Barbara's Inspirational Series

Their Best Hope

Valley Middle School is a Title I school, and like many, Valley was having problems with test scores.  It was also a place where kids wanted to be.  I was hired as a consultant, and when the curriculum coordinator introduced me to the teachers, I saw slumped shoulders and heads hung low.  They looked tired and dejected, as if they felt their hard work wasn't making a difference.  The district review team was coming to the school in a few days, and I could tell from the teachers' faces they felt too disheartened to be receptive to my work on rigor.  "Let's try something else." I said....

Having a Vision

It was my third year of teaching struggling students, and all of a suddent, the stakes changed. My state decided to use a standardized test to determine whether my eighth graders would be allowed to move on to the high school. My students said, "It's not fair!". Then I.....