My school is a school for newcomer immigrant English Language Learners. With recent events at the Mexican border, I have been thinking about the parents of my students and their journeys in coming to the United States with their children. This past week, I had the opportunity to speak with the father of Marcos. * Marcos is a student from Peru who came to the U.S. when he was in the 9th grade.
This past week, Marcos won an award for graduating seniors from the Bronx United Federation of Teachers. Marcos and 30 other students each won a laptop, a wireless printer and a backpack full of supplies, all to set them up for success in their first year of college. At the awards ceremony, I sat next to Marcos’s father and learned more about him. Continue reading
My school is in the process of interviewing prospective teachers for the next school year. Last week I wrote about 
I founded the High School of Language and Innovation in 2011 with eight teachers teaching 90 students. We have now grown to 28 teachers and 350 students and have interviewed hundreds of candidates over the past seven years. In our interviews with teachers, we ask questions about topics like teamwork, teaching, taking responsibility for student results. But there is one question that tells us volumes about the candidate.
I once visited a principal who greeted his students as they walked in the front door of his school. He told me, “I solve 90% of my school’s discipline problems by standing here, greeting each student. I notice who’s smiling and who seems to be upset, and I stop them, talk to them, see if I can intervene and catch the problem before they walk into their classes.”
Last week, I saw my school through new eyes.
