Budgeting for Technology & Free Professional Development Opportunity

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

Now more than ever, technology has become a necessity in education! With so many schools using a hybrid approach of in person and online learning, school leaders are under increasing pressure to purchase new technology or upgrade the existing materials. As you begin to work on your school’s budget and look forward to the future technology needs of your school, we hope the resources below can help guide your thinking and planning.

Consider this:

Not sure where to begin with budgeting?

Looking for more details and examples?

Free Building Inclusive Schools Professional Development options through Step Up for Students:

All trainings are FREE thanks to support from Step Up For Students and our generous donors.

  • Foundations of an Inclusive Community (Vanessa Douyon – Promise 54)
  • Is Your School Anti-Racist? (Vanessa Douyon – Promise 54)
  • LGBTQ Culturally Competent Best Practices (De Palazzo – Equality Florida)

Click here  to learn more about the content of these trainings. Click here to register.

 

To view more resources click here!

Free Professional Development, Remote Learning Support, Giveaway, and More!

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

Free Training through Step Up for Students (Giveaway Alert!):

Learn about how you can live out your commitment to creating psychologically safe and inclusive spaces. Explore the links below to learn about multiple FREE virtual training opportunities coming up for you and your staff.

All trainings are FREE thanks to support from Step Up For Students and our generous donors.

  • Foundations of an Inclusive Community (Vanessa Douyon – Promise 54)
  • Is Your School Anti-Racist? (Vanessa Douyon – Promise 54)
  • LGBTQ Culturally Competent Best Practices (De Palazzo – Equality Florida)

Click here  to learn more about the content of these trainings.

Giveaway Alert! – Register for any of these trainings before December 18, 2020 to be entered into a giveaway for a set of books for a diverse classroom library!
Click here to register.

Do your teachers need support facilitating online learning?

You can empower your teachers to engage students and families, improve achievement and create vibrant learning environments through a partnership with Educate LLC.

Educate will provide your teachers, families, and leaders with ongoing support navigating the intersection of technology and instruction. See opportunities for Virtual Coaching and Workshops  here. Contact Julie Emory-Johnson for more information: jjohnson@educatellc.com

Free Technology Conference for Educators:

Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC)-  January 26 -29, 2021

FETC 2021 will be a fully interactive FREE virtual multi-day conference experience using state-of-the-art technology. Hear from top experts and innovators in education technology, experience AI-based networking, and explore the cutting edge FETC Virtual Expo to see the latest apps, hardware, software, and tech tools to support your teaching in this new era. Click here to learn more!

Looking for a good book over the break?

Check out Natalie Wexler’s book “The Knowledge Gap.” Through the stories of educators, students, and parents, “The Knowledge Gap” dives into the real issues at the heart of what we call the achievement gap. The book zeros in on the importance of building knowledge of the world rather than focusing solely on skills. It’s a deep dive into the heart of reading, literacy, and the disparities in our education system that you won’t want to miss! Click here to learn more!

 

 

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

Resources for Supporting Teachers’ Mental Health in Difficult Times

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

We know this time of the year is especially stressful for educators. This year more than any other, we know your teachers are juggling a lot. This month’s resources are dedicated to helping administrators support the mental and emotional well-being of their staff members.

Strengthen Your Leadership in Difficult Times:

Share Mental Health Resources & Tips with your Staff:

Don’t Miss Our Giveaway!

For National STEM Day we are giving away a sample of simulated dirt from Mars to one lucky teacher! Experiment with different soil types by growing plants in “dirt” that is similar to the surface of Mars.  Click here to enter!

OESE Back-to-School Success Stories (See examples HERE)

  • The U.S Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, and the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Frank Brogan, have spent the past few months discussing the importance of returning to school. To submit a testimonial about how your school is thriving with your students back in person, please reach out to: reopeningschools@ed.gov. Step Up For Students would love to see our schools spotlighted nationally!

Don’t Forget! Nominate a student for the 2020 Virtual Rising Stars Awards. Nominations due December 4th. Click here to nominate today!

 

What does your online presence say about your school?

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

5 Questions You Should Consider When Reviewing Your School’s Online Presence

With COVID-19 temporarily moving much of our lives online, now is the perfect time to review your school’s online presence. For many families, the first impression of your school is just a click away. It’s not enough to simply list your school’s mission, vision, and values anymore. Instead, a good online presence will demonstrate the overall philosophy and culture of your school. What does one click reveal about your school?

