Author Archives
I have spent my career in education as a middle grades language arts teacher, a middle grades teacher librarian, and a coordinating teacher at the NC Department of Public Instruction. During my twenty-three years, I have focused on teaching and learning, student achievement, and teacher leadership. I have worked with beginning and veteran teachers through mentoring, internships, staff development, and professional learning teams.
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Monday Means Leadership: School Librarian Twitter Chats as Professional Development
Do you have a Twitter account for yourself or your school library media program? Have you ever participated in a Twitter chat? Leading and participating in a Twitter chat can be great professional development. Here are some school librarian Twitter chats… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Action Research
In his book, Guiding School Improvement with Action Research, Richard Sagor defines “action research” as a disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking the action. The primary reason for engaging in action research is to assist the “actor”… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: National Library Legislative Day
National Library Legislative Day is scheduled for May 4 and 5, 2015, in Washington, D.C. Joining a group of librarians to speak with representatives from your state is a great opportunity to advocate for support for all types of libraries…. Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Instructional Leader
Often the principal in the building is referred to as the instructional leader; however, as my colleague over at the Tempered Radical recently posted, that’s not always the case, nor is it necessary, when there are many other educators in… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Professional Knowledge Connections
It is important to belong to our professional organizations. We support the American Association of School Librarians and the American Library Association and we gain much through our membership: toolkits for advocacy, shared knowledge, networking, information on trends and topics… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: SMART Goals for the New Year
Many of us make resolutions and set goals for the new year for our personal lives, and the beginning of a new calendar year is a great time to assess our professional goals. In an educational setting, we tend to… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Feedback
According to a Forbes.com article, Successful leaders always provide feedback and they welcome reciprocal feedback by creating trustworthy relationships with their colleagues. How often do we solicit feedback from our students, staff, parents and administration? We certainly receive yearly evaluations… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Giving Thanks
During the month of November and especially on Thanksgiving, many folks participated in days of thankfulness or mealtime rituals, naming those people, institutions, and ideals for which they were grateful. As a school librarian and a teacher leader, I’m thankful for my… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Supporting Academically and Intellectually Gifted Students
During the 2002-03 school year, I realized that I was frustrated with some of the instruction or lack of instruction and the lack of challenging lessons that I was witnessing with our academically and intellectually gifted students. Gifted students were… Read More ›
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Monday Means Leadership: Extracurricular Connections
On top of all the connecting, learning, teaching, and leading that we do on a daily basis in our library media programs, how do we make time to improve student and staff relationships and connections outside instructional time?  We sponsor extracurricular… Read More ›