Great Reads and Resources!
- Congratulations to Iowa's Regional Teacher(s) of the Year 2025! Iowa Department of Education
Professional Learning and Vision Casting as Essential Curriculum Cycle Work By Angie Hanson, Ed.D.
Elevate the Power of Reflective Practice through the Analysis of Student Work - PD Where You Are and What You Need Right Now at a Fantastic Price!!
Prioritizing Mental Health!
- The Who Before the What (Part 1) by Danielle Theis
- The Who Before the What (Part 2) by Danielle Theis
- Iowa Schools Embracing AI by Grace King (The Gazette)
Professional Learning and Vision Casting as Essential Curriculum Cycle Work
By Angie Hanson, Ed.D., Associate Superintendent for School Improvement, Spencer Community School District
This article is for all of my fellow curriculum nerds. You know who you are. You might have the title of Curriculum Director, Director of Teaching and Learning, AEA consultant, Literacy Coach, or Math Specialist (and so on and so forth). You are the educator whose juices get flowing just thinking about working with a team of teachers to improve instruction and assessment or digging into the current research on teaching a specific subject. Curriculum work is your jam.
But maybe, like me, your enthusiasm is not shared by all of the teachers you collaborate with through the curriculum cycle. You will know this is the case, if you can relate to any of the following scenarios I have personally encountered.
The Forewarning: Multiple members of a curriculum team come and warn you about a specific team member. There is concern that she will be resistant to any change, derail the process, and even use tears to get her way. It has happened in the past, so (de de duh) be warned.
It’s All Good in the Hood: A well respected member of a team that will begin curriculum work soon schedules a meeting. He informs you that the team likes what they are doing and everything is great, no need for curriculum changes. The team just needs me to ask for samples of the most recent edition of the current text, and we are done.
Been There Done That: During the curriculum work launch meeting, veteran team members inform you that they have engaged in lots of PD about these (blankety blank blank) standards in the past. We didn’t agree with them then, but tried it and it didn’t work. So, do not expect us to implement them anytime soon. When do you think the state will revise and get rid of them?
The Nervous Nelly: After an initial curriculum cycle meeting a member waits until after everyone has left to engage in a ‘meeting after the meeting.’ She shares that she is really nervous about curriculum work stating that she is not very good at this type of work, feels stupid, and is afraid of the amount of time it will take. Can’t she just be removed from the curriculum team?
My hope is that you do not recognize any of these scenarios, instead you have hordes of eager educators ready to take on the challenge of curriculum cycle work. But if you serve a smaller district that requires all teachers to engage in curriculum work at some point, like I do, at least one of the scenarios might seem all too familiar. So, what to do?
Elevate the Power of Reflective Practice through the Analysis of Student Work
January 16, 2025 from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. (Virtual Training)
Join us to create a foundation of excellence that will drive growth for both teachers and students!
Discover how analyzing the work we have our students complete and submit as evidence of their learning can elevate both teacher effectiveness and student achievement. This immersive experience is designed to empower educators with actionable strategies that drive meaningful growth and foster a thriving learning community.
Session Highlights:
- Enhancing Professional Learning to Boost Student Success
- Learn how to analyze student work to inform professional learning experiences, leading to improved student achievement and more reflective teaching practices.
Teachers’ Reflective Practice should be driven by the learning experiences our students participate in. The work they do and the insights we gain from the processes of formative assessment of their learning direct our continual improvement as instructors.
This session is ideal for school leaders, instructional coaches, and mentors who are dedicated to empowering teachers and improving school-wide learning.
Register Here for only $150!
The Who Before the What (Part 1)
Danielle Theis, LICSW, Ed S., Teach to Heal
The reality for teachers is that while the "what" remains teachable and accessible, the "who"—the students themselves—are increasingly difficult to reach.
Without access to the minds teachers are tasked with educating, progress cannot be achieved either individually or systemically. Schools must seek to understand what is necessary to maximize access to the "who” in order to enhance their comprehension and application of the "what.” This assignment is becoming increasingly difficult due to the impacts of mental health.
