by Jennifer Johnson Ignite the potential in yourself and your team. The post-pandemic world of education is facing unprecedented challenges ranging from teacher shortages and burnout to heightened social-emotional needs of children to achieving academic standards with limited resources.  Today’s principals have become accustomed to living in uncertainty and chaos and reacting to the needs...Read More

By Mike Anderson As both an elementary school principal and a U17 Girls’ Basketball Coach, I know how important it is for youth to face challenges in positive environments, outside of the traditional school setting.  It gives young people an opportunity to be mentored in a focused way, and it expands their identity and community....Read More

by Jason Hicks Nourishing the Integration of SEL in Teacher Practice In schools, the word “initiative” is often treated like a school cafeteria lunch tray from days past – remember the one with the five distinct compartments? For many educators, the various programmatic improvements brought forth by school leaders feel disconnected, like keeping the peas...Read More

by BRIGHT LIGHT Emma Navin Belonging is a fundamental human need. We all search for a sense of connection with the people and places in our lives. It impacts our well-being as well as our sense of identity in the world. Students spend a huge portion of their time at school, which makes it essential...Read More

by BRIGHT LIGHT Paul Dwyer   Teaching Students to Be Genuine in Disingenuous Times   Students’ Lens on Reality I am fascinated by how much information we are exposed to each day. Studies say it averages 100GB every day which is the equivalent of watching the entire series of Stranger Things. By contrast, teachers grew...Read More

by BRIGHT LIGHT Melissa Brown   The education system has long been seen as the antidote to society’s ills and a mechanism for change. Fast-forward to 2024, and the pace of change is leaving schools as we know them in the dust. Consequently, individual teachers can feel uncertain about how to navigate the day-to-day. Despite...Read More

by Vicky Essebag As adults, we can all remember the challenges of peer pressure, navigating relationships, and healthy decision-making during our school years. As parents, we don’t always know how to impart these skills, recognizing that they are a skillset that require experience and that we ourselves continue to build over a lifetime. But what...Read More

by BRIGHT LIGHT Brenda Carbery-Tang Teens these days are feeling disconnected from the world around them. They spend much of their time online passively observing, in snippets and soundbites, a world where people don’t seem to care or take care of each other. Young people show up to the classroom wearing hard outer protective shells...Read More

by BRIGHT LIGHT Sam Welbourn Finding Your “Why” in the Messy Spaces I love change when it is meaningful. Maybe our role as teachers is to make it so. When I reflect on the future relevance of schools in the age of AI, when we don’t yet know the capabilities and impact it will have,...Read More

by Ola ElKhatib In my early international teaching career, I joined a school celebrated for its commitment to professional development. Initially, interactions with colleagues brimmed with warmth and promise, setting the stage for what I believed would be a fulfilling year. As the school year progressed, a disconcerting change swept through. The high standards framed...Read More