If you’re going to be in Ohio in June, there are two events that you cannot miss. The first of these is #edcampcle taking place in Cleveland on Saturday, June 14. Wondering what an edcamp is? Check this out from the website : What is an EdCamp ? When Read More......

Our most recent #ohedchat topic was flipping the classroom (archive here ). The chat extended into several days as a small group of us continued chatting about education reform and big picture overhauls for the future of education. Jeremy Brueck (@brueckj23 Read More......

I’m at the ODE “Connecting the Dots” conference today. The session I’m in right now (like, as I type this) is about designing high quality LEA assessments as SGM for SLO development. Because it fits so well with my post about SLOs, I had to share. Pair Read More......

I’ve been stewing on SLOs since January when legislation dictated that value-added teachers (reading and math grades 4-8) would now be required (as of 2014-2015) to have 50% of their evaluation based on value-added. I attended an SLO training in January, Read More......

In another post I just got a really great question about using the 6+ 1 Traits of Writing and how they fit in the common core. With so much attention being paid to the reading aspects of the CCSS, it’s a great change to have questions about writing! Read More......

My new FAVORITE curation tool is Pearltrees. I can sync pearltrees on ipad, desktop, phone, AND the district Blackboard page. Here’s my OTES pearltree for resources: Click to view these resources in Pearltrees! Read More......

New guidance documents from PARCC today are now posted on ODE’s Website . Because I’m a big dork who likes to read this stuff, I thought I’d take the liberty of highlighting and passing along to those of you who are less interested I’d encourage you to Read More......

For specifics about the framework, be sure to see Dwight Carter’s (@Dwight_Carter) blog after his three-days training . Today was my first of 3 OTES days, and I’m still feeling pretty good about that “left side” (or the performance piece) of the Ohio Read More......

Probably a subtitle more like: “Bravely going where no language arts teacher has gone before” might’ve been more appropriate. Our middle school language arts teachers have been on quite a journey this year, and we’re capping it off with our second joint Read More......

The following was posted on Hamilton School’s Director of Secondary Programs, Keith Millard. Find him on Twitter @scarletandgray and follow his blog at free ranging ideas Ohio Accountability Changes Update I had the good fortune yesterday to attend the Read More......

As one of my weaknesses has always been science, I am working hard to begin understanding science content through curriculum work. I needed a one-page (ok, 3-page!) guide to the content in grades 6-10, and I thought I’d pass along in case anyone else Read More......

I’m stuck tonight unable to sleep. It seems dumb, but I cannot stop thinking about those HB555 changes. I’ve got this image in my head of what the end of the 2014-2015 school year will look like in Ohio, and it’s a little something like this: We’re a Read More......

When all this teacher evaluation stuff started almost a year ago, I saw some benefits in restructuring to create more consistent expectations across the state. The 50% Performance Pieces 50% of the evaluation is based on performance, which is also tied Read More......

I am always thankful to Join the Future for finding news I miss. Check out this post on 11th hour changes to evaluations…Hope your district hasn’t spent massive amounts of money on creating SLOs yet…. Read More......

A colleague of mine (hi, Stacy!) posted recently on her co-authored blog about the blended learning program offered through Medina Schools. (Side note–if your school/district is considering a blended approach, be sure to follow their blog as they weed Read More......

In what must be the Common Core controversy flavor of the month, the most recent criticism of the Standards addresses the split of nonfiction to fiction texts at the secondary level. Alarmist articles decrying the replacement of classic literature, such Read More......

Sometimes I think naysayers say “nay” to everything. Like they actively seek out things with which they disagree instead of even attempting to find the minutest point of agreement. Maybe it’s easier to disregard arguments in their entirety than it is Read More......

It wasn’t that long ago when I followed the report card legislation from first mention, through the “ Yes, it’s happening/No, it’s not ” debates, to the 11th hour NCLB waiver application, and finally to the May 30, 2012, NCLB waiver approval. In May we Read More......

A few months ago I was invited by Student Achievement Partners (achievethecore.org) to become a “Common Core Advocate” with 100 other educators across the nation. This weekend, a bunch of curriculum nerds (ha!) met in Philadelphia to really dig deep into Read More......

I’m at the Ohio Education Conference today–here’s the notes from Acting Superintendent for Ohio’s “Straight Talk” session. I love these informal conversational opportunities. Feel free to email questions if something in my notes is unclear… New IIS– Across Read More......