I love the work I do. I especially love my continued connection with Ashland University — flexible, affordable, job-embedded offerings that help educators further their knowledge through professional development courses as well as graduate programs.
If you or anyone you know is looking for summer courses — check out these offerings.
Click this link for more information!
As the new school year approaches, I’ve never been prouder to be an educator. Watching my friends and colleagues across settings and across the globe make responsive plans for their students and being ready to pivot at any given time is inspiring. I’ve had the good fortune of co-planning and learning alongside many districts and teachers during the past 5+ months and one important theme continues to emerge. While educators are worried about students’ health, families’ health, and their own well-being, the compassion and desire to serve their learning communities is at an all-time high. Like others, I’ve had to rethink how and when and where I support those I serve. I’m so proud of the work we’ve accomplished together and know that we will continue to look back and use our reflections as we plan forward.
If you are looking for support for your team, school, district or organization [remotely now, potentially face-to-face in the months to come] please check out the following opportunities. Whether you are an administrator, instructional coach, or teacher…there’s something here for you! And, with school budgets being slim and trim, don’t hesitate contacting me to discuss affordable options that might fit your needs.
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https://www.juliewrightconsulting.com/workshops
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I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Shannon for the last few years. We share a common love of books and we are both self-proclaimed pen snobs — meaning we are both “pen-picky” and enjoy trying to convince one another that our favorite pen type is the best. Shannon is a continual learner — with an ongoing stream of inquiry. She’s a joy to co-plan with because she exudes happiness as she noodles ideas, thinks through wonderings, and creates ways to support her students — and her learning community — in collaborative, heart-felt ways.
A few shared agreements:
As I co-plan with teachers, I’m not going to spend much time, if any, editing the videos. This means it might be clunky at times. You might get a barking dog, tech glitches, or family interruptions. I hope you’ll be able to relate. Thank you, in advance, for assuming best intentions and for your understanding. In addition, not everything we do together is recorded.
The ideas shared in these videos are NOT “the way” or “the right way” -- they are just one way to approach the work. I hope you’ll spend some time actively studying the co-planning conversation. As you listen, take stock of the ASSETS that emerge from the conversation. Think about:
What’s the WHY behind our work?
What moves are we trying to make in service of students?
Name the implications for your work going forward. What might you adopt or adapt to fit your setting, interests, and/or needs?
Focus on process versus end product. The work will continue to unfold even if it’s not captured on video segments. If you check back into our shared documents, you’ll notice changes because our work is dynamic, not static, and will evolve across time.
Shannon’s students have settled into a learning from home routine and are launching into their 8th week. Each week brings about new celebrations and new challenges.
Shannon wants her students to end the year with a mini-poetry unit, celebrating reading and writing!
How do the enduring practices we use in the classroom translate -- or not -- to remote/digital learning from home?
What’s the WHY behind this mini-poetry unit?
What’s going to get kiddos jazzed up about reading and writing poetry?
What end demonstrations or learning celebrations can we co-create with students to honor their work?
If you are interested in watching a coach and teacher co-plan — working as THINKING PARTNERS in response to the unique times we are currently experiencing — check out this video.
What poem types will be new/unfamiliar to students? What poem types will feel like “old friends”?
Will students write poetry on paper or on the computer? They have options so I’m wondering what they will choose?
Will students illustrate some of the poems they write?
Is there a way to help students collect all of the poems they are reading and writing [a binder or folder] to keep them organized at home? If so, maybe they could be used to inspire reading/re-reading poetry over the summer.
Our DRAFTY, dynamic, in-motion, evolving plans: Julie & Shannon: Co-planning Mini-Poetry Unit
Small Group Plans: Small Group Reading & Writing Lesson Plans to Adopt, Adapt or Improve [During Remote/Distance Learning]
Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Poetry
If you want to learn more about Shannon’s classroom, check out her blog!
As most educators would agree, working from a distance is not the same as in-person experiences. In my work as a consultant, it’s not unusual for me to work across the miles with teachers. In fact, most of my consulting contracts include some form of this type of professional learning, particularly as we prepare for our work together in the classroom. Planning and working across the miles is how we often get a jump-start to our work together. The difference, of course, is the work we are typically planning is NOT from a distance. So, that is where we are trying to make a shift.
I’m in good company when I say we are all kind of tired of this by now. However, with so many unknowns about what school will — or should — look like in the fall, we are using this spring as a dress rehearsal of sorts. We are asking:
What’s working? What’s clunky?
Who are we reaching and supporting in ways that are making a difference?
Who are we concerned about? What don’t we know that we should know?
How will we stay connected and minimize the “distance” that separates us?
How will we create compelling, sophisticated learning experiences that take into account our foundational beliefs and practices in ways that nature and inspire students?
Two pieces I’ve recently written that might be of interest are:
Until next time — keep at it! You’ve got a whole crew of educators cheering you on because we know the spirit and camaraderie surrounds us all! Reach out if you’d like to chat about ways I might be of service and support your efforts!
