
Impact of Mental Illness on Academics
Today is the DuPage County Institute Day. I am fortunate enough to be attending a counselor specific set of seminars, something that isn’t often available in my district. My first sessions took a deeper look at the impact mental illness can have on academic achievement. Below are my notes on the topic. I hope to […]

Home for the Holidays
Congratulations my fellow educators we’ve almost made it through half of the 2014-15 school year. Months of lesson planning, grading, assessing and forming connections with our students, have come down to a few more days of final exams. Next week we’ll be home enjoying a much deserved break with our family and friends. But first […]

Democracy in Action
Today there are no students in my building or any school in my district. In their place hundreds of parents travel from class to class at the sound of the bells. This isn’t some form of freaky Friday or trading place, it is parent teacher conferences. Of course parent teacher conferences are a common occurrence, […]

What Is Mastery?
mas·ter·y ˈmast(ə)rē/ :possession or display of great skill or technique The end of the 2013-14 school year and the start of the 2014-15 school year started off with discussions of the same difficult subject, mastery. The last institute day of school introduced the conversation to our building staff. What is mastery? What does it look […]

Students Hear First Hand Experience of September 11th
Students who are in high school today are barely old enough to remember the events of September 11th, 2001. Their knowledge comes from their parent’s account, teacher’s lessons, text readings and documentaries. And even some of these sources are removed from the events that occurred at ground zero. It was a day that forever shaped […]

Welcome Back To School
Welcome back to the start of another year here at Today In School. This year I want to bring a different voice to the blog. Last semester and over the summer, we focused primarily on the big picture or educational hot topics. This year I’m sure we’ll keep up with current research, educational reform and […]