Tom Drake’s Bright Spots & Belly Flops
Without question a big #highfive goes out to the opening of classroom and school doors through visiting other schools and
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Crossett Brook Middle School
8 ways feedback makes proficiencies work
Meet Grace Gilmour, and her proficiency-based classroom. “Oh yay. I was like: yay, my heart.” This was Grace Gilmour’s response
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What students want you to know about school
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The art of listening We are big believers in including student voice in our storytelling. Usually we ask students to
Read morePhys ed 2.0: More learning, less suffering
Personalizing PE In this era of personalized learning, it’s not just the jocks that find P.E. enjoyable. At Crossett Brook
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One mural, multiple legacies
Beyond the Passion Project: Clara wanted to do something amazing for her final Brainado project. She wanted to push herself
Read moreA student-led short story unit at Crossett Brook
7th and 8th graders take the initiative to share their stories with the world. Ms. Cicchetti’s 7th and 8th grade
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Therapy dogs in Vermont schools
Who let the dogs in? For some students, being ready to learn when they arrive at school is a big
Read moreChanging the who, the what, and the when
The transformation of Team Quest Educators never feel like they have enough time to do all the things they want
Read moreHow to bake an inspiring kickoff video
Launching a new project cycle with inspiration from the last one Organizing your realia — testimonials, storytelling and artifacts —
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Unpacking a great action research project
A tale of research-driven change Last year two educators at Crossett Brook Middle School undertook an amazing action research project
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The rise of the project-based PLP
A new recipe for Personalized Learning Plans Rather than trying to get students to care about existing PLPs, some schools
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The value of a community mentor
How did an 8th grader turn his passion project into a summer job? I found Connor in the tech ed
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The new Crossett Brook personalized learning plans
One way to make sure PLPs are student-driven: hand them the keys At the end of last school year, the
Read moreThe Maker Movement and transferable skills
Making as evidence of transferable skills around Vermont During the past year, EMMA has visited schools around Vermont to fuel
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The #everydaycourage of trying again
Seeing failure as iteration A trio of students at Crossett Brook Middle School, in Duxbury VT, have spent the past
Read more4 ways Vermont educators are sharing their practice
The #everydaycourage of being seen Take the iconic back-to-school prompt for students — what I did on my summer vacation — and
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The Crossett Brook Queer-Straight Alliance
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Think middle schoolers are too young for a QSA? Think again At the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) at Crossett Brook
Read moreUse a student leadership team for feedback on PLPs
Guiding Crossett Brook PLPs with student voice The Crossett Brook PLP student leadership group presented their recommendations on PLPs to
Read more4 examples of students as partners in school change
Let students help you transform your school Creating sustainable systemic change is hard work. Yet there are readily available, free, renewable
Read moreWhat are the benefits of taking Genius Hour school-wide?
Standard 3-part story-driven post: 1) what it is, 2) what it looks like in a school, 3) how to do it in your school
Read more3 ways to use Google Forms to streamline your workflow
For exit tickets, student support & action research Using Google Forms and Google Sheets together can streamline your process and
Read moreTackling school change as a community
Community conversations about education What would you tell your neighbors about your school? What do you think they’d say in
Read more4 shifts for student-led conferences in a proficiency-based environment
Student-led conferences are for students Student-led conferences are a key strategy in personalized, student-centered educational practices. And they’re even more important
Read more4 ways to begin using scales for assessment
Getting started assessing proficiency School systems in Vermont and elsewhere are in the midst of a shift to proficiency-based learning.
Read more4 digital identity exercises for students
Introduce a student-centered tech-rich year Looking for ways to explore digital identity with students? Here are 4 student-centered, tech-rich digital
Read moreRevolutionize student research with Padlet
Organize research materials digitally and collaboratively Tiffany Michael, from Crossett Brook Middle School in Waterbury, Vermont, describes how her use
Read moreWill we see you at Dynamic Landscapes 2016?
Check out these dynamic educators Are you heading to sunny Burlington, VT this Monday and Tuesday (no really, it will
Read moreMakerSpace Wonderland at Crossett Brook MS
The Story of MakerSpace: A Rabbit Interrupts a Drowsy Day The story of MakerSpace at Crossett Brook Middle School begins
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PLPs and literacy
Incorporating student choice into reading This screencast, from Crossett Brook Middle School, in Waterbury, Vermont, describes an action research project based
Read moreZ is for Generation Z
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Who are Generation Z? The term Generation Z refers to teens and pre-teens born after 1995 and was officially launched
Read morePersonalizing Vermont’s education system
Move to implement PLPs reflected at two local conferences for educators Fall in Vermont features two amazing local conferences for
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