Unrestricted Domain

Well, it's probably good that I never got around to writing that last blog post I was talking about; things took a drastic change for me a couple weeks ago. I am entering my 17th year in my district, but after a year out of the classroom and in a district instructional coaching role, I'm back in the classroom.  This was totally my decision, and I'm ecstatic I made it; however, there are many parts where it feels like my first year all over again. Up until two weeks ago, I was going to be a +1 in the department and most likely moving from open room to open room on a sweet cart.  My courseload was going to be two sections of Algebra 1, two sections of geometry, and I was going to team teach two other sections with some of the younger staff.  I was excited, and even better yet, we had a great mindset within the department and we were going to tackle SBG... together ! We had met at times over the summer to map out our objectives, and then gather them under four lar...

My summer has been consumed with one overarching goal: bring a standards focus into our high school math curriculum.  Since it looks like I'll be teaching Algebra 1 and Geometry in my return to the classroom (after teaching AP Calculus and AP Statistics before I left a year ago), I have tried to have a laser focus on aligning standards to what we assess and thus, what we will be teaching.  Since early May, I have been combing through the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) and working to align what is expected in an Algebra 1 and Geometry course with what we actually teach.  Boy, has that been fun! Once the school year ended, I had the opportunity to attend the FIRST Conference in Fond du Lac, WI in early June with some colleagues of mine and saw an AMAZING lineup of educators: Myron Dueck, Dylan Wiliam, Ken O'Connor, Todd Whitaker, Jay McTighe, Tom Guskey, Richard Cash, Lee Ann Jung; the list goes on and on.  One thing the conference reaffirmed for...