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I am going to keep pictures like this in my classroom.  It is important to provide examples of growth mindset throughout the classroom spaces.  

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Change can mean different things for different people.  For some of us educators, we have been working for years and have seen a lot of changes. We often rely on the status quo to avoid disrupting what we feel has been working for us for years. For students they learn a fixed mindset when we insist on things like teaching to the test, compliance in the classroom.
We often develop both a fixed mindset and a growth mindset depending on the situation.  Some changes have caused us no pain and even brought us joy even though it required a level of effort and difficulty.  Other times we have a fixed mindset.  When we have a fixed mindset changes can be perceived as utterly horrible and effort and difficulty can overwhelm us.  In order to move forward with an innovators mindset we must believe as Couros does that growth, innovation and happiness rely on change for both learners/educators.

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Change is deeply personal. The sooner we as people understand how, we ourselves react to change the better we will be at helping others through their "change journey". I wonder if George and Jim know each other.  In this video Hemerling discusses the five most important aspects that we can enact to empower individuals to embrace change. Putting people first by way of going all in, instilling a culture of continuous learning, and realizing that fixed mindsets do not serve anyone.

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5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | Jim Hemerling

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We all want change, but we get offensive when were asked to do the changing, therefore its very important we choose leaders who can stay grounded and engage and empower us.

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This article discusses how one parent reacted to change at her sons school and how she handled it in order to help her child succeed.

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Ten ways to help children cope with tough transitions in school—whether you’re their teacher or their parent.

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This article discusses the importance of empowering our teachers by putting systems in practice before the crisis happens. By doing so we nourish an environment of thoughtful responses to challenges.

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As a teacher in New York City, I know the life of a school is always full of challenges. It's natural to enter into a pattern of simply reacting to each challenge as it arrives. Sometimes this works out, but when the volume of challenges increases, our reactions often become less thoughtful and can potentially create additional problems. Getting beyond this very human tendency-and creating systems that prepare us to anticipate challenges and respond thoughtfully-is an essential element of teaching and leading successfully.

In the current political climate, those of us inside schools can expect to face an increase in the challenges affecting our day-to-day work. Teachers and school leaders will be on the front lines, managing funding and policy changes that might hit us directly, as well as those that will affect us indirectly through their impact on our students and neighborhoods (the targeting of undocumented immigrants, for example).

We cannot know exactly what's in store. But I know this: Where top-down leadership has fallen short under "normal" circumstances, it will fall even shorter during tumultuous times. To survive, schools must create structures that position everyone-especially teachers-to respond thoughtfully, purposefully, and quickly to difficult situations. When such structures exist, empowered teachers, supported by administrators, will be willing and able to continue their meaningful work with students (and one another) as challenges ramp up.

A Blueprint of the Possible

The school where I teach- The Renaissance Charter School , a preK-12 public charter school in Queens-offers a blueprint for engaging and empowering teachers. In planning this article, I set out to write more generally about structures that empower teachers, but as I reflected, I realized that the practices in my current school offer a particular balance of structure and flexibility that makes them the most effective example I've seen of teacher empowerment.

Over 13 years, I've taught in four very different New York City public schools. I've taught in places where there were few opportunities for teacher leadership and almost no time in the schedule for collaboration, and where change came from the top (and many teachers actively ignored directives). I've experienced teacher leadership roles that consisted too much of delivering administrators' ideas to fellow teachers, creating tension rather than empowerment. I've also taught in a school that provided generous time for teacher collaboration. Teachers in that school did amazing things with that time-but there was a lack of schoolwide structure, and teachers were responsible for more than we could handle on top of our teaching loads.

I don't mean to claim that my current school is a utopia where change is easy and no conflicts arise. But we do have sustainable processes in place for teachers to share ideas, raise questions and concerns, get support from colleagues, and take collective action to respond to students' needs. It's a sustainable system because teachers can make significant changes within it while the framework stays intact. The teacher leaders can change, the issues at hand can change, but the processes remain consistent.

Many Channels for Communication

Renaissance Charter is an educational environment that responds thoughtfully to challenges in part because teachers are constantly in communication with a wide variety of colleagues around common interests and concerns. Teachers collaborate within several different configurations. All teachers are members of a "cluster" and a PLC, and many additional teams meet formally. For instance, I'm formally part of the following teams:

I also co-coordinate our middle school student council. Each advisory elects a representative to the council, which meets biweekly during lunch to plan events and initiatives in response to student interests and concerns.

