Crises can happen with no warning or with certainty. The epic numbers of multilingual learners experiencing these phenomena is as diverse as are the types of language programs, instructional practices, and schoolwide policies they are provided. Our ever-changing educational landscape often evokes uncertainty as to how to work with these students …
The first time I served on a jury, the judge announced that I would be its foreperson. I had no idea why I’d been chosen and wondered if it was a random selection, like the ball that pops out from a lottery machine, or if it had anything to do …
In the documentary series, Daughters of Destiny, about the Shanti Bhavan School, there’s a scene of a sex education class where boys are taught to take responsibility to protect and value girls and women. The series, about a boarding school that provides free PreK-12 education for India’s most impoverished children, …
Honored that ASCDs Hurricane Relief Initiative includes our book. Here is information about it from ASCD. “Purchase an ASCD book from our online store from now until October 31 and use promo code “RELIEF,” and ASCD will donate one trauma-related resource, such as Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, …
Building Partnerships Through Classroom-Based Events, Debbie Zacarian & Michael Silverstone In the lead article of the Sept. issue of Ed Leadership, here’s how educators can design events that make families feel welcome, share their children’s learning, and integrate the rich assets they bring. As educators, we all want to build …
TEACHING TO STRENGTHS:  SUPPORTING STUDENTS LIVING WITH TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, AND CHRONIC STRESS.  (co-written with Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz and Judie Haynes) Half the students in U.S. schools are experiencing or have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress. Much has been written about these students from a therapeutic perspective, especially regarding how to provide …
by Debbie Zacarian and Michael Silverstone Whether you are an administrator, teacher or a parent–a fan of standardized testing-indexed sanctions, or an advocate for student-directed learning experiences, there is one point of agreement that we all share. We want all students to feel and be successful. For well over a …
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, founder of ‘growth mindset,’ defines the concept as believing that every student can succeed and teaching them to believe in their abilities to: (1) embrace the challenges and complexities of learning; (2) learn the positives of being persistent (3) value effort as a positive; and (4) …
With all of the time, effort and money being poured into teacher evaluation systems, the outcomes of students from underrepresented populations have not changed enough to see that what we are doing is working. Only 61 percent of English learners, the fastest growing group in the U.S., are graduating and …
by Debbie Zacarian & Michael Silverstone How do two separate people from different places and with different roles actually go about writing one sentence let alone a book? Our answer takes some explaining as it reflects what we believe is needed in education, now. Partnerships are key The process of …
