Starr Sackstein
Seminole
As seen in:
Education Week,
Edutopia,
Routledge,
Dialnet - Universidad de La Rioja,
K-12 Dive,
RealClear Education,
Kappan
Covers:
teaching, writing, social media trends, book reviews, movies, journalismnews, technology, education, parenting, hockey, politics, baseball
Doesn't Cover:
business
COO. NBCT. Coach. Author. MA Ed Rising. TEDx speaker. Career Confidential Columnist. Assessment Reformer. Recovering Perfectionist. PDK DE ‘24. Student advocate
Articles by Starr Sackstein
How to help students cope with disappointment
Q: I work with elementary-aged students who are excited to participate in class. I love their enthusiasm and don’t want to quash it. Unfortunately, students get upset when they aren’t called on to share. How can I support students who don’t have an immediate opportunity to share when they aren’t called on first? How can I help them work through their disappointment so they know they will have other opportunities?
Ways to encourage students to move in math class
Q: My high school math students are struggling to stay in their seats. Do you have advice on bringing more movement into my classroom? Signed, A high school math teacher A: Many educators face the challenge of keeping students engaged and focused, especially in a subject like math, which is sometimes perceived as dry or overly rigid. Fortunately, there are numerous strategies to infuse movement into your classroom, helping to improve focus, energy levels, and overall learning outcomes.
Bridging the Gap Between Student Disengagement and Motivation
Q: How do you engage students who don’t want to be in school while nurturing highly motivated students? — Signed, Dean of students A: Among the most pressing challenges an educator faces is effectively engaging students who are disinterested in school while simultaneously nurturing highly motivated ones. Striking a balance between these two groups can be complex, but we can create an inclusive learning environment that fosters student growth with the right strategies.
Ways to stay motivated when students aren't
Q: “How do I stay motivated to innovate and avoid burnout when students aren’t motivated, and educators and their administrators have defaulted to non-tech or low-tech?” -Signed, A teacher looking for help A: As we continue to navigate the complexities of teaching, many of us find ourselves grappling with burnout and a dip in motivation — on the part of students and ourselves.
Supporting substitute teachers
Q: Our district has many teacher vacancies, and we have been forced to use substitutes and other uncertified staff to ensure student education isn’t interrupted. Our state has laws against uncertified substitutes being in the same classroom for more than four days in a row. How can we support these substitutes, some of whom would like to get a teaching license and others with no desire to do so?
Teacher seeks way to encourage student reflection and self-assessment
Q: “I’m struggling to get my students to reflect and self-assess with depth beyond whether they liked a project or assignment. Can you offer tips that empower students to explore their reflections?” -Signed, A teacher who wants to let go of control A: Encouraging deeper reflection and self-assessment among your students is commendable and essential for fostering independent learners, but it is not always as easy as it sounds.
Mature aspiring teacher seeks advice on how to land a job in education
Q: “I’m having difficulty finding a teaching job. I’m 61 and have little K-12 teaching experience. I don’t feel that I have good job references. I don’t have a good resume. There is no teacher shortage in my city.” -Signed, Older career changer hoping to become an educator A: Finding a teaching job can be a challenging experience, especially when faced with obstacles such as limited experience, references, and competition in the job market. It’s understandable that you may feel disheartened.
Middle manager or change agent? Getting out of reaction mode
Q: I am a [middle management] leader in my school district. I frequently find myself in “reaction mode” because of a lack of clarity in communication from those in higher leadership positions. which causes work to be left undone, decisions left hanging, or incorrect information being shared.
Support staff advocate feel unappreciated by school leadership
Q: I would like to coach support staff (paraprofessionals, teaching assistants, etc.) and create full-time teaching avenues for them. My current school already has an instructional coach for teachers. I coordinate teaching assistants half-time and have a full teaching load. Leadership does not value my role and what I try to do for teaching assistants. Going somewhere else is scary, and the independent school network here is tiny, where everyone knows everyone.
Building authentic school-family partnerships: a path to respect and collaboration
Q: “I’m concerned about the lack of authentic school-family partnerships. Often, parents/caregivers seem to be quick to attack educators and schools, placing blame and disregarding human decency. This is demoralizing for educators