There's a great deal of overlap between the membership and focal points of these various groups. Cross-pollination occurs naturally. For example, there's a flow of communication between student advisories, advisors, student council members, and cluster members. Advisors facilitate discussions in advisories at least once a week on topics that students choose. Advisors discuss student concerns (with discretion) in our monthly meetings. Student council representatives bring ideas and concerns from their advisories to the student council meetings; they also present updates on students' initiatives and concerns at some teacher meetings, and then take feedback back to their advisories. Communication travels along many paths, not just from the top down.

Learning and Responding Together

This horizontal communication helps us respond well to challenges and strengthens teachers' professional development. This year in a Cluster 2 meeting, for example, participants looked at student achievement data in reading and math. The school's administration didn't direct us toward a particular process or outcome; it's simply a tradition that clusters and PLCs observe and respond to available data, using a particular protocol. One salient point that emerged from our discussion was that we all agreed some students' reading abilities were holding them back in all academic subjects, and that we needed to go beyond what individual ELA teachers could accomplish in their classes and to take action as a team. Content-area teachers expressed an interest in having more tools to help struggling readers in their classes.

Our middle school literacy intervention teacher decided to bring the issue to the ELA professional learning community by choosing it as the focus of her teacher-practice presentation, which was coming up on the PLC's calendar. She hoped that talking about the problem with this PLC would give her ideas about ways to support struggling readers, which she could then share with the cluster. Our English Language Arts PLC used a protocol called that allowed us to explore this question and formulate advice for our colleagues in other content areas.

In addition to bringing ideas back to Cluster 2, the communication and work around this issue has travelled organically to the social studies PLC, the RTI team, and the coaches meeting-and those are just the groups I'm aware of. In a recent Cluster 2 meeting, ELA teachers shared what we were focusing on in our classes, and content-area teachers shared practices they were using to support literacy in their classes. There was much common ground. We read part of a text on disciplinary literacy developed by the New York City Department of Education, which a social studies teacher had recommended, and discussed it using a protocol called The Final Word .

This is just one of countless examples of how the structures at Renaissance support teacher collaboration and spread knowledge in response to a problem that arises. This example represents a large issue that doesn't have an easy solution, but the key is that teachers became engaged and are driving the school forward. We're gladly digging into issues that matter to teachers and students, without anyone deciding for us that we should do so.

Our teacher-powered structures and reflective processes also help us notice and respond more quickly to issues that come up in the outside world and affect our students. For example, in the fall, students in advisories took part in lessons on self-esteem. We do this lesson sequence every year, but this year when the advisors debriefed in a subsequent meeting, we noticed an uptick in students who expressed distress about their body images. In some discussions that happened in the advisory groups, students had brought up comments about women's bodies from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump that had recently been made public.

Individually, we might not have realized that this was troubling many of our students, but having the chance to share and analyze information together made a need become clear. Following this advisors meeting, the advisory planning committee met (as we do monthly) and adjusted the curriculum to include additional time and resources for supporting students to challenge stereotypes perpetuated in the media around, in particular, female bodies-stereotypes that can aggravate already sensitive points in our own families or communities. Being able to take small but immediate steps like this to help our students build confidence and self-awareness during difficult times contributes to a strong school community.

The Power of Protocols

You'll notice I've mentioned discussion protocols. The use of protocols to guide team collaboration at my school may well be the glue holding everything together. I believe these protocols are a key to thoughtfully responding to challenges and changes.

When I came to Renaissance, I assumed I was already familiar with protocols. To a certain degree I was, but I hadn't participated in a community that actively uses a variety of protocols to guide collaborative work. Protocols differ from agendas created for a specific meeting or workshop. They are communication processes that have a stated purpose-such as sharing a dilemma or looking at student work together-and can be applied to any situation with that common goal.

At Renaissance Charter, we use a collection of protocols available from the School Reform Initiative (SRI). Different educators in the field created each protocol to respond to particular situations, and members of the SRI community have practiced and refined these tools. Most teacher leaders at my school have been to an SRI conference, where attendees participate in short but intense PLC groups and gain experience facilitating group sessions using a variety of protocols.

