Do you have any questions for us?

These are a list of questions to ask schools in an interview to make sure the school is the right fit for you and that you can be as knowledgeable as possible when you start the role.

Staff Culture + School Organization

  1. What is the staff culture like – is it more collaborative or more independent? How do teachers collaborate?
  2. How is the school organized/structured (teams/departments)? Why?
  3. How do you collect feedback from teachers? What do you do with that feedback?
  4. How are decisions made at the school? (Ex: How were schedules planned for distance learning?)
  5. How do you spend PD time?
  6. What opportunities exist for teacher leadership? How can teachers make change in the school?
  7. Is there a culture of observation at the school? What does that look like?
  8. How is the schedule determined? Why?

Student Support

  1. What structures for student support exist? How are Ss needs’ supported? Who on staff (in addition to teachers) is available to support students? 
    1. Follow up: Do you have an advisory system? What does it look like? (If not) how is student support structured?
  2. What resources are available to students who are struggling?
  3. Is push-in support available? From who? How is this organized?
  4. What supports are available for English learners and/or recent immigrants?
  5. What percentage of your students fail classes? Why do you think they fail?
  6. Who do you think are the school’s least-served students? What is the school doing to support them?
  7. How are students celebrated at school?
  8. Different ways of asking one question around behavior:
    1. What is your school’s model for handling behavioral challenges? 
    2. What is your school’s disciplinary model? 
    3. What happens at your school when a student is having challenges in class or a bad day? 
    4. How are behavioral challenges managed at the school level? How are relationships maintained? 
    5. Ask for an example?

Equity and Identity

  1. How does your school implement systems/structures to ensure equitable learning for all? How do staff work to disrupt inequities in their classroom/their own practice?
  2. How are teachers pushed to examine their identity and how their decisions support/disrupt inequities in their practice?
  3. How are issues of race/class/gender/identity discussed among staff? 
  4. How are issues of academic and/or social status addressed in (and out) of the classroom?

Policies/Rules

  1. Are there any policies around behavior and/or attendance that have led to conflict and/or been changed over time? What policies/why? What might be changed in the future?
  2. What policy has been particularly difficult?
  3. Cell phones????
  4. What does the end of the semester look like? Summative assessments? Exams, portfolios? Celebrations?
  5. Is there a grading policy? What is the philosophy around grades? What are teachers asked to do?
  6. Who decides policy or restrictions around ______ (EL, special ed, etc)? What are the constraints for teachers?
  7. Is there tracking? How? Why?

General Big Questions

  1. What are the biggest problems/challenges at your school? What are you doing to fix these?
  2. What are your school’s strengths? 
  3. What do you hope to change/work on in the future? What’s in the plans for the next few years?
  4. How do you build community at school? What does positive school culture look like?
  5. What does family engagement look like?
  6. What are your school values? How are they enacted?
  7. How do you work to honor Ss in school and make them feel smart / make them feel like they belong?
  8. What in your opinion makes an extraordinary teacher? What are you looking for in your teachers?
  9. What are some books you would recommend to better understand your school?

To ask students

  1. What do you like?
  2. What do you wish you could change? Magic wand…
  3. Do you feel successful?
  4. What is a problem in your school? 
  5. What is important to your teachers/Do your teachers care about you? 
  6. Do you think your school is fair?
  7. Rules? 

Making Expectations Clear for Students

One of the biggest learnings I had as a teacher is that EVERYTHING needs to be taught, modeled, and explicitly shared with students. As a new teacher I expected students knew how to enter the classroom, complete classwork during work time, and work with others.

It turns out each of those and so much more need to be explicitly modeled and taught. I learned to never assume that students knew how to do what I expected of them. I came to find it equally important that I teach student HOW to learn as much as WHAT to learn.

It’s a long process to figure out what works for you and your students. In the effort of thinking about how to share some of these practices and earlier reflections, I recently returned to some of my template slides I used to ensure students knew exactly what I was expecting of them. Starting class, working in groups, even turning in homework – I had a go-to template slide for all of them, so that by the end of the year students would see the slide and know exactly what to do and what to expect. I encourage anyone to browse, copy, or edit any they would find helpful.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kqGAWYxoqLTcAYE6HQBnVsQ4AtwUTMN_SaNt3ghMqnA/edit?usp=sharing

Possible Do-Nows/ Warm Up Activities

1. Making observations. What do you notice? What do you wonder?

  • Provide something straight forward and familiar for students to engage with but allow for space for deepen the conversation mathematically.
  • In the example below, some students might say “I see squares” and “I see rectangles”. That’s the most basic observation. Others might also point out the colors or wonder why some are different colors or different shapes.
  • If this is an introduction to a new concept, you can leave it wide open. If it is a review of the day’s previous skill you can gear the conversation toward the math ideas or vocabulary you practiced the day(s) prior.

