Philly Teacher

About Me
I am a teacher, and a lifelong learner. I began teaching in Philadelphia in 2004 as a Science teacher for grades K-6. I also spent 5 years in a K-8 setting as a Technology teacher. I currently teach high school students how to think critically about technology and successfully integrate technology tools into their learning [...]
Presentations
I have presented at a number of conferences, mostly on the topic of technology in education. I presented to a packed house at the annual PETE&C conference on the topic of Building the Ideal Computer Lab Curriculum. It was a hands-on, hour long session, attended by computer lab teachers from all over the K-12 [...]
Work With Me
I am available to consult on a number of topics. I have over 5 years of experience as a K-8 Science educator in both school and summer program settings as well as 5 years experience as K-8 Technology Teacher and I currently teach 9th graders in a Technology Elective. I hold a Master’s Degree as [...]
Published Work
These are places, aside from blogs, where my work has been featured. ASCD’s February 2011 issue of Educational Leadership: Three Schools for the 21st Century, written in collaboration with Gerald Aungst I also co-wrote a chapter with Dean Shareski in Chris Lehmann and Scott McLeod’s book, What School Administrators Need to Know About [...]

It was 3:00pm on June 20th, the last day of school. The inaugural staff of SLA@Beeber sat around the huge conference table in the main office going over highlights and areas for growth for next year. We picked apart processes, events, successes, failures and made suggestions for next year. We discussed our capacity as a staff, the way our kids had grown so much since September, the way we stuck together as a staff and made some really hard decisions together. We expressed our gratitude for each other’s professionalism and integrity. We also pointed out where things went really wrong and places where we came up short, acknowledging our errors and making plans for addressing them.

Then, our principal (he would kick me for calling him that), stopped us and reminded us of something we had failed to mention for the last 30-45 minutes. “We started a school, guys,” he said. We smiled. In all of the day’s conversations about pedagogy, technology integration, processes and procedures, organizational capacity and more, it was easy to forget the simplest fact: We started a school this year.

Not only did we start a school, but we finished out a fairly successful school year in some challenging conditions. We had 9 full time staff members, including our secretary, principal and program coordinator for 125 students. We had a part time NTA for the morning, but no one at lunch to monitor students (no school police officer or lunch time support staff). We had a nurse once every 3 weeks, a counselor once a week, a part time Special Education teacher and a school psychologist once a month. Add to that the fact that two or three days before school started, we didn’t have enough chairs for all of our students, we had no furniture in the main office, only a handful of cafeteria tables for 125 students, and pretty much no school supplies whatsoever. After picking apart every little nuance of the school year and reflecting on our successes and our failures, we failed to remember that, in the end, we came together and built a school. This year was, by no means, perfect, and we have a lot of space to grow, but I am thrilled to have been a part of the team that started SLA Beeber, and I am even more thrilled to see it expand next year and watch our 9th graders advance to 10th grade and to welcome our new, incoming freshmen and our new staff members, my new colleagues on this journey.

I have never had a more rewar Success baby ding, frustrating, demanding, celebratory year of teaching in my 10 years of teaching in Philadelphia. Thanks, Chris, Marina, Luke, Dave, Leroy, Max, Karthik and Matt as well as Jeremy, Katie, Tishna and Pat for making this year shine!

Today was an exciting day for the Edcamp Foundation and for edcampers all over the US. At around 7:00 am, a small group of educators walked across C Street and entered the Department of Education for a day of sharing and learning at Edcamp US DOE. After 4 years and thousands of hours of free, [...]

The 2014 ASCD Annual Conference: There is Hope

Reflecting on a busy weekend of conversation and learning at this year’s annual ASCD conference in Los Angeles, a few bright spots stand out for me. I attended ASCD two years ago in Philadelphia and I couldn’t help but notice that while conversations haven’t necessarily shifted too much (school leadership, school transformations, teaching strategies, assessment, [...]

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a report card conference with one of my advisees discussing his classes, his school work and some struggles he’d been having. At one point he said, “I think I’m taking advantage of the freedom I have.” It was a powerful statement and a one that really stuck [...]

As 2013 comes to a close, it is time to reflect on the past year. 2013 proved to be quite a transformative one. Considering that this is my first post since September, it has also proven to be a busy one. Here are some of my thoughts on the past year. Spring 2013 2013 began [...]

To start off the year, I decided to make sure that all of my 9th graders understand what the Internet really is and how it works before they get their Internet-ready laptops in a few weeks. When they came in, they had the first five minutes of class to “draw the Internet.” I got a [...]

The First Day of a New School: We Built This

I am so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes awake, but it’s a good kind of tired. After weeks of team building, inquiry into our own pedagogical practices, building units, discussing and working out details on school operations from scheduling the first day to student flow through the building, loading up UHaul trucks with [...]

As I reflected on the events of today, I began to think of my journey as a teacher here in Philadelphia. I began to think of all of the red flags that have gone up over the last ten years before getting to this point. Here is a run-down: 2001 The State takes over the [...]

As I prepare for the last day of my 5th ISTE adventure (and nurse the sniffles that I blame on 40 degree indoor temperatures and 95 degree outdoor temperatures), I have been reflecting on the dozens of conversations that I have been lucky enough to have on this trip. For me, this ISTE has been [...]

Just When I Thought It Couldn't Get Worse

Update: On Monday, June 3rd, the Briarcliff Manor Board of Education approved their 2013-2014 budget to include slots for Briarcliff students to attend the Walkabout Program. Many thanks from Walkabout alumni and next year’s cohort of students. As many who know me well are aware, I had the unique opportunity to attend the Walkabout Program [...]