Why now more than ever Anyone who’s been in a school building this year can tell you they’ve never seen anything like it. Not the masks and the social distancing. We all know that. I’m referring to the teacher exhaustion. The constant stress of trying to care for their students’ social and emotional needs and making…
We know it’s been a long year. Your faculty and staff are exhausted and it’s only November. Everyone feels like they can’t do another thing, yet students need more support now than ever before. Consider adding gratitude journals to every classroom. Gratitude journals can have universal benefits and won’t create additional work for already exhausted teachers.…
Addressing the pervasive “unexpected behavior challenges” can be a slippery slope. What we’re hearing… Whether it’s California, Massachusetts or Texas, urban, suburban or rural, public or private, we hear the same concern from our schools: “We’ve never seen behavior like this before. It’s not just the students. It’s adults too.” Of course, we all know the reasons: stress, anxiety, depression, too long…
For those of us who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s the reference to Choose Your Own Adventure books likely brings a nostalgic smile. What was it we universally loved so much? They certainly weren’t the best written stories. But, they empowered us. We chose the plot. We made the character’s decisions. One could say we had…
Despite what social media might have you believe, the academic Three R’s, Reading, (w)Riting and (a)Rithmetic, are still the foundation for all learning. Without these essential skills, students will not have the building blocks for the higher-order thinking that drives 21st century skills like computation, communication and collaboration. This back-to-school, students of all ages might struggle…
This back-to-school year don’t just prioritize SEL but focus on the social and emotional skills that will be most important after a year of non-traditional learning. Here are our top recommendations based on the CASEL Framework, the predominant SEL framework in US K12 schools. 1. Start with Relationship Skills Typically students naturally develop Relationship Skills through daily in-school interactions…
The bigger structural changes many hoped would be a silver lining from the pandemic didn’t happen. However, parents and teachers undoubtedly learned some important lessons that can be used to address learning loss and improve in-person school for everyone this Fall. Here are the top things we learned that are (a) also consistent with science and (b) readily…
I’ve known Cindy for four years. If you need to speak with someone on how to parent with less stress, she’s the person to talk to. While Cindy specializes in working with families who have children with ADHD, in a world of remote or hybrid learning most families will benefit from her sage wisdom. I was thrilled…
by Nancy Weinstein, CEO of Mindprint Learning Author’s Note: After working with parents, teachers, administrators (and my own children!) this Spring and Summer on remote school, I’ve discovered this top 5 list is essential for all students regardless of their Mindprint profile. Keep in mind that remote learning requires an even greater level of parent-teacher partnership. Parents…
When done right, testing is incredibly valuable We’ve all heard more about the value of accurate, reliable testing in the last four weeks than at any point in our collective lifetimes. The crystal clear message from trusted scientists: Testing is essential to evaluate and address current conditions. The only thing worse than not testing is…