2. Disappearing Words

Think of six to seven vocabulary words or mathematical expressions you expect students to be using. Write them on the board in marker. (Note: it might be helpful for yourself to have the list in order on a paper in your hand.)

Tell the students they are going to practice some math vocabulary and test their memories. First, model by reading each of the words out loud (this helps students hear proper pronunciation).

Then, explain that the entire class is going to say the words together but need to wait until I point to the word. I point to the first word and the class repeats it. I do the same for the next few but then pause to make sure they are waiting to say the word until I point to it. (Note: otherwise there will be a few kids that read through the whole list quickly and ruin the activity). Continue until the class says all of the words.

Now, you choose a students to pick one of the words. Once they pick it, you erase that word from the whiteboard and tell them that we are going to say the words again but we have to remember the word that was erased and say it when I point to the blank space. After doing another round, ask another student another word that should be erased. Run through it again until all of the words are erased. In that final round, you are pointing to multiple blank spaces on the board where the words once were and students are repeating the words and trying to remember what the order is.

Have some fun with this! This allows students to practice saying the important vocabulary and storing it in their memory. Obviously, you still need to work on what they mean and how to apply them, but it’s a great way to start class and introduce/ remind students of the explicit mathematical language that is expected in class.

3. Split Dictation

A split dictation is a chance for students to practice speaking, writing, and listening to math vocabulary (and English, in general, for multilingual learners). It’s an excellent way for students to get a quick introduction to a unit or a lesson by talking with a peer rather than hearing it from the teacher.

How: First, write a short paragraph that explains an important overview of a unit or lesson (2 – 5 paragraphs). Keep sentences short to the point so it is accessible for all reading levels and English proficiency.

Then, make a copy of the paragraph – one will be read by partner A and the other will be read by partner B. Go through partner A’s copy and find a handful of words that you deem mathematical or at least connected to the academic language needed for the unit or lesson. Delete those words and leave a blank space in the paragraph where the students can write the word.

Finally, look at partner B’s paragraph and find alternative words to delete and leave a blank space.

Tell students: Partner A will read first. When they get to a blank space, partner B will have the word on their page and need to share with partner A. Partner A will write down the word and then continue reading, filling in the missing words with the help of partner B along the way. When partner A finishes, partner B will read their paragraph and ask partner A to share any words needed for their blank spaces.

For partners that finish early, ask them to identify any words that are new to them or which ideas they think will be the most important from the paragraph.

4. Estimation

After watching a video, viewing a photo, or listening to a prompt or audio clip, ask students to make an estimation. The estimate will set up the math that will follow in the lesson and begin with a conversation where all students have access to share their answer and attempt to support it with evidence.

5. Leveled Reading

Give students a chance to come in and read about what they will be engaging in today. The reading gives students a chance to be grounded and gives the teacher a chance to check in with students as they come in. Recognizing students might be at different reading levels and English proficiency, create a few different levels available to students. Be careful not to assume which level students would like – give them the choice and you’ll be delightfully surprised how many students want the added challenge.

6. Partner Practice

Rather than having problems up on the board and expecting students to complete them in their notebook, turn it into a partner activity.

7. Card Sort

Card sorts are a great way for students to make sense of what they’ve learned . It can be a way of looking for patterns or identifying key features of visual representations.

Card sorts can ask students to match the algebraic expression with the written form of the expression in words.

Another is to give an image and ask the students to sort them into common groups. For example – “sort into graphs with (1) positive slopes, (2) a slope of zero, and (3) negative slopes”. You could also show tables, graphs, equations, and a story and the students’ job is to find which combinations are matches. There are quite a few possibilities for card sorts.

We will not be silent.

Teachers and everyone need to stand up and speak out.

They need to have the conversation – first with themselves, then others – to let people know where they stand. The number of people that say “I don’t want to make the news” in fear rubs me the wrong way, although I completely understand the sentiment.

We are Americans that have freedom of speech. We are all responsible for our words and actions; but if we are silent now, how can we take pride in what we believe when it’s easy?

We show who we are in the moments of trial. This is a moment of trial.

