First, a quick summary of my teaching situation. I'm midway through my first year teaching what my school calls an ELL/SDAI class of World History sophomores. This is my 23rd year of teaching, and for the first 22 I taught only the college prep and AP classes. I thought the EL classes were not for me because I don't speak Spanish, and in our suburban-but-not-too-far-from-the-farm schools, the vast majority of our ELs are from the Michoacan region of Mexico.

When I think back on those…

J. Richard Gentry's book Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing gives insight into the crucial role that writing plays in children's early literacy development. With recent brain research validating the reading-writing connection that Marie Clay noted in the 1980s, Gentry explains the early stages of reading and writing development, which begin with the scribbling stage and progress to when a child not only has letter-sound correspondence but understands…

Happy 2012!!  Here we are, about half way through our school year... I hope most of you have had a great first half. 

For myself, this is the time where I REALLY take note of what I've accomplished so far because that last week of May gets here in the blink of an eye.  This blog may seem more like a reflection, but I believe that's what we should be doing most of the time, right?  This year  has been an experience for me.  I don't believe I've had such a talkative class like this…

As part of our Preparing for the Demographic Wave Webinar Series, the College Board is hosting a one hour program highlighting recently-released data from the Pew Hispanic Center. This webinar will be relevant to stakeholders (including enrollment managers, and admissions and outreach officers) interested in the latest information regarding Latino students.

Unfortunately the webinar will be January 4th at 12:00pm…