  1. What is the purpose of your site? Is it a learning hub or hub of school information?
    • A hub of information- make sure to include easy to update calendars and important dates, downloadable newsletters, photos of activities and celebrations, and links to community resources for parents and families
    • Learning hub for students- provide password protected links to the school’s e-learning platform as well as links to other resources for students and families to access at home. Find a list of resources here!
  2. Does your website reflect and respect the diversity at your school?
    • Check out these articles from the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education on Diversity in Christian Schools; specifically discussing diversity in handbooks and retention and the environment you create.
    • Ask your families how they feel your school is bridging racial, class, and cultural differences. Consider the survey on page 12 of this document from the Nebraska Department of Education.
  3. How well does your website foster two-way communication with parents & families?
    • Make the link to communicate easy to find on your website.
    • Link your social media pages so that families can follow along with school events and interact in a way that is easy for them.
    • Ask your parents and families how they feel about your school!
      • Click here to find surveys for parents & families, checklists, needs assessments for new families, and more.
  4. Are you staying current with the times?
    • Given our current national situation, consider how out of touch it might seem to have no mention of virtual learning plans, technology, contingency plans, or virtual communication on your school’s website.
    • For ideas on what to include in your learning plan click here!
  5. What does your school’s social media say about your culture and philosophy?
    • Remember to demonstrate your mission, vision, and values. If collaborative learning is important to your mission, reflect this by sharing photos of group science experiments, posting videos from daily classes, or tweeting about the activities of your debate team.
    • Be sure your images and videos are current and show off what makes your school unique. Stock images and photos from other websites do not have the same effect as snapshots from a day in the life of your students.
    • Maintain consistent branding between your website and social media sites. Parents looking to learn more about your school should be able to easily identify your school from the matching branding.
    • For tips on how other administrators are using social media at their schools click here!

 

Frameworks of Tampa Bay is a nonprofit organization that empowers educators, youth services professionals, and parents and guardians with training, coaching, and research-based resources to equip students with social and emotional skills. Read more about the courses they offer here. For more information please contact:

Saima Qadree- Program Development Officer
sqadree@myframeworks.org
813-924-7563 (Cell)

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

Do Your Students Have All the Virtual Resources They Need?

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

Over the past several months, you have had a plethora of resources sent your way.  By now, schools are back, whether that be virtual or face to face.  Because of this, we wanted to provide you with an updated list of FREE resources.  We have resources for many subject areas and all grade levels.  Check them out!

 

Are you trying to build your school library? Don’t know where to start?

Check out The Book Bundler! They have quality used books with great prices.

 

 

Are your teachers subscribed to the Bulletin Board? If you’re not sure, encourage them to subscribe here by September 16th.  New subscribers will be entered to win books for their classroom library.

 

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

You’re receiving the Educational Resource Blog as you subscribed to enter to win books for your classroom library. If you’d like to unsubscribe, click “unsubscribe from this list” at the bottom of this email.

Is Your School Trauma Sensitive? Free Resources to Support Trauma-Informed Practices in Your School

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

Now more than ever, it is important for schools to be ready to address the emotional needs of students during these unprecedented times. This month’s collection of trauma-informed resources for administrators will help you get a head start on supporting students’ needs in the fall.

 

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

School Safety in the Era of COVID-19

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

There are a lot of safety concerns to consider when going back to school in the Fall, especially in our current battle with the COVID-19 Pandemic. This month’s resources aim to help administrators check & prep their Emergency Action Plans, both for the COVID-19 concerns and school wide safety in general.
Planning & Guidance for COVID-19 Pandemic:

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR SCHOOL!

AVID is a national non-profit that delivers professional learning to more than 85,000 educators each year so they can close the gap and prepare all students. Attend AVID Discover as a non-AVID school for just the cost of registration. Cost for this program can be covered by ESSER funding through your district, the Private School Stabilization funds (more info to come on this from Step Up), Title II, Part A or Title IV, Part A. Learn effective AVID online teaching methods that will also transfer to the face to face classroom setting.

Click here to register for the July 22-24 online training and receive online coaching throughout the year for only $995.

Conscious Discipline Core is a series of online professional learning sessions divided into three key areas of focus: Safety, Connection and Problem-Solving. These core sessions create a strong foundation in the basic skills, powers and structures necessary to handle the unique challenges of schooling in a COVID-19 age. Participants can select the age-specific grades they teach to focus on, and there is also a track designed for Administrators, Specials (e.g. Music, Physical Education or Art) or Special Needs.

Click here to access individual registration is $1,000 or Site Registration can be purchased for $2,500 for up to 25 participants.