Listen to others, speak your truth, and expect criticism. Like any muscle, we must continue to develop our ability to stand strong for what we believe and be there for each other in community when we find ourselves attacked for what we believe.

We can no longer be afraid to speak up in meetings. If there is something or someone that you love that is under attack, now is your time to lead. Even something as simple as saying, “I disagree” without further explanation can begin to curb the worst excesses we may soon experience.

Let me make the news, and let us stand as shield for one another. We have a right to free speech, we have a the right to pursue a more perfect union, and I will fight along side my brothers and sisters of this country for these rights. We will not be silent. We are the United States of America. We are Americans.

Group work in math class?

Here’s an email I quickly wrote sharing my general ideas of group work with another math teacher. Similar ideas from a few years back can be found here.

Nice to meet you. Group work is a process that takes time to develop, especially if other teachers in your school don’t lean into the structures as much. I recommend trying it on and seeing if a small group of other teachers are willing to try it out too.

Here are the group roles I use.  

image.png

I lean heavily on task managers to get the group started quickly. If you’re curious about the cups I use for resource managers reach out @ulrichedu. While the kids are doing group work I usually narrate what I want to see the different managers should be doing/ saying like “group managers, check in with the group and make sure everyone understands. If people are copying they may not understand.”
I also try before we start to share the norms for the given activity as well as the math ideas students will need to be successful. Here’s an example from today: 

image.png

Here’s an example of a reading guide I gave out today: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RGcFv-MDFtkaq5EQDqLx1lwE8f1r8W351c5IeCQLIPI/edit?usp=sharing
I also modeled the positive things groups were doing with Mr. Pinsky (online tool – see this for more) and wrote some Huskies (PBIS) to celebrate the strong work I saw. It’s a process and takes time in a classroom to develop the culture, especially if your team isn’t as aligned around group work strategies.
Always happy to share resources or chat. Let me know if you’d like to connect more or collaborate in the future! @ulrichedu

A Letter to California

Thank you.

The time spent with you, I will remember all my life. Both in my memories and in the way I bring myself into the world; my life is forever altered by spending time with you and the people that call you home.

My first memories of the drive were breathtaking. The small river tucked away in the mountains; the giant redwoods wider than my car; the expansive bridge that glimmered in the bay. Needless to say, you made a lasting first impression.

But then, I felt as if I didn’t belong. Somehow everyone else seemed to belong; but not me. I smiled and tried to fit in, to work hard, to say the right things. California is not Wisconsin.

I found myself lighting up when I saw an Illinois license plate, making friends with people from Minnesota and Michigan. What was happening? You see, people from Wisconsin have beliefs about people from Illinois, from Minnesota. That they are different; that they are other. And yet, you brought us together; you showed us how similar we are; how much we are the same.

Soon, you taught me to value the things that make people different. I thought that my Christian identity didn’t have a place with you and at times people saw me as an outsider, but soon I realized one’s identity was nothing to hide in the shadows; on the contrary, it should be shared, explored, and celebrated. I learned to feel a renewed sense of pride as a Christian, and now have a deep sense of honoring people’s differences and traditions whether they share my own or not.

You opened my eyes.

By bringing together people different than myself, with different life experiences, you opened my eyes to the human beauty in this world. Across culture, across language, across sexual-orientation, gender, or geography, you placed in my life people willing to share their stories and to push me to learn more about myself and the world. At first, these differences made me uncomfortable, but soon I realized at the core of discomfort lies strength.

You opened my eyes to the possibilities of nature. The highest and coldest mountain peaks, the lowest and hottest valley basins. The majesty that makes you feel small and insignificant while at the same time leaving you in awe and thankful for time on this Earth. The rivers that bend; the pines that sway; the trails that go on forever. Over each hill and around each bend you opened my eyes to an unending horizon of beauty and possibility.

You gave me the confidence to create change.

I came to you with a quest to change the world; to change the country. I quickly learned that change has long been sought and many have tried with little success, or at least, you taught me success may look different than imagined.

You taught me that creating change does not happen over night. As the mountain and valleys form slowly, we too spend our lives taking small steps toward change. You taught me the strength and power in diversity and solidarity; the voice of the many; the voice of the forgotten. You showed me that I may not have all the answers and that listening to others is just as important as speaking up.

I am grateful for our time together and the adventures I had with you. You challenged me, you left me in awe. I felt success. I felt failure. I felt alive.

Thank you.

The intersection of anti-racism and my Christian faith

White person at a rally for social justice holding a sign that says "silence is violence".

