I had an amazing week at work last week! I feel the need to capture this happiness (for my happy file!) before the next round of stress begins.

I spent two days with some stellar Studio Classroom teachers, examining our instructional practices while designing an Inquiry Unit for students. I spent the following two days on four different site visits with instructional coaches. During my site visits I have the opportunity to visit classrooms, discuss instructional strengths and coaching messages, and site-based professional development.

I celebrate all of the hard-working teachers in our system, who are in year two of our ELA CCSS implementation while beginning our year one Math CCSS implementation. Teachers across our system are developing a growth mindset about their own practice and in the minds of their students. They are grappling with an insane amount of new learning, while persevering through a variety of challenges. And our instructional coaches are supporting them through all of these new learning opportunities.

Friday was a day focused on professional development planning in collaborative teams, which is always some of my favorite work. What a great week of instructionally-focused work!

What did you add to your happy file this week?