4 tips to promote accountable reading practice

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4 tips to promote accountable reading practice

July 14, 2016

Categories: Reading

As a child, I loved the Harry Potter series. Nightly, I would stay up late past my bedtime, trying to remain as quiet as possible, while finishing one more chapter. However, my interest in the series waned around middle school [...]

7 tips to ignite summer learning

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7 tips to ignite summer learning

July 12, 2016

Categories: Assessment, Math, Reading

While working on a project several months ago, I was talking to Ken, a copywriter recently hired by Renaissance. Being that it was his first job out of college, I asked him what he thought of working life. “It’s kind of [...]

The expanding role of technology in education: 5 key insights from ISTE 2016

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The expanding role of technology in education: 5 key insights from ISTE 2016

July 7, 2016

Categories: Professional Development

This past week, I was one of the 20,000 people who attended the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education Conference and Expo (ISTE) in Denver, CO. While I was there, I spoke to passionate educators about the future of [...]

Evaluating educational programs: 5 tough questions to ask

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Evaluating educational programs: 5 tough questions to ask

June 17, 2016

Categories: Reading

Here’s something you probably know all too well—educators are inundated with all sorts of claims when it comes to the myriad of educational programs and software solutions that are available. Walking through a vendor exhibit hall at ISTE, ILA, or [...]

An Act of Congress (in three parts): A history of ESSA

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An Act of Congress (in three parts): A history of ESSA

June 9, 2016

Categories: Assessment

Part 1: Inaction The spring of 1930 in the United States was the first post-winter bloom spent in the throes of the Great Depression. Already, public ire for Congress grew with each day of perceived legislative lethargy in addressing the [...]

Title I funds: three considerations for school year’s end

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Title I funds: three considerations for school year’s end

May 26, 2016

Categories: Assessment, Math, Reading

When I think of a role model who’s had a major impact on my life, I immediately think of my mother. Not only is my mom the best mom in the world (of course!), but she was also a Title [...]

Giving meaning to test scores

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Giving meaning to test scores

May 12, 2016

Categories: Assessment

Test scores are of much interest to parents and educators. We all want our children to achieve their best—so, we frequently use tests to measure what a student has learned and can do as a result of instruction. Sometimes we [...]

NCTM 2016: Insights from the year’s premier math event

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NCTM 2016: Insights from the year’s premier math event

April 28, 2016

Categories: Math

Earlier this month, I attended the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference in San Francisco with nearly 9,000 math educators. At a math conference, you would expect the emphasis to be on numbers, but in many ways, [...]

Designing an ecosystem for academic excellence: 7 elements to consider

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Designing an ecosystem for academic excellence: 7 elements to consider

April 14, 2016

Categories: Math, Reading

As a teacher, you want your students to achieve great things. Our responsibility as educators is to create an academic ecosystem—a community of “just-right” conditions—where students are able to thrive. If we could create the perfect ecosystem for learning, what [...]

Where is our reform focus?

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Where is our reform focus?

March 31, 2016

Categories: Math, Professional Development, Reading

A subtle transition has occurred around our profession’s discussions of reform, so subtle that many of us may not have consciously picked up on it. That transition is from conversations about “school effectiveness” to ones of “educator effectiveness.” In the [...]

Renaissance Blog

Latest Post

4 tips to promote accountable reading practice

4 tips to promote accountable reading practice

Recent Posts

7 tips to ignite summer learning

7 tips to ignite summer learning

The expanding role of technology in education: 5 key insights from ISTE 2016

The expanding role of technology in education: 5 key insights from ISTE 2016

Evaluating educational programs: 5 tough questions to ask

Evaluating educational programs: 5 tough questions to ask

An Act of Congress (in three parts): A history of ESSA

An Act of Congress (in three parts): A history of ESSA

Title I funds: three considerations for school year’s end

Title I funds: three considerations for school year’s end

Giving meaning to test scores

Giving meaning to test scores

NCTM 2016: Insights from the year’s premier math event

NCTM 2016: Insights from the year’s premier math event

Designing an ecosystem for academic excellence: 7 elements to consider

Designing an ecosystem for academic excellence: 7 elements to consider

Where is our reform focus?

Where is our reform focus?