For those of you that know me, you probably know I teach high-school math. Perhaps you know I teach in San Francisco or at a school for recent-immigrants. You also may know I identify as a white male.

For some of you, what you may not know is that I am committed to and interested in up-ending the systems that perpetuate the advantages of some and disadvantages of others. I am particularly interested in learning how to change systems that disproportionally harm black and brown students and families – including my place in perpetuating these harms. I strive to be an anti-racist.

For others of you, what you may not know is that my Christian faith is a cornerstone of who I am and what motivates me to do what I do and form the relationships I do. Listening to stories from the Bible and particularly music that tells the story of grace, forgiveness, community, and those that God asks to lead inspire me and bring me peace.

As an anti-racist, I try to broaden my perspectives. This year I’ve enjoyed reading the perspectives of Bettina Love’s, We Want to Do More Than Survive, Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, and Jose Antonio Vargas’ Dear America. Although, I admittedly didn’t finish the book, I began reading White Fragility, as well. I engage with a group of white educators to talk about our identities and how it intersects with the students we teach – predominantly students of color. All of this work is a good start, but I’ve found the real work (and difficult work) happens in the day-to-day work and conversations with other educators.

This past few weeks I have been part of a few conversations where I was pushed to think about my own place in perpetuating the problems that exist in these systems. Both of the comments were given by people of color in response to what I shared. Whether they intended it to or not I ended up grappling with it for a while and feeling a few things – somewhere between defensive and shitty.

It wasn’t until a day or two after these conversations when I was on a run that I started to meaningfully reflect. For whatever reason, I threw on the Worship Now Spotify playlist and the song Grave Into Gardens came on.

I’m not afraid
To show You my weakness
My failures and flaws
Lord, You’ve seen them all
And You still call me friend
‘Cause the God of the mountain
Is the God of the valley
There’s not a place
Your mercy and grace
Won’t find me again

For the first time, I thought about how the beautiful message of God’s love for us intersects with antiracism work: not as an excuse to continue in ignorance, but to seek conversations that push us to grow, feel uncomfortable, and – at times – defensive and shitty. Knowing at the end of the day the Lord knows my weaknesses even before I do and still calls me friend is an invitation to continue this difficult but important work; to break the systems that continue to disadvantage some and build a world that honors all people.

Anti-racism work is difficult and, speaking in the skin I’m in, makes me feel defensive and like a shitty person from time to time. I think grace is the missing puzzle piece; unearned forgiveness. I find it in my Christian faith and the words of the Bible, but for those non-Christians still devoted to anti-racist work I think it’s still important to offer the same grace to each other – not to stand still or not engage in the work, but to challenge ourselves to move forward and despite our failures and flaws still call each other friend.

Support for Beginning Teachers

The goal of this post is to organize and share different teaching fellowships that equip beginning teachers with the skills, relationships, and support to become skilled educators and leaders at their sites. Please share other opportunities! We can organize and make a long list of ways to give support for beginning teachers.

1. Hollyhock Fellowship Program (U.S.)

Cohorts of teachers attending Hollyhock fellowship.
(photo credit: Stanford Hollyhock website)

Features

  • A 2-year program of professional development
    • ​2 weeks in residence each summer at Stanford University with workshops focused on teaching one’s core content area & examining issues of equity in schools
    • Online coaching sessions throughout each school year with expert practitioners & peers
  • A $2000 stipend for participation
  • Travel, room, and board expenses paid during each summer residency
  • 18 Continuing education units (Each CEU is equivalent to 10 hours of PD)

Requirements – High school in U.S. (English, Math, Social Studies, Science)

  • Between 2-7 years of teaching experience in science, math, history/social science, or English
  • A teaching position at a high school where >50% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch
  • 2-4 other teachers from their same school apply (maximum team size is 5 including applicant)

2. Knowles Teaching Fellowship (U.S.)

Three teachers looking at a computer screen together.

Features

  • Supports early-career teachers for five full years because learning to teach well requires time, effort and resources.
  • Knowles Fellows may be awarded grants to cover expenses associated with purchasing classroom materials and engaging in professional development.
  • Fellows may choose to use half of their allocated funds for stipends. These stipends are intended to help Fellows reduce debts they may have incurred and the financial burden teachers often bear—both of which are factors that contribute to sustainability in the profession.
  • Supports them to plan and reflect on instruction, talks them through challenging professional dilemmas, and supports them through personal challenges. Staff also observe Fellows teach and coach them into improvement that is Fellow directed.

