Child & Adolescent Development
Classroom Management & Discipline
Middle School
First Weeks of School
Morning Meeting
Engaging Academics
Families
Positive Community
Teacher Language

RC Works!: Hollin Meadows School

November 23, 2009 Categories: Professional Development and Community / School Leaders and Administration / Whole School
Perhaps you've seen the news that First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Hollin Meadows Science and Math Focus School in Alexandria, Virginia, last week as part of their promotion of the Obama administration's Healthier U.S. Schools initiative. Their visit was timed so that they could help students and parents harvest lettuce from the school's garden for a school community Thanksgiving dinner.
Continue Reading
OCT
19
2009

Great Expectations

I recently had the privilege of witnessing an encounter that made me think about how important it is to communicate our faith in children’s positive intentions. The assistant principal of a school…
Continue Reading
AUG
01
2009

Does the Responsive Classroom Approach Work in Urban Schools?

When I describe the Responsive Classroom approach to educators from urban areas, somebody always says, “That sounds great, but it would never work at my school.” When asked why, the person usually…
Continue Reading
APR
01
2009

School Spotlight: Hollin Meadows

“My teacher’s coming, my teacher’s coming,” squeals a gleeful six-year-old as he catches his first glimpse of his teacher as she steps out of her car and walks to his front door.…
Continue Reading
FEB
01
2009

Including All Staff in the Responsive Classroom Journey

When Bristol Elementary School, a public school in a small Vermont town, started its journey of Responsive Classroom implementation a few years ago, it took a two-pronged approach, focusing simultaneously on classroom…
Continue Reading
AUG
01
2008

A New Way to Start

When Steve Bahn became principal at Ideal Elementary School, a K–6 school with 245 students, he didn't like how the school day began. "It felt chaotic and fragmented," he recalls. Students entered…
Continue Reading
APR
01
2008

Engaging Hearts & Minds

In this climate of high-stakes testing and fast-paced teaching, inviting student passion into the classroom can be difficult. Where do we find the time? How do we do it without compromising required…
Continue Reading
NOV
01
2007

Making Bus Rides Go Better

At Grafton, all 707 students are assigned to a bus. "That means fifteen buses with all the usual problems, including bullying," says fifth grade teacher Martha Hanley.
Continue Reading
APR
01
2007

Talent Days Offer Every Child a Chance to Shine

Come to Talent Days at our school and you’ll see children sharing a kaleidoscope of skills and interests—doing magic, photography, cooking, writing, gymnastics; training pets; and singing or playing instruments. No matter…
Continue Reading
NOV
01
2006

Taking the Responsive Classroom Approach Schoolwide

At a time when many policy makers are concerned primarily with children's cognitive development and how they do on standardized tests, educators from around the country gathered in Amherst, Massachusetts, to reaffirm…
Continue Reading
APR
01
2006

Collaboration and Consistency Ease Moving Pains

“You can see our school from the bridge,” a fifth grader proudly points out about the recently renovated Regional Multicultural Magnet School (RMMS). Built into a hill overlooking the New London waterfront,…
Continue Reading
AUG
01
2005

Crowning Day for Ks

Our school celebrates and welcomes our new kindergartners with a special all-school Morning Meeting affectionately known as “Crowning Day.” Planning for Crowning Day begins before the kindergartners start school. The fifth graders…
Continue Reading
AUG
01
2004

Student-Led All-School Meetings Bring the School Community Together

In a school with over 500 students and more than eighty staff, it can be difficult to get to know one another. At K.T. Murphy Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut, the staff…
Continue Reading