Although each one is different, all effective discussion protocols do the following:

Slow us down. The pace in most schools is hurried. Good protocols ensure that we have time to think throughout the collaborative process. This supports everyone having a voice, because many people need time to think or write before they're comfortable speaking. I'll admit that at first, I found this aspect frustrating. I was used to moving faster in generating solutions to problems. However, I've found that my thinking has deepened, and I'm less reactionary as a result of consistently participating in protocol-based PLCs.

My school has used the protocols and other SRI tools as a resource for PLCs for more than 20 years. The longevity of this relationship speaks to the power of these practices to adapt to the times.

Tending the Flame

Working in an environment that's both structured and flexible, one where teachers' voices and minds are at the center of most thinking and decision making, I feel energized and supported-ready to respond to whatever changes surface. Setting up conditions like this for more teachers is crucial if our profession is to be prepared for the future.

In 2010, I was part of a team of teachers who, with Center for Teaching Quality founder Barnett Berry, co-wrote the book Teaching 2030: What We Can and Must Do for Our Public Schools-Now and In the Future (Teachers College Press, 2013). In our writing sessions, we talked about the changes we imagined would happen to schools and teaching in the coming decades and voiced our concerns about some of the ways we saw the tides moving. One of my fellow authors, Shannon C'de Baca, said, "With all this change, who will be the keeper of the flame? Who will make sure that public education serves all of our nation's students?" This powerful image gave us all pause. Of course, we determined that teachers would be the keepers of the flame.

Staring down the next three years to 2020, wondering how public schools and all our students will fare, I know that because my colleagues and I have created solid structures through which we communicate, explore challenges, and think our way toward solutions, we're poised to weather the storm. We will not only survive, but we'll also engage thoughtfully with students and one another every day. We're ready to adapt, fight when necessary, and stay focused on what matters most.

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Empowering Teachers to Respond to Change

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With high levels of change expected, schools must set up structures that help teachers share their best thinking and manage change effectively.

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The question is "How do learners/educators react to change.  Educators can measure reactions from learners/educators by measuring who is most affected, recognizing change fatigue, and addressing individual change fatigue. This article and video is beneficial for leaders who to explore the nuances of change. This model seems applicable for teachers.  I am not sure if it would be able to be implemented with student bodies that exceed 100.

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What happens when too many project changes begin to take a physical and emotional toll on your people? How can you help them when the changes just keep coming? Continuous change is almost expected today, but you don't have to simply accept the negative effects. Here's how to recognize fatigue, assess the impacts, and find solutions.

Change Saturation vs. Change Fatigue

Change saturation occurs in organizations when disruptive changes exceed your capacity to adopt them. Your organization is likely saturated when turmoil becomes the norm, projects can't be prioritized easily, bottlenecks begin to slow progress, and project outcomes begin to suffer.

When the organization experiences change saturation, employees begin to exhibit signs of change fatigue on both personal and professional levels. It's easy to see why. In recent years, people have been asked to adopt changes associated with remote work, new business models, new technologies, organizational restructuring, political and regulatory changes, culture initiatives, ongoing digitalization, and more. On top of that, virtual engagements and workplaces are creating an always-on mentality that can wear people down.

Changes Pressuring Your Mission and Strategy Today

Balancing a portfolio of strategic changes is easier with an experienced partner.
The Prosci Advisory team can help.

Roles most affected by change

Although everyone feels the impacts of change, Prosci Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking research shows that individuals in certain functional areas experience more change saturation than others. For example, roles in operations, customer service, sales, human resources and, of course, the change management office see more than their fair share of change initiatives.

Of these roles, people managers and front-line employees experience the greatest levels of change saturation. People managers often implement changes and tend to feel the impacts first. And because changes cascade through organizations from the top down, front-line employees tend to bear the cumulative effects of ongoing change more than any other role.

Symptoms and signs of change fatigue

How will you know when your people are fatigued? The ADKAR Model shows us that individuals react to change in predictable ways, including how they exhibit fatigue from change saturation.

Here's what to look for:

Noise - More frequent and louder complaints about changes

Apathy - Growing indifference about project changes, with some completely disengaging; employees stop asking questions

Burnout - Employees are visibly tired

Stress - People seem anxious about changes

Resistance - Some push back on change with more energy while others don't resist at all

Negativity - Cynicism prevails

Skepticism - Individuals express doubt about change success

When people show these symptoms and signs, organizations also suffer consequences. For ex ample, change-fatigued employees tend to produce less, take more time off, and even quit the ir jo bs more frequently. Morale begins to erode across the organization, and employees lose their focus on business basics.

