To me, summer has always seemed to be filled with opportunities. The weather gets warmer, the days are longer, children are on break from school, holidays are celebrated, and families and friends gather and go on vacation. Summer, particularly for educators, is also a time to look back on the past year—and look forward to the coming one. What worked, what didn't, and what can be improved?
This summer I had the opportunity to observe educators in three settings as they extended their learning through professional development, connected and reconnected with each other and their passion for teaching, and strengthened their leadership skills. At ASCD's Conference on Teaching Excellence in June, attendees were driven to learn about the latest trends in education and more in-depth discussion of proven strategies.
In July, ASCD's Whole Child Network met at its summer institute to bring teams from each school together to share their experiences, delve deeper into how to support change in their classrooms and school communities through a whole child approach, and continue the planning process for the next school year. That same week, ASCD leaders gathered at the annual Leader to Leader (L2L) Conference to collaborate and strengthen their personal and professional leadership skills.
The educators at each of these events took the opportunity to reflect on why they teach and took action to improve how they best serve their students and each other. I asked a few of them to share their thoughts on