Mental health needs began changing and increasing significantly in 2010. At that time, I was a licensed psychotherapist, Special Education Director, and Principal with twenty years of experience with vulnerable children. I served as the principal in a school within a residential treatment facility, catering to students with significant mental health diagnoses and life circumstances requiring the most restrictive and intense levels of treatment, intervention, and support. The prevalent extreme behaviors observed were linked to recurrent traumatic experiences, inadequate proficiency in essential skills, and the presence of neurodivergent conditions. These factors, while common in this setting, were exacerbated by the proliferation of social media, digital device dependency, and comorbidity.
Comorbidity, an increasingly complex presentation, involves multiple factors impacting an individual’s mental health. Children with traumatic experiences often struggle with their capacity to self soothe and regulate. Without a foundational belief that adults can meet their needs, these children develop corresponding perceptions regarding the predictability, reliability, and trustworthiness of adults. Schools, managed and guided by adults, must navigate these perceptions alongside differential cognitive capacities from neurological development from childhood to adulthood. Furthermore, neurodivergence, including autism spectrum disorders, varying cognitive profiles, and sensory integration imbalances, contribute to a more dysregulated state in children.
This dysregulation is compounded by the rise of device addiction and the risks associated with social media. The implications are profound: reduced attention spans, a lack of connectedness, feelings of isolation, and a diminishing sense of self-worth, all of which contribute to increased anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. This encapsulates the complex challenges schools are encountering with their students today.
Many schools are implementing Restorative Justice (RJ) to support the mental health needs of their students. However, is RJ appropriate for all situations and youth? What factors should schools consider regarding children impacted by trauma who lack trust in adults and adult managed places and systems? How does trauma impact children’s perceptions regarding a place of equitable power and voice? Who is making the decisions there? Can I trust them? Why are you making me do this? Is this just another form of punishment for me?
The answer to these questions lies in the perception of the child. It is not the event, the restorative circle itself, it is the meaning and affect the child assigns to the experience that will determine whether it is actually healing and restorative. If the child believes this is a process they are being required to do by adults they do not trust, there is likely to be substantial resentment and resistance. Another significant issue surrounding RJ and traumatized youth is the fact that one cannot restore skills children never had to begin with. RJ will not offer what is necessary to develop the ability to regulate oneself, and may exacerbate the shame and/or anger the child already assigns to the blame they experience surrounding what they display. These underlying and foundational skills must be learned and reinforced through systemic trauma responsive practices and individualized plans for these vulnerable children.
In response to the evolving complexity of our student population, new practices and systems are essential. These systems must understand the intricate nature of our youth to enhance their ability to self-regulate and succeed as children and students. As an educational leader, with a clinical perspective, I recognized the need to change our educational practices and systems to meet these fluid and complex needs. Teach to Heal is the culmination of this work, grounded in research-based methodologies, with excellent outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which arrived in 2020, exacerbated existing mental health challenges. As the Director of Special Services during this time, I observed school systems struggling to navigate and address the increasingly complex mental health needs of the students we serve. The systems within Teach to Heal, backed by decades of research, have consistently demonstrated strong evidence-based results with vulnerable children across various school systems and settings.
Educators acknowledge that mental health is the primary need of our current student population. Schools must inform their understanding and support mechanisms across the educational system to address this critical issue effectively. Teach to Heal represents a necessary paradigm shift, offering a comprehensive systemic approach to meet the mental health needs of today’s youth. It complements current Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) structures from Tier one to Tier three and back.
The Who Before the What (Part 2)
Danielle Theis, LICSW, Ed S., Teach to Heal
The Teach to Heal model is multifaceted, just as children's needs are complex. The outer circle of the framework represents the paradigm that adults serving children must establish to create a culture of holistic student success.
