By Daniella Rueda, CEI Intern As we come close to the end of hurricane season and as we consider the loss of lives and disruption produced in recent California wildfires, it becomes critical to discuss a topic that is often disregarded: The post-disaster trauma children experience. More specifically, what happens with children? How are their lives and schooling disrupted and what are the long-term consequences? In the recent years, with global warming and radical climate chan

By Christine Mason, CEI Executive Director Visions and Inspiration “Transformational leaders do not think in one place and time, rather, they construct mental models that bridge the present to the future.” (Thoms & Greenberger, 1995) Consider Our World Today In Mindfulness Practices: Cultivating Heart Centered Communities where Students Focus and Flourish, with co-authors Michele Rivers Murphy and Yvette Jackson, I explored the potential for transforming our world through red

By Michael Chirichello, International Educational Consultant Collective Leadership Collective leadership is different from shared and participatory leadership (Drake & Roe, 2003). It transcends distributive leadership (Elmore, 2002). Collective leadership is built on a culture that values relationships. As relationships are built, the staff learns from the collective experiences of each other (Drath, 2001). In a school led by a transformational leader, a collective culture em

By Lindsey Erin Feltis, CEI Intern and Christine Mason, CEI Executive Director Good Leaders vs. Great Leaders For decades, researchers and educators have been asking “what makes a good leader?” when they should have been asking “what makes a great leader?” However, Tony Bush, a professor of leadership in Nottingham (UK), suggests that there has been a shift in our language and understanding of school leadership in the 21st century (2017). At the Center for Educational Improve

By June Naureckas, CEI Intern In my recent post I described some of the signs and symptoms that a teacher should watch for in order to recognize students with dyslexia or major visual impairment. Once a disability has been recognized, it’s important to set up formal accommodations as needed through an IEP or 504 plan, but making small changes to the presentation of information can make lessons more productive and less taxing for both the teacher and the student. Hand-outs and

By June Naureckas, CEI Intern Although their origins and symptomology are different, dyslexia and visual impairment respond surprisingly well to a shared list of accommodations. By making a few simple changes to worksheets and presentations, teachers can reduce stress for themselves and for their students. According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is “characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decodi