Barry and I have been colleagues for the last 6 years. We first met while supporting a school in Harlem and then continued our work across the miles — coast to coast — through Sunday morning co-planning calls and writing. We are a great pair because we’ve nudged one another to think deeply about the things that matter to our practices and we hold inquiry and assets at our center. One of the best parts about our work together is the bridge we’ve created between our professional and personal lives. It’s pretty typical for Barry and I to launch or end our planning calls with, “what’s happening with the family?” type of dialogue. We work hard at keeping it real — real people, real lives, real work. We wouldn’t have it any other way. It doesn’t hurt, either, that we really dig each other’s spouses and kids—what blessings they are to each of us!
So, why all this chatter about our connection? For us, relationships, collaboration, and working with an asset-based mindset matters. We’ve worked to put our beliefs about learning, both with adults and students alike, into practice. Specifically, we believe learning is maximized when:
we build lasting RELATIONSHIPS with our colleagues
we work toward COLLECTIVE GOALS with SHARED AGREEMENTS about how to get where we are going
we catch the good — going after ASSET-BASED PROTOCOLS — always
we approach all problems of practice through MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS
we create learning environments where everyone has something to GIVE and everyone has something they can GET
we use REFLECTION to look back in order to create steps forward
About once or twice a year, Barry and I try to live out our beliefs by working and learning alongside one another in the same space. Whether that’s Barry making his way east to take a class in NYC or my heading west to learn in his classroom, thinking and planning together has been a cornerstone of our work.
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of co-hosting a Learning Lab in Barry’s classroom. The classroom organization and culture, his students, and students’ work became our text for learning. Because collaboration is central to our work, we invited some colleagues to join us. It’s hard to really capture all of the beauty that came about — individually and collectively —from participants. What follows is a snapshot from our Bainbridge Island Learning Lab experience.
Reflection: Our educational North Stars are the things that help us hold steady while other things [priorities, initiatives] continue to move and change. Defining and living within your professional North Star helps you stay grounded in your work, regardless of what comes your way.
Reflection: Using asset-based protocols — catching the good — when observing a classroom builds relationships, fosters trust and safely for everyone involved.
A big thank you to my friend and mentor, Sam Bennett, for sharing this protocol with me 10 years ago. It worked then and it still works today!
Teachers kidwatching — using a note catcher to collect asset-based evidence.
Reflection: Being clear with how time will be used across a workshop — both for yourself as the facilitator of learning and for the kiddos — is directly linked to student independence.
Posted in Barry’s classroom and revisited at the beginning of workshop.
Reflection: Creating efficient, effective and sustainable systems and structures for noting student observations —as you study and interact with students in whole group, small group, and 1:1 — is a key ingredient for future, instructional decision-making.
Graph paper + student headshots + clipboard + pen!
Reflection: If we believe in EYES ON PRINT, EYES ON PRINT, EYES ON PRINT, then choice in text type + seating makes a BIG difference for kiddos buying in and settling in for independent reading time.
Who wouldn’t want to dive into a text when you can sit around the “family room” to read!
Reflection: Biographies come in lots of shapes, sizes, and lengths. Sometimes reading lots of short texts builds reading volume in ways that one long chapter book biography can’t. Giving kiddos the choice is important.
Reflection: When students hold their thinking, it gives them opportunities to make meaning of the texts they are reading.
Reflection: Conferring with students provides insights and is one of the most meaningful, on-the-spot forms of formative assessment.
Reflection: One of the most powerful parts of a Learning Lab is the reflection that follows — cracking open the thinking behind the planning & instructional moves. It’s that metacognition that helps others imagine the implications for their work going forward.
Reflection: Sometimes we write to make sense and/or solidify our thinking or reflections. If you’d like to read some of Barry’s reflections after this Learning Lab, check this out!
I have this mantra—
When my kids were babies, their pediatrician would say, “good sleep produces good sleep.” Across the years, it proved to be true. None of my kids ever slept well when they were overly tired. If they were well rested, they rested well. I think a similar concept applies in schools. When good work is happening—it’s contagious. Good work ignites inquiry. Good work produces more good work and, in turn, inspires change.
Recently, I had the pleasure of supporting a school district that also believes good work produces good work. They’ve worked hard to stick with things that create growth. I’m fortunate to be included in some of their exciting work. They believe, like I do, that our work in schools is complex and that change doesn’t happen overnight. In addition, they believe that collaboration makes a difference. Following are some highlights — told through reflections and images — from my recent work with Enumclaw School District.
Reflection #1: Asking important questions and co-constructing solutions yields high-leverage, action-oriented results.
Reflection #2: Co-planning [through learning progressions or units of study] is essential because thinking together helps us close the knowing-naming-doing gap.
Reflection #3: Having choice in how we plan [templates, charts, high/low tech options, post-it notes, etc.] puts teachers in the planning driver’s seat—which is where they need to be!
![Access to templates forthcoming [Benchmark, 2020].](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a870022e45a7c0c0c9ea20e/1582474697016-M2FTQF01N18DCP4RRMKX/Screen+Shot+2020-02-23+at+11.06.32+AM.png)
Access to templates forthcoming [Benchmark, 2020].
Reflection #4: Learning Lab experiences are capacity building structures that create short and long-term impacts.
Reflection #5: Time and space to work collaboratively is necessary if we want to ignite inquiry and inspire change.
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