Prioritizing the needs of children over adults by maintaining a child centered focus is crucial. We must dedicate our limited time together to strategizing solutions rather than merely discussing items that do not bring children or adults forward. Children's needs should be viewed not as issues of choice and naughtiness requiring compliance, but as skills requiring nurturance, teaching, and practice. Many schools have taken steps to become trauma-informed. Teach to Heal argues that being trauma-informed is simply insufficient. We need to be trauma responsive. If you choose to work in a school, you choose to support vulnerable children, and schools must learn to build effective systems to meet the needs of the children we serve.
Teach to Heal: A Holistic Framework for School Culture
Teach to Heal encapsulates years of dedicated research and work, distilled into six pivotal components within a unified paradigm. We must examine the systems and practices required to cultivate a nurturing environment where children feel empowered to move beyond self-defeating patterns. This exploration will uncover the essence of a "healthy house" – an environment conducive to educational flourishing. To foster effective students, we must teach specific skills, rather than merely generalizing respect and responsibility. By addressing the needs of our most vulnerable children, we achieve true inclusivity.
In many traditional school systems, children facing significant challenges are often escalated up the continuum to more restrictive programming without the development of congruent interventions and supports at the lower levels to reintegrate them. This systemic approach must be comprehensive and unified, addressing issues holistically rather than through isolated, incongruent, or noncontinuous efforts.
The six inner circles of the Teach to Heal approach symbolize the system's interconnected elements, forming a continuum of support. As children's needs intensify, this continuum becomes increasingly complex, spanning from general education to specialized or therapeutic classrooms, to care and treatment programs. The multifaceted nature of Teach to Heal seeks to support mental health across the system with the ultimate goal of informing MTSS to meet the holistic needs of all students.
Among the six components, the bottom three are particularly critical and support what is necessary for the top three circles to effectively function. When systems feel unstable, it often stems from issues in culture and role definition. A healthy school culture and community ensures every adult believes they are responsible for supporting all student’s mental health needs. Resolution of undercurrents and purposeful solution focused language and practices will empower growth for adults and students. Accountability and ownership are essential, with clear role definition, particularly for children who struggle to trust adults.
The upper circles represent systemic components designed to support children with higher levels of need. These children exist across all tiers of our educational system. Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) is a key modality within this framework, providing necessary intervention strategies with children who become dysregulated and display self-defeating patterns. The Performance Tracking System (PTS) and effective teaming strategies are especially relevant in specialized classrooms, ensuring every element of Teach to Heal operates harmoniously to meet all students' needs.
Teach to Heal represents more than a methodology; it's a movement towards a compassionate and responsive educational system. Join us in making a profound impact on the lives of the children we serve. Together, we can envision and create a future where education is a community and culture of healing and growth for all.
Here’s how Iowa schools are embracing AI
By Grace King, The Gazette (11/8/24)
Educators teaching students about ethical implications and how AI can be used as a tool to ‘enhance’ learning.
Computer science teacher Mark Kenny (left) helps sixth-graders Lauren Martin (center) and Emma McCurdy (right) troubleshoot their code as students work with Finch Robots during a computer science class at Vernon Middle School in Marion on Thursday. Students used AI as a starting point to generate code to program the robots to navigate similar to an automated vacuum and then troubleshot the code and made adjustments themselves. The activity was part of Kenny’s “AI Wednesday.” He introduces AI to his lesson plan each Wednesday, focusing on using AI as a starting point and ethical use of the technology. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
Some Iowa educators are embracing artificial intelligence, using it as a tool so they can be more efficient in lesson planning and other tasks, and teaching their students how it works, ethical implications and when it’s appropriate to use.
Mark Kenny, a computer science teacher at Vernon Middle School in Marion, said AI isn’t going away. “We need to find a way to educate our kids about the power of it and how to use it,” he said.
He is incorporating AI into some of his lesson plans to teach students how it can “enhance their learning” as opposed to doing the work for them.
One way Kenny allows students to explore the use of AI is when they work with Finch robots as a beginning tool for learning how to code. It also helps students develop critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration. Kenny has the students check their code through an AI tool. “I’ve got to help teach kids how to use computers the right way as they go to high school and beyond,” Kenny said. “The future is technology. I’m never going to be that educator that isn’t trying to think big-picture.”
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
