Barbara's Inspirational Series

Their Best Hope

Valley Middle School is a Title I school. Like many schools, Valley was having problems with AYP, but it was also a place where kids wanted to be.  

I was hired as a consultant at Valley, and when the curriculum coordinator introduced me to the teachers, I saw slumped shoulders and heads hung low.  They looked tired and dejected, as if they felt their hard work wasn't making a difference. The district review team was coming to the school in a few days, and I could tell from the teacher's faces that they felt too disheartened to be receptive to my workshop on Rigor.

"Let's try something else," I said....

Having a Vision

It was my third year of teaching struggling students, and all of a suddent, the stakes changed.  My state decided to use a standardized test to determine whether my eighth graders would be allowed to move on to the high school.  My students said, "It's not fair!".  Then I.....