Requirements High school in U.S. (Science and Math)

  • Must be a beginning teacher
  • Not intended for individuals who are pursuing teaching as a way to strengthen a resume. If you are not committed to teaching for at least five years, this Fellowship is not for you.

3. Trellis Teaching Fellowship (Bay Area – CA)

Give a listen to the words from Trellis leadership team.

Features

  • Scholars receive six years of financial and professional support.
  • Five years of mentoring from accomplished math and science teacher mentors.
  • Affinity space with peers to discuss intersection of identity and teaching as an act of social justice.

Requirements Middle school/ high school in Bay Area, CA (Science & Math)

  • Applying or accepted to a partner teacher preparation program (UC-Berkley, SF State University, Sonoma State University)
  • Able and excited to learn to teach in partner, public middle and high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Ready to commit to working in California public schools for the next six years
  • Believe STEM teaching is a form of social justice

Season 2: A Letter to Educators (You are enough)

A letter written by Krista McAtee and read by mentor teachers from the organization called Trellis.

Check out Episodes from Season 1.
Remember the day it the schools shut down? What were people thinking, saying doing? Look back through episodes from season 1 talking about the first moments and decisions that got us here to distance learning in 2020.

Looking for other ways to ground yourselves and rehumanize the work? Check out “Rehumanizing Mathematics” episode from the Abolition Science podcast.

Computer that shows You Got This

Written by a lead-mentor from the teaching-mentoring organization Trellis. Look here for more information about their work.

Dear One, 

I so much want you to know that YOU ARE ENOUGH.

I know there is so much to do, so much to change, so much to know, so much to advocate for, so much to understand, so many young folks, so much hurt, so much injustice, so much heartache, so much pressure, so much responsibility.  So, so, so, so much!

At times it is completely overwhelming, paralyzing, often it even actually makes us ache.  We feel it in the pit of our stomachs, or in the throbbing of our heads, in the tightness of our backs and shoulders…in the exhaustion, …so much to fix, so much to heal, so much responsibility.  Sometimes it is even difficult to catch one’s breath.

And please, breathe.  Remember to breathe.  All you can do is your beset.  I know you are ALWAYS doing your best.  Remember that you cannot do anything if you are paralyzed or ill!  No matter how much our hearts break with the injustices we see, our breaking apart cannot heal the injustices.  We cannot get mad enough to make anger disappear.  We cannot judge enough to extinguish judgement.  We cannot be sad enough to make sadness go away.  Our self condemnation does nothing to elevate others.  We cannot fight enough to create peace.  We cannot feel enough hurt to facilitate healing.

All of those sefl message of NOT enoughness do not do ANYTHING to make anything better.  You have so much on your plate and shoulds, why spend ANY precious time, energy or emotion criticizing yourself?  You are doing your best.  You are here!  You show up!  You care!  You love those kiddos!  You put your hear and souls into this work.  This is absolutely the most important work to be done!  Right where you are… being there with those young ones.

You are doing your best.  Part of doing your best also means self compassion and self love.  We can teach the young to love themselves, ONLY by modeling…. They really don’t care what we say.  They care what we do.

How are you practicing self love?  How are you nurturing and honoring yourself?  How are you modeling this for your students?

You are honored!  I honor and appreciate you so deeply. I know it needs to be expressed more often… Who you are, what you do, how you show up changes lives, changes the world.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude that you are right here in the moment.  I am filled with awe and appreciation for all you do to contribute to this crucial, all important work!

Please let these words sink into your being… into your heart.

Please practice noticing all the ways you make a difference.  Even and especially in the ways we stretch and grow…even in the discomfort of growth, you are making a huge difference in lives.

You took on the MOST important job in the world and just maybe the absolute best way to make the biggest difference is to care for your precious, irreplaceable, unique, valuable, loveable, self!  Cultivate, remember, practice, notice the Love that you are, the gift that you are to the young people, to your friends and families, to the world!  You are a gift!  You are a gift!  You are a precious, beautiful gift to the world! 

Notice this!

Feel this!

Drink this in….

Allow this Love to fill you up!

Know that Love is the care of your being and it is when you know that you will be able to reflect this to those around you.  We are all mirrors.  We are mirrors… We look at the world to make sense of who we are… What do you want to reflect?

Practice knowing your goodness, your wholeness, your beauty and gifts.  And then you will become a more and more clear mirror for those around you.

You are a gift!

You are precious!

You are so important!

You make a difference!

You are a treasure to those around you!

You are a gift!