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The Digital Backpack
Your resource for online learning
Your trusted source for K-12 online learning insights, teaching strategies, and success stories from Michigan’s leading virtual education provider. Join us as we explore innovative approaches to help students thrive in the digital age.
3 strategies for coping with & preventing educator burnout
This therapist from Alaska is exploring the relationship between boundaries and burnout. Check out Molly Davis’s top three strategies for coping with and preventing educator burnout!
37 Black History Month resources for teachers
Did you know a teacher started Black History Month?It’s only appropriate, then, that we compile a list of unique Black History Month resources for educators.But first, let’s go back to the beginning.
How to Help Foster Self-Awareness in Students
Self-awareness is a skill that many adults, let alone kids, struggle with. Fortunately, however, this skill can be cultivated in youth with the right social-emotional support—and schools play an essen
Time for Teachers: Importance of Distinguishing Systemic from Individual Barriers and Solutions
Educators often cite a lack of time as one of their most significant stressors. How can we help teachers find the balance necessary to feel satisfied in their jobs and meet their social and emotional needs? This first post in the Time for Teachers blog series will distinguish systemic from individual barriers, which is essential to ensure that finding time for themselves is not an undue burden on individual teachers. Some challenges require state-, district-, and school-wide solutions.
3 tips for setting & tracking goals with students
This instructional coach is pushing to make grades more meaningful to students. Check out Sam Sicilia’s top three tips for setting and tracking student goals in the classroom!
The Importance of Digital Learning: Gen Z and Gen Alpha in the Classroom
As a modern-day educator, you probably have experience working with both Millennials and Generation Z students—where Millennials are defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 and Generation Z are th
The Impact of Self-Image on Students & Ways Educators Can Help Them Create a Positive One
A student’s self-image is formed by experiences and relationships—watch any stereotypical high school film, and you’ll see the power of comparisons and social rankings in action. These identifying exp
3 tips for coding with young students
This technology teacher is showing her K-8 students how to code. Listen to Nicole Green’s powerful story and her top three tips for coding with young students!
How Superintendents Can Foster College & Career Readiness by Incorporating SEL in a K-12 Environment
Social-emotional learning (SEL) can result in significant academic improvements for students. In fact, school districts in Chicago that partnered with the Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) from
4 Strategies for Superintendents When Implementing a Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum
Social-emotional learning (SEL) plays a huge role in human development for young people, helping them manage their emotions, show empathy to others, and maintain healthy relationships. In fact, resear
How Stress Affects the Teenage Brain
K-12 students at all levels are experiencing tremendous changes both physically and mentally as they progress toward adulthood. Guiding students through this journey is one of the greatest rewards for
3 strategies for providing culturally responsive education to Native American students
What does it mean to provide a culturally responsive education to Native American students? As a teacher, where should you begin? Meet Tan-A Hoffman, a second-grade teacher at JKL Bahweting Anishnabe School and a 2020-21 regional teacher of the year, representing her geographic area in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Tan-A shares some incredible stories, a brief bit of history, and three strategies for providing culturally responsive education to Native American students.
SEL Strategies Educators Can Use to Improve Decision-Making Skills in K-12 Students
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) found that five core competencies provide the ideal foundation for high-quality social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula. Those
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Teachers in 2022
From filling your bucket to creating boundaries, we created these resolutions to guide you during this irregular year.
How Schools Can Address Individual Student Needs: Anxiety and Depression
Everyone experiences anxiety and low points from time to time, including children and teens. But when anxiety becomes excessive, it can disrupt normal function and learning and even require the suppor
How Schools Can Support Social Awareness and Empathy in Students Through SEL Curriculum
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines social awareness as, “The ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diver
The Case for Districtwide SEL Initiatives
After the events of this past year, administrators are reexamining strategies used to address student behavior and improve educational intervention. With students and staff returning in full to classr
Mitigating the Risk of Harm to Self and Others on Both Sides of Bullying
Bullying can take many forms—physical, verbal, emotional, and cyber—and has lasting effects on anyone involved. While much of the focus of bullying lands on the victim, and rightly so, it’s also impor
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Future Workforce
The world is changing rapidly and how work gets done is evolving. While we have witnessed this evolution over time, the critical nature of emotional intelligence became front and center during the pan
The Case for SEL: How Academic Stress Affects Student Mental Health
You’re likely already aware that students today are facing heightened mental health issues, including staggering rates of anxiety and depression. A number of factors contribute to adverse mental healt
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