I Got Lucky!

Blog Author: Michelle Carroll Smith, Lytle ISD Superintendent As superintendent of Lytle ISD I have had the opportunity to serve in the district in which I grew up and graduated. School worked for me, so I guess I never wanted to leave. My grandmother, dad, son and daughter all graduated from Lytle ISD. While my family was focused on agriculture, education …

5 Levers of Learning

Author: Marsha Alexander, Chief Operating Officer, Collegiate Edu-Nation While on pregnancy leave in the fall of 1980, the superintendent of Roscoe ISD contacted me about a high school math position opening at the end of the semester.  I had a BBA in General Business with teacher certification but had been working as a loan officer/processor at a local savings and loan …

WHY Always Matters

Blog Author: Erin Boatmun, Curriculum Coordinator, Sunray ISD Years ago, when I was an education student at a small, rural university, one of my professors lectured over the authorship of effective lesson plans.  He said, “When you are teaching class—when you are teaching anything, for that matter—your students only want to know one thing—WIIFM.”  He pronounced it, “wiff-em.” I can remember looking around …

(re)FOCUSed

Author: Nelson Coulter, Assistant Professor, LSU-Shreveport The wisest leaders I know are relentless focusers. Or, RE-focusers. These leaders understand that their personal time, energy, and resources are finite. They know full well that they cannot do everything, meet with everybody, read every book, invest in every project, or attend every meeting. Thus, these wise leaders decide with laser-like clarity the most …

The Result is Priceless

Author: Marina Wilcox, Dean of Academics, Roscoe Collegiate ISD  C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “ You cannot go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending”. The phrase “traditional education” can be interpreted many different ways. The perspective of educators, administrators, law makers, parents and students, can and will, always have a …

The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching

Blog Author: Katrina Bogle, Dean of College Readiness, Hamlin Collegiate ISD When asked to write a blog post about the “work,” I began agonizing over a topic.  I kept glancing at my bookshelf and each time landed on the same text: The 12 Touchstones of Good Teachingby Goodwin and Hubbell.  While the book is aimed at teachers, I believe we are all teachers.  Administrators can substitute …