School-wide General Emergency Action Plans:

Do you have a “Decision Tree” to help guide your decisions to open, close, or adjust schedules?

Other Guidance from State & National Gov:

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

End of the Year Resources for Administrators

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

Take Time to Reflect

This year more than ever it is important to reflect on the year, celebrate your efforts, and let go of a very turbulent year. We’ve created a document to help you process the past school year and look ahead to a new and fresh start in 2020-21.

End of the Year Resources

We know wrapping things up this year has been quite stressful! To help you check things off of your list, we’ve included a few documents that might help.

Marketing Tips & Resources for Schools

Click here to explore marketing resources and ideas from Step Up For Students.

Closing Out the Year with MAP Growth

Calling all schools using MAP Growth- Watch this free webinar from Step Up’s Student Learning & Partner Success team on closing out your year!

Resources for Thinking Ahead!

Trauma-Informed Instruction: Many of our students will come back to us next year after having experienced rough situations at home. Check out the Trauma-Informed Instruction resources below to see how you can plan for students’ needs next year.

Additional Professional Development

  • If you are interested in professional development through the North East Florida Educational Consortium and you are a non-profit school registered through the School Choice Office click here.

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

Teacher Appreciation Ideas & Continued Remote Learning Support

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources

Continuing Support During the COVID-19 Situation:
  • The Step Up for Students Office of Student learning is offering a free webinar series for administrators- “Modeling Resilience Through COVID-19.” These 30-minute weekly webinars are a chance for administrators to discuss the challenges and needs of their schools while networking with others experiencing the same issues. Webinars are held on Thursdays at 10:00 & 11:00 a.m. Click the links below to register for next week’s sessions!
  • The National Association of Elementary School Principals is featuring some excellent ongoing webinars for administrators. Topics include engagement, parent communication, teacher support, and even question & answer sessions. Click here to explore the free webinars and videos.
  • The National Association of Secondary School Principals also has webinars, videos & resources available to support administrators during the COVID-19 Crisis. Click here to explore the NASSP resources.
  • Don’t forget! The Office of Student Learning has also gathered a list of tutorials, resources, & programs to support remote learning. Check out those resources here!
Teacher Appreciation:
  • Did you know? The Step Up for Students Office of Student Learning is giving away a document camera to one lucky teacher in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. The giveaway ends on May 13th, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. so don’t miss it! Limit one entry per person, only complete entries will be entered to win. Click here to enter!
  • Honor Teachers All Month! Explore these ideas from WeAreTeachers to celebrate your staff “virtually” all month long!
  • Check out this excellent toolkit from National PTA to help celebrate your teachers from afar all month long!

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.

Tutorials & Set Up Help for Online Learning

Erica Peron School Leadership Resources, Teacher Resources for Success

Many teachers have been asking for ideas, tutorials, and support in setting up their digital classrooms. We’ve answered some of the frequently asked questions below.
How can I send materials, lessons, & communications to students?
  • The following FREE online platforms are some of our favorite user-friendly options for setting up online learning. Click the link below for set up tutorials!
    • Schoology (attendance tracking feature)
    • Google Classroom
    • Zoom
    • Canvas (attendance tracking feature)
    • Class Dojo (attendance tracking feature)
    • Remind
    • Padlet

* Click here for tutorials & set up help for all of the above online platform options.

How can I record lessons or videos?
How do I find resources for the grade level & subjects I teach?
  • The links below are sorted by subject area and are broken down into elementary and middle & high school levels. Remember, you can link the resources you find here into a digital classroom (see tutorials above)!

  • The site, WideOpenSchool.org, was created by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that rates education and entertainment content for children, with help from dozens of partner educational companies. The site brings together content from some amazing companies to help students, teachers and families find free, quality resources while school buildings are closed.

Who can I reach out to about purchasing devices for my students?
  • Demand is high for devices at this time. We will update this section with more contacts as we find them. Check back in regularly to see what options are available.
    • HP®-Click here to join the Step Up for Students HP® Private Store. Fill out the registration information to gain access to exclusive offers on HP® Computers, Printers, Accessories and Original Ink & Toner. Sale pricing going on now!
      • Enjoy free standard shipping site-wide and a 30-day hassle free return or exchange policy.
      • For large order requests or unique inquiries please contact stepupforstudents@hp.com to be connected with a dedicated Account Manager.
    • Microsoft®- Email Dave.Patel@microsoft.com to inquire about devices & pricing options from Microsoft as well as free licenses for Office 365 Education that include Microsoft Teams!
Questions or Need Assistance?