RocketPD

Sometimes it just helps to get out. Last week, we had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs to meet with our friend Jubal Yennie and Colorado Association of School Boards. Talk about perspective! We made a bunch of new friends. We also learned a lot about the challenges that school board members and superintendents face, day in and day out. You run for school board because you care deeply about your community and the success of children (usually, including yours) in both school and life. But running for school board does not necessarily prepare you for the challenges of being a board member. It also does not immediately give you access to all of the information you need to learn and make decisions on behalf of your constituency and broader school community. What we know: 1. Board members are passionate 2. Board members care 3. Board members want to do good - for their kids (and for others) 4. Board members want to make the right decisions What we learned: 1. Getting elected to a board doesn't make you an instant expert 2. Being a board member is a continuous process of learning 3. Information is knowledge 4. Knowledge leads to stronger communication And... Stronger communication = better decision-making on behalf of students and families! Next time you see one of your local school board members out and about, stop and introduce yourself. They do tough (and important) work, often without access to the best information. Here's hoping we can help change that. Like and share if you care! ❤️ RocketPD Jesse Leib #k12 #SchoolLeadership #SchoolBoards #edtech

The well-being of educators and support staff isn't just about individual health—it's the foundation of an effective school. When we nurture the adults who shape young minds, we create ripples of positive change that transform entire classrooms and school communities. This is why I'm excited to be able to offer a free guide to adult well-being & staff empowerment as well as 5-session course on the subject.

"I haven't left my kitchen table in three years." Sound familiar? When I decided to launch RocketPD with a couple of co-founders and friends coming out of a global pandemic, I wasn't entirely prepared for what that would mean for my life. #Startup life can be incredibly isolating. As pandemic restrictions faded, I was excited to get out more. But that hasn't necessarily happened. As our little company scales and changes and morphs, I've been tethered to my desk (and my work) like never before. That's why it was such a pleasure to get out and attend DC Startup & Tech Week (Formerly DC Startup Week) (#DCStartupweek) at Capital Turnaround yesterday. I used the time to learn, ask questions, reconnect with a few old friends and even make some new ones. Along thew way, I managed to acquire some much-needed perspective on business and on life as a newish business owner. Who knows... tomorrow, I might even stick around for Happy Hour! If today was any indication, the next four days should be awesome! Here are three things I learned on Day 1: 1. You're only as good as your - and your customers'- why. (Spoiler alert: these might not be one in the same.) 2. On product... community trumps new bells & whistles every time. 3. Capital does not = success -> revenue is (almost) always the best form of fundraising for your business! One thing I'd like to see? Here's hoping the organizers consider adding an #edtech track next year. Lot of education-focused startups here in the local DC area. Are you a startup founder or business owner in the DC edtech space looking to connect and share ideas with someone walking in the same or similar shoes as you? Link me in, or shoot me a DM. I'd love to learn more about you and your mission and stay connected! Plus, it'll give me an excuse to get up from this dang kitchen table and out into the sun a little more! Josh Chernikoff Brent Newton myOwl

As someone who spends a lot of time talking to and working with educators, I am routinely amazed by the commitment and enthusiasm that I see and hear from folks in the so-called trenches (aka classrooms). I'm not clueless. I know that not everyone feels this energy. The stats don't lie relative to the stress and frustration that has sucked the air out of schools. Too many good teachers are leaving and too many smart young people are opting not to pursue teaching as a long-term career. This can't stand - and it doesn't have to. There are amazing educators out there, accomplishing amazing feats for kids each and every day. It is astonishing that our society would seek to make these hard-working, committed professionals into punching bags for personal or political gain. It's time to help our educators stand up to the hurtful insults and patently false and incendiary rhetoric that has sought to undercut their courageous work and the immense value created by our education system, especially for those kids who come from marginalized populations and need help. It's time to have some Courageous Conversations. If I sound like I'm up on a soapbox here, that's because I've just finished re-watching this The RocketPD Podcast interview with my good friend Luvelle Brown. Take a listen (link to full episode in the comments) - and get up here with me! #K12 #EdLeaders #Equity Sheldon Berman 🚀

Do you have a group of teachers at your school in need of a lesson plan tune-up? I have just the thing for them: a virtual course I'll be giving live this fall on the RocketPD platform. The 5-week cohort is called Build Teaching Confidence with Powerful Lesson Design. I chose this as our focus because I believe that despite new innovations in technology, there's no substitute for a well-designed learning experience. I'll walk you through a process for crafting a lesson that you can use over and over again to ensure your teaching results in real, measurable learning. This cohort will be given in a format I've never done before: Each week for 90 minutes, we'll meet live over Zoom where I'll offer a structured learning session that will include live Q&A, interactive polls, and breakout sessions. Between sessions, you'll have access to the RocketPD learning portal, where you can access session recordings, special resources I've curated for our cohort, and discussion boards where you can collaborate and engage with other members of our group. We'll meet weekly, starting Wed. Nov. 6, with a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Each session starts at 5:30 pm EST and the dates and topics are as follows: 11/06 - The Architecture of a Good Lesson 11/13 - Designing Assessments 11/20 - The Learning Experience 12/04 - Differentiating Instruction From Multiple Angles 12/11 - Lesson Delivery The course is ideal for teams (the price goes down when you sign up five or more people), but individuals are absolutely welcome to sign up on their own! Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eB-hQf6T

My friend Dr. Catlin Tucker, whose writing and work on #blendedlearning in #schools is some of the best I've seen, recently told me a story. Long before she wrote The Shift to Student Led, or any of her books, she considered quitting. Not unlike a lot of teachers these days, she felt tired and disillusioned. When she discovered blended learning and started exploring ways to work alongside her students, as opposed to talking at them, it changed her life. I ask her about that moment (and more on blended learning) on The RocketPD Podcast this month. Check it out! Link to the full episode in the comments, because... algorithms. 😜 🚀

I'm really excited about our new partnership with RocketPD https://lnkd.in/e4md9e5g? Corey Murray The Center for Model Schools HMH AASA, The School Superintendents Association

If you're an educator and you're serious about #familyengagement, chances are you've heard #EngageEveryFamily author Dr. Steve Constantino share his 5 Simple Principles to Engage Every Family. On the latest episode of #TheRocketPDPodcast, Steve and I talk about turning family engagement theory, which everyone agrees is important, into actual practice in schools. Learn to do this, says Steve, and you'll unlock a superpower to solving some of your schools' toughest challenges, from chronic absenteeism, to discipline, to student mental health, to MTSS, to learning gaps and more. Great and necessary conversation for #backtoschool! RocketPD Successful Innovations NAFSCE (National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement) Peggie Constantino, Ph.D. Corwin Link in the comments!

As schools start up across the country, school buildings are alive with activity and motion. Hundreds of thousands of students, parents and teachers and staff, stream in and out of school buildings every day. Schools operating like mini-cities with their own facilities, services, schedules, plans. It’s a lot to manage (just to think about). If you’re a principal, your job is to keep the wheels moving and apply resources in the right places. You also need to build rapport with your teachers - and coach and evaluate them in productive ways, so that they can work with students to make the engine go. I recently sat down with Marshall Memo founder and former Boston principal Kim Marshall to talk principal stress and teacher evaluation and coaching. His take: the current teacher evaluation system is ridiculous. Why? It takes too long and doesn’t give teachers access to information in time to use it. Over the years, Kim has developed an alternative, using a system of mini-observations and it’s pretty darn cool. If you’re a principal, and you’re short on time, but long on goals, take a listen! I'll drop the full link in the comments! #principals #backtoschool #teachers #edleaders #K12 #staffengagement #TheRocketPDPodcast RocketPD