Addressing change fatigue in individuals

Actively working to avoid change saturation from projects in your organization is ideal. But when you can't avoid it, catching fatigue early enables you to offer relief and avoid the long-term negative impacts on individuals, projects and organizations.

No matter which approach you choose, being proactive is the key:

Gather feedback directly from employees and people managers on how they are perceiving change and the level they perceive.

Conduct satisfaction surveys, interviews and small-group sessions to ask individuals about the amount of change they're experiencing and how they're reacting to it.

Actively manage project resource allocation and scheduling, and use mapping tools and enterprise management tools to gauge employee fatigue.

Use assessments to measure the amount of change and its impact on individuals and groups.

Evaluate the type and number of change efforts underway to understand potential impacts on individuals. Teams can also include this information in regular reporting.

Assess the time available to handle change at the employee level.

Measure success rates of change efforts over time, considering the amount of change happening in the organization.

Conduct comparative observations to evaluate the amount of change taking place and the level of discontent people are exhibiting in different parts of the organization.

Mitigate Change Saturation and Fatigue

Given the pressures on organizations today, change saturation and fatigue may seem inevitable, but developing the right capabilities can help you head off problems before they start. By applying change management best practices, portfolio management, coaching and training, you and your organization can help people thrive through change.

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How to Recognize Change Fatigue in Your People

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What happens when too many project changes begin to take a physical and emotional toll on your people? How can you help them when the changes just keep coming? Continuous change is almost expected today, but you don't have to simply accept the negative effects.

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When I read this I thought about how these strategies can be used when introducing new material. The amount of information that we expect kids to know can be overwhelming for them if we approach it from a fixed mindset. If we adapt our lesson plans to offer kids the opportunity to reflect, respond, and work with their peers I think they can easily adapt a growth mindset.

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7 Ways to Help Kids Cope with Big Life Changes

THIS ARTICLE INCLUDES A FREE PRINTABLE

Big life changes are inevitable, but that doesn't make them any easier for children (or adults) to manage. Structure and stability feel safe for children, so new experiences like divorce, moving, attending a new school, or welcoming a baby sibling can be scary.

As we face changes, we develop the skills of resilience. By navigating and growing from these experiences, we strengthen and train our " resilience muscle." Children who are new to major life changes need extra support in addressing their feelings, understanding and adjusting to change, and learning new strategies and skills along the way.

Before you move on, be sure to sign up for our FREE weekly printables carefully crafted to teach your kids growth mindset, resilience, and much more. Sign up below to make sure you're on the list!

Once signed up, you will immediately receive our popular Parent's Guide to a Growth Mindset.

Remember that children feel our emotions, so start by acknowledging and regulating your own feelings about the big change.

Once you're composed and ready to guide your child through this time of transition, try the seven strategies below. These effective strategies will help your child feel safe, adjust, and build resilience.

1. Give Them Time to Prepare

With some changes, like the unexpected death of a loved one, preparation isn't possible. But when preparation is an option, give your child plenty of warning that a major change is coming. This allows them time to process and begin to accept the change.

It also gives you time to familiarize your child with the unfamiliar. If you're moving, take your child to look at the new house and/or new school. Arrange for your child to meet the teacher in advance. Ask the teacher to talk to your child about what a typical day is like at the new school, give a brief tour of the classroom, or even show other students' photos and fun activities.

If the life change is divorce, show your child where the other parent will be living. Point out which room will belong to them. Take them on a tour of the neighborhood and highlight any interesting or exciting features.

If you're having a baby, show your children pictures of themselves as babies. Talk about what to expect when the new baby comes and all the ways your children can be great big brothers or sisters.

2. Listen to Their Concerns

While you'll want to focus on the associated with the big life change, also take time to address your child's questions and concerns. Help them work through the emotions that they're feeling.

Often, children simply want empathy and understanding .

Acknowledge and validate their feelings without being too quick to distract them or try to shield them from their emotions. Coaching children through their feelings is a vital learning experience; shielding them teaches nothing.

Say something like, "Moving to a new place can feel sad and scary. It's okay to feel that way. Let's take some deep breaths together. We can handle this."

