What Goes Up: More Than Just Data
I recently agreed to lead a short writing activity with my department at the start of a meeting. Here’s what I asked them to do: Think of a student who you are currently having a hard time with, for whatever reason. Now imagine that in ten years that student comes up to you in the […]
Breath and Breadth: Finnish Inspiration for Restorative Practice
With so many thanks to the Rowland Foundation, I would not have dreamt of the opportunity to head to two of the world’s “happiest” countries and be an observer on the forefront of education. I certainly would not have anticipated that most of the trip to Finland and Denmark would be covered financially and that […]
Dare To Be Me: Holistic Education at Hazen Union
Anja Pfeffer, 2021 Rowland Fellow, developed and implemented the Dare To Be Me program at Hazen Union. Learn more about the program and Anja’s work in this short video:
Sharing the work of CRAFT at Woodstock Union
Two CRAFT students, Pea Richardson and Schuyler Hagge, led a workshop at a teen-led farm to school conference F.E.A.S.T. at Knoll Farm. Here is a video of them sharing their insight about this event and our food system:
Rethinking School and Community: Centering Hope in School and Community
Jess DeCarolis [Address given for the 11th Annual Rowland Conference at the University of Vermont on Oct. 26, 2022] Thank you Mike. Thank you to the Rowland Foundation and Chuck, the trustees, and of course to Barry and Wendy Rowland who are remembered by all of us for their belief and faith in all of […]
The Time Has Come…Announcing Our New Leader!
In our professional lives, there comes a time when you recognize and embrace that it is time for change. You suppress emotional attachments, perhaps toss aside your ego and surrender to the wisdom of your inner voice. That inner voice surfaced for me about a year ago when I informed the Trustees of The Rowland […]
Schools Need Redesign, Not “Recovery”
Schools Need Redesign, not “Recovery” Michael S. Martin, EdD In this moment, as we come through the pandemic, there has been a great deal of discussion in the press about how students are falling behind. While Vermont students in most cases have lost instructional time, the popular idea that students are “falling behind” is problematic. […]
The Importance of Kindness
The Importance of Kindness Saying these are challenging times is an understatement. We all have had many times of struggle for various reasons in our lives. Educators are facing what is sure to become one of the most challenging school years in history. No matter how hard we try and how much we collaborate, we […]
Find Your Green
The unprecedented pandemic event that forced educators and students to transform the classroom to an online learning platform within days took a toll on all of us. As we greet the official end of the 2019-2020 school year, many of us are looking ahead to see how to best prepare to support our students when […]
Dialogue: Now is the Time to Model and Teach what we hope to see in our world.
Recently, a couple of things happened that made me reflect even more deeply on the state of dialogue in our world. A community member who I have publicly and respectfully disagreed with on Facebook unfriended me. Normally, this wouldn’t feel like such a big deal, but today it makes me wonder; we haven’t even exchanged […]