By: Jon Konen | Aug 23, 2016
We know that professional development of a teaching staff is the number one strategy to increase student achievement. In fact, I believe in it so much that I devote over 1/3 of my budget on professional development. Looking at the ways in which teachers like to receive the professional development ...
By: Maury Cook | Aug 22, 2016
Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team around his sophomore year of high school. Imagine if he had listened to the person who told him he was not good enough and decided to play baseball instead. What would the outcome have been? Would Air Jordan exist? I wonder…. As ...
By: Jon Konen | Aug 17, 2016
Dr. Bill Daggett preaches, “Culture trumps strategy!” How do we get our whole school to focus on culture? Let’s take the school’s temperature…If 100 degree is warm, than 212 degrees is boiling! Customer service in education may not seem foreign to many educators, but this is what we do every ...
By: Jon Konen | Aug 8, 2016
Can you teach patience? I think you can! Having an amazing dad that is the epitome of patience has taught me a lot. Staff members wonder why I don’t get rattled when a kid yells, screams, or even tries to throw stuff at me when they are frustrated. It goes ...
By: Mary McLaughlin | Aug 1, 2016
Last week I enjoyed the best kind (in my mind) of vacation: a beach vacation. The opportunity to sit and watch the waves crash to shore in a pulsing, cacophonous, capacious rhythm which makes my heart happy, my mind relax, and my body become serenely placid. Ahh…the joys of getting ...
By: Tricia Koechig | Jul 29, 2016
We have all heard it said, “There is no I in team.” Football, basketball, soccer, and hockey are just a few sports that you simply can’t play alone. Even “solo” sports have more than just one person involved. Most people involved in solo sports have a coach. Similarly, the teaching ...
By: Jon Konen | Jul 29, 2016
Ratios can be valuable pieces of data, if used correctly. Math gets in our way sometimes of seeing what truly is meaningful in education. We track assessment data, individual education plans, and even formative data on how students respond in science classes. The data we can’t track are the intangibles, ...
By: Tricia Koechig | Jul 8, 2016
Communication has been defined as “the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. to someone else (Merriam-Webster).” Communication takes place from the time of your birth and throughout your entire life. There are many ...
By: Mary McLaughlin | Jul 7, 2016
I am a professional development junkie. I love it. It’s like a pan of homemade Rice Krispie treats for me…I don’t get to have it often enough and oh! That deliciously rice flavor. When it’s done well, I can’t wait for more because of its sweetness and a wonderful, lingering ...
By: Jon Konen | Jun 13, 2016
As a teacher or parent have you ever sat and watched a kid buzz around like a bubble bee and wonder where that kid gets all his energy? I think about all the renewable resources our state of Montana is trying to tap: wind, solar, water, and more. How can ...