted to empower students with the gift of knowledge so they could achieve their goals in life.

But then something happened.

Many things...

A school leader can be a true difference maker. Building a solid culture is important anytime. It's especially important in a world when everything is new--remote learning, hybrid learning, or face-to-face learning in a social distance world. 

Here is how school leaders can make a...

If we want to end racial injustice, we need to champion equity in our schools. Sure, this has been a conversation for many years, but we're still failing our students and society. In many cases, it's not for a lack of trying; more likely, it's because we don't fully grasp how to identify...

An underlying theme in Hacking Leadership is the idea of leading from the middle, which is symbolized in the book's cover image. The idea is that the blue fish--the leader in this case--doesn't need to be out front. She swims along with the rest of the fish, and they light up from the...

Mentoring is a process--not a sprint to a goal. A mentor is empowered to offer professional expertise as well as support to a less experienced colleague or a peer. A mentor serves as a teacher, sounding board, and advocate for another colleague.

The focus and goal of mentoring is not to point...