It’s all about classes getting underway and rekindling students’ enthusiasm for learning in DA Daily’s latest tweets of the week. While education is not abuzz with worksheets and ideas for having students memorize important dates in history, some are marking historic moments.
Lupita Hinojosa, a former 2nd-grade bilingual teacher, is beginning the year as the first Hispanic female superintendent at Spring ISD in Houston:
Making history! Dr. Lupita Hinojosa was born to immigrant parents and raised in South Texas. She started her educational career as a 2nd grade bilingual teacher. This year, she has become @SpringISD’s first Hispanic female superintendent. @KPRC2 #kprc2 pic.twitter.com/7GBzzv5NG7
— KPRC Cathy Hernandez (@KPRC2Cathy) August 16, 2022
Many administrators and districts are celebrating new learning opportunities for their students. Leaders at Aldine ISD, also in Texas, highlighted the launch of the district’s first all-boys school, the Impact Leadership Academy:
Only red carpet for our boys attending our first all boys school @Impact_AISD in @AldineISD serving grades 1, 2, and 6!! We are so grateful to offer this choice to all boys!! @mrskegler @JonathanKegler pic.twitter.com/9IdKgdCdWf
— Dr. LaToya Wynne (@DrWynneLaToya) August 17, 2022
Educators are also sharing ideas for kicking off the year with fun activities. Age-appropriate music and scavenger hunts are two non-academic ways to get students moving and interacting with each other:
Looking for a kid-friendly, CLEAN (lyrics and message) playlist for your classroom?!
I've got 7! … Yes, SEVEN!!!
Check them out here — https://t.co/LsoAbxH5db pic.twitter.com/8SNc9Zh7eE
— Christine Morgan, M. Ed. (@Ms_Morgan15) August 15, 2022
Want to get students out of their seats engaging in conversation & learning about each other?
Facilitate a class scavenger hunt!
✨Find a classmate
✨Introduce yourself
✨Ask them up to 3 Qs
✨Only use each name once!https://t.co/4Pwygx1PqJ#edchat #edutwitter #backtoschool pic.twitter.com/1CKqdL2NEW— Dr. Catlin Tucker (@Catlin_Tucker) August 16, 2022
As educators work to reconnect with students after the summer break, one well-known educator is urging others in the school building—namely, all the adults—to serve as models of engagement:
Students have told me repeatedly that they want their teachers and administrators to be involved. It’s quite simple, really. We like for them to be engaged, and they like for us to be engaged.
— Danny Steele (@SteeleThoughts) August 15, 2022
Taking care of teachers
But amidst all the energy of the new school year, administrators should be making sure teachers are not being overworked after the challenges of the past few years. This teacher from Hawaii says she is already seeing signs of fatigue and urged teachers to pace themselves and practice self-care:
Week 3 and I am already hearing tales of exhaustion or a general sense of being overwhelmed.
Educators care about these kids and want to make up for lost and interrupted school time.
Please remember it's a marathon, not a sprint. Take care in order to keep taking care. ✨️ https://t.co/c2CqLXrcnk
— Kecia McDonald she/her (@mcdonald_kecia) August 17, 2022
Educators, such as this music teacher and ed-tech coach from New Jersey, are offering some solutions—such as virtual coaching—to K-12’s labor pressures and their impact on morale.
There's a teacher shortage out there. But the solutions are out there too!
Here are 5 ways administrators can use virtual coaching to retain teachers. #Coach2Retain #TEACHers #EdLeaders #EdLeadership @ELSCoach2Retain https://t.co/3EDc4Vblu8
— Vincent S. Du Beau, Ed.D. (@DrVincentDuBeau) August 17, 2022
Last week’s tweets of the week
In last week’s “tweets of the week,” educators encouraged one another to be courageous as the new school year gets underway. Administrators, teachers and other education experts shared words of wisdom to help each other meet the challenges ahead.