If your child struggles to name what they are feeling, help them label the emotion (e.g., anxious, sad, nervous, worried, or scared). Putting a name to the feeling makes it less overwhelming and easier to manage.

Print out our My Emotions Fan in our Growth Mindset Activity Kit. This fun activity gives kids a chance to exercise their creativity and learn more about different types of emotions!

When possible, also give your children strategies to handle some of the more challenging aspects of the new situation.

If your child is concerned about when they will see the other parent after a divorce, for example, buy a calendar and put stickers on each day they will spend with the other parent.

If they're worried that you will never spend time with them after the new baby comes, talk about different activities that you will still do together. Remind them they can still ask for an extra hug or kiss whenever they need it.

For children who are moving to school and anxious about making friends, roleplay potential scenarios and conversations.

You won't have the answer to everything, and that's okay. If you can't think of a comforting strategy to provide, simply ensure that your child feels heard and acknowledged.

If you're looking for activities and guides to help you and your child, the Self-Esteem Kit is a collection of printable worksheets and activities for children to help develop high self-esteem and confidence. With this kit, kids will learn how to overcome their negative self-talk and start believing in themselves and their abilities.

3. Read Books About Big Life Changes

There are plenty of children's books written to help kids cope with major life changes. Here are a few examples.

Divorce:

New Baby:

You Were the First by Patricia McLachlan: "You were the first to teach us how to be parents." A touching celebration of firstborn children, this book walks your child through the milestones of babyhood while reassuring him that no matter who else comes along, he will always be the first.

Moving:

These books help your child understand that they are not alone in experiencing this type of change. They also provide encouraging words, helpful advice, and the knowledge that everything will be okay in the end.

If you're looking for a great list of growth mindset books that cover a variety of topics, check out our Top 85 Growth Mindset Books for Children and Adults available in our Growth Mindset Printables Kit.

4. Keep Routines the Same

When a major change happens, it's important to give your child as much consistency and stability as possible.

Do your best to stick to your usual schedule and , and don't facilitate any additional changes that may further upset your child. For instance, don't move your child from the crib to a new bed while they're already feeling anxious about becoming an older sibling.

and mealtimes, in particular, should remain consistent. The structure feels safe for children, so provide as much of it as possible to restore a sense of safety.

If you're moving to a new house or if your child will be spending time at a second home after a divorce, try to set the room up like the child's room at home. Give your child time to play with the same toys, read the same books, and do any family rituals that you enjoy.

Plus, getting plenty of rest and continuing to eat a nutritious diet helps your child feel better, happier, and calmer.

5. Provide Connection and Play

Another thing that should remain consistent is your child's connection with you.

Make sure your child knows that no matter what else changes, you aren't going anywhere, and neither is the bond you have with your child.

You may be coping with the new changes and the extra stress that comes with it, but set aside even 10 minutes each day to give your child your undivided attention. Make eye contact, put the phone away, and be playful and affectionate.

Perhaps create a special Big Life Journal time with your child where you can sit together, read the journal stories and do a few pages. Grab your child's favorite snack and spend some quality time just focusing on your child. Check out our Guide to Making the Most of Your Big Life Journal for more fun and easy to implement ideas.

If your child is older, provide joint attention: Watch the same movie, play a video game that your child enjoys, or share a meal at your child's favorite restaurant - bond with your child by engaging in activities they enjoy.

Be sure to check out the Big Life Kids podcast. These real-life stories are inspiring and cover a variety of growth mindset topics such as resilience, gratitude and being unique. Take some time to listen together in the car or at home.

A little extra attention and parent-child playtime reassure your child that your love and care will remain consistent, making it much easier to cope with changes in other aspects of life.

6. Give Them Choices and Ask for Help

During a big life change, children feel that they have no control over their lives. Give some sense of agency by allowing your child to make choices:

What color does he want to paint his bedroom at the other parent's home?

What should you cook for the first meal in the new house?

What outfit does he want to wear for his first day at a new school?

The same goes for asking your child for help. Children like to contribute and feel valuable, responsible, and helpful.

Ask your child if they have suggestions for the new baby's name or provide input on choosing a new house. Depending on the child's age, they can help move boxes, pack items, and otherwise assist with a move.

And there are plenty of ways big brothers and sisters can feel special and important by helping with a new baby. Your requests can be simple for young children, like bringing you the baby's blanket or helping you sing a lullaby (even if they don't really know the words).

Right now, your child probably feels helpless. Address this feeling by providing opportunities to be helpful and to make decisions.

7. Talk About Other Changes

Discuss or even sketch your child's life path so far. What changes have already happened? Your child may have experienced

Talk about why these changes happened. What was good and not so good about each change?

What did your child learn from each experience? How did they get through it, and what coping skills have they learned? Discuss the idea that every time your child experiences a big change, they're stronger and more prepared for the next one.

Similarly, your child can draw a "Before" and "After" picture illustrating a change they previously coped with successfully. Talk about the experience of that change using the same questions described above.

By now, these once terrifying changes are probably a normal part of life that no longer feels scary or overwhelming. Discussing the changes that are now in the past can help put the current situation in perspective.

Our is a beautifully illustrated deck of cards with 52 interesting questions to help kids and grown-ups share thoughtful discussions about kindness, resilience, gratitude, and more. These questions can help you get Three Seas Conversation Cards conversations started with your kids to help build connections during tough times.

It may feel scary now, but you and your child will adjust to the change together. Along the way, you'll learn new strategies and skills for handling the changes that inevitably occur in life.

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7 Ways to Help Kids Cope with Big Life Changes

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Big life changes are inevitable, but that doesn't make them any easier for children (or adults) to manage. As we face changes, we develop the skills of resilience. These strategies will help your child feel safe, adjust, and build resilience.

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Educators love the growth that comes from the learning process.  Like the monarch,  great teachers grow in ways that are profound, systemic and progressive. 

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This article discusses three actions we can take as professionals to grow as a teacher.  Providing meaningful lesson plans, accepting feedback from educators, adding credentials to our resume, and participating in the community where we teach.

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Professional development for teachers plays an important role in helping you reach your career goals. But it isn't just workshops, conferences, and course work. It's also taking on new roles in your school that help you grow. Every school has its formal and informal teacher leaders, recognized and respected by both colleagues and administration. If you aspire to be a leader, here are some actions you can take.

Be a Star in the Classroom

Teachers who are outstanding in the classroom are often the first ones asked to participate in leadership activities. For instance, these teachers are usually the first to be asked to mentor new hires. They may also be asked to work with other teachers on district-wide initiatives like writing curriculum over the summer. Mentoring and curriculum writing are activities that not only enhance your reputation but may also enhance your salary.

To get yourself on your principal's star-quality radar, you have to be worthy of the designation. Put in the time and energy to plan lessons carefully and have everything you need at the ready-no one is impressed with the physical education teacher who waits until class starts to put up the volleyball nets.

Be willing to try special projects with kids that take them beyond the regular curriculum, like a renaissance fair, robotics contest, or full-on debate (complete with judges and an audience). Invite your principal to observe when you and your students are doing something creative or unusual.

Participate in School Life

There are teachers who can be called "good school citizens." They arrive on time for faculty meetings and actually participate in discussions. They're generally positive without shying away from what needs to be said-but they always speak their truth with respect. They take their turn at chaperoning, advising, and bus duty without complaining, and they don't gossip in the faculty room. These teachers are trusted by the principal for their honesty and appreciated for their willingness to go the extra mile, and it's these people who are considered for department chair positions or membership to the principal's advisory cabinet.
Further reading: A Master's Degree in Education
By being active in your school's community, and doing so with a smile on your face, you're showing that you're engaged and committed. As a good school citizen, you may even be rewarded in other ways, like getting swift approval when you ask to attend something like a conference or having your ideas about ways to spend the budget actually considered.

Consider Moving Beyond the Classroom

If you're looking to further your classroom knowledge, enhance your reputation, and increase your salary, complete an advanced degree or another certification. A master's degree will open doors that aren't accessible to teachers who possess only a bachelor's degree. Local colleges sometimes hire classroom teachers who hold advanced degrees as adjuncts, for example. Some teachers opt for National Board Certification, a rigorous and prestigious course of study that's widely recognized as the standard for classroom teaching.
Video: How Do You Grow Your Teaching Career?
In some school districts, teachers may be designated curriculum specialists. These teachers may be relieved of some or all of their teaching duties so they can work with colleagues to improve instruction. No administrative certificate is required because curriculum specialists don't evaluate their peers. Their job is simply to assist in improving classroom performance.

Clearly, advancing your career requires adding more responsibility to an already packed schedule. Not unlike other professions, it may also require more time and effort outside of the school day if you decide to pursue another degree or certification. As such, not everyone is ready or eager to make those commitments-especially if you're at the beginning of your career and feel that your plate is already full. But continually improving your classroom techniques and accepting other regular school duties with grace will earn you the respect of your colleagues, whether you want to advance your career or not.

Professional development for teachers comes in many forms. Teachers committed to improving themselves can find opportunities for growth in and outside the classroom. For many, additional activities keep them engaged in their career, providing new challenges and diverse ways to participate in education.

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3 Actions That Advance Professional Development for Teachers

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Professional development for teachers plays an important role in helping you reach your career goals. But it isn't just workshops, conferences, and course work. It's also taking on new roles in your school that help you grow. Every school has its formal and informal teacher leaders, recognized and respected by both colleagues and administration.

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Missouri State Teaches Association is a great resource to grow as a professional teacher.  I became a student member this year.  https://msta.org/ The professional learning page includes a wealth of information. I enjoy watching the 30-minute webinars.

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Hazelwood School District recently began live streaming the board meetings. Attending meeting such as these in person or online allow teachers to provide necessary feedback to the decision makers. I am guilty of never fully understanding the propositions when I get to the voting booth. I plan to attend these more as I move into my teaching career.

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Dear Hazelwood School District Community,

On Tuesday, September 7, the district will begin live streaming Board of Education meetings via YouTube rather than Zoom. Additionally, the Board will resume holding the meetings in-person at the Administration Building. However, the Boardroom will still be closed to the public.

Stakeholders are encouraged to join the meetings via YouTube. Please visit the HSD Board of Education YouTube channel to view the meetings. Stakeholders are also encouraged to "subscribe" to the new page. Notifications with the live stream link and the patron comment form will still be sent in advance of the meeting.

Click below to visit the page:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIjGFNhrdniY1pfJCGDmgCA/videos

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HSD Board Meetings Shift to YouTube Live Stream

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Dear Hazelwood School District Community, On Tuesday, September 7, the district will begin live streaming Board of Education meetings via YouTube rather than Zoom. Additionally, the Board will resume holding the meetings in-person at the Administration Building. However, the Boardroom will still be closed to the public.

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Attending events like these allow educators to connect with community members who can provide resources for the students and families we serve.  Sometimes attending community events may take us out of our comfort zone. This is when the change happens experiencing things from the eyes of those we serve. We can then thoughtfully apply those lived experiences to our processes of engagement and empowerment.

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Back 2 School Festival:
BFL's annual Back 2 School Festival is coming up fast!  We'll have bookbags, school supplies, free haircuts, food, community resources, and jobs.  Special guest appearance by...

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This article talks about the importance of self-care for teachers and self-care in the classroom. I am a huge proponent of self-care. I can not pour into anyone else if I am running on empty.

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What is Teacher Self-Care and How to Practice It

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Discover what self-care is, why it’s important for teachers, and how to bring self-care activities in your daily life and in the classroom.

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Change happens everyday.  Changes in our life dictates how we decide if we will approach something with a fixed mindset vs a growth mindset.

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6 Ways Change & Growth Differ – Which Do You Need? | Danielle Bernock

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Change and growth are not the same. What if your happiness depends on which you choose – to change or grow? How do you decide which you need?

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Here is another example of how leaders in education can provide instruments of growth.
Remember this guy. I think each professor and each class I had at Lindenwood relied on Lemov. I would go as far as to say it was the bible, for many. For me Teach like a Champion was for the teacher.  It focused on the strategies that the teacher puts in place as they developed and strengthened classroom management styles.  Maybe this may not of been your experience with the book but it was mine.  I liked it, I think it has some really good strategies.
So I was surprised to see that he has a new book out called "Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging". This book discusses the evolutionary importance of connection and belonging to human well being, the implications of technology and the case studies that support the importance of social emotional learning.

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I am obsessed with The Power of "YET". I had to include this in my padlet. I also started doing this with my own children. I praise them for everything, taking out the trash, not arguing with their brother and sisters. I want to turn this mindset around starting now.

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Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck

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Failure is learning and allows the individual an opportunity to grow.

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Teachers need to have a positive attitude. This song just cracks me up. I love to laugh and sing to my kids even though I can barely carry a note.

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Bowser - Peaches (Official Music Video) | The Super Mario Bros. Movie