Inspiring Educators: Weekly Roundup 9/2/19

The new school year is underway, and we hope it’s been a good one so far! We’ve collected some stories from around the web about how some schools have kicked off their new year, and how teachers around the country are inspiring students and making a difference at their schools. How does your school start the new year? Do you know any educators who inspire you? Let us know on Twitter @enrichingedjobs! We hope you enjoy some of these stories, and we wish you the best for the 2019-2020 school year.

The first week back at school is a busy one, and calls for some adjustment for both students and teachers. It often brings some anxiety and apprehension for students. But at Carson City’s School District, the first week back at school was an exciting and inspiring one. To help ease the back-to-school jitters, staff put together assemblies, back-to-school nights, and meet and greets for students. One special assembly included time with a motivational speaker and music artist, C.J. Luckey, who talked to students about “the power of ‘yet’ and ‘yes I can’.” Read more, and see images about this school’s first week back events.

Another school found an effective way to help students ease into the new school year. At  Rippon Middle School, the goal was to make students feel welcome and included on their first day back. Members of the community came together to form a welcoming committee, greeting students as they came in, with signs, high fives, and fist bumps, hoping to bring them a smile. And it worked! Take a look at some of the heartwarming pictures from this middle school’s first day back.

Hanover County Public Schools knows how to kick off the new year. For the second year in a row, this school held a district-wide conference for its teachers before the beginning of the new school year. The ‘Inspire’ conference came in to being last year after two teachers from the school attended an educational technology conference and were excited about what they had learned. Now, this school’s conference gives teachers a chance to learn, connect with each other, and get excited about the year to come. Watch the video what exactly goes on at this conference, and how it helps inspire teachers.

Utah’s teacher of the year…earned that honor by making her English classroom a haven for students to learn and express their thoughts freely. Her cozy room is filled with warm lamps and her goal is to make all students feel comfortable, welcome, and included. A large part of her teaching includes diversity and equity, from the books her students read and the discussions she leads, to the way she makes all students feel in her class – like their voice matters. Read more about this outstanding teacher.

Karina Mascia-Fayles is a principal at Cashman Elementary School in Massachusetts who is focused on the positive in her school. The school has a diverse population with students from all over the globe, as well as a diverse population economically. Again, Mascia-Fayles wants to focus on the positive to bring all these differences together. How does she do this? “I’ve made a point of teaching the kids how to say, ‘Good Morning’ in all kinds of different languages,” she shared. The result? She says, “we are a big family, or a village that is here to celebrate the great things that are happening and, hopefully, those things translate to the home.” Learn more about the great things this principal is doing to bring her students closer together.

Ashley Mauger
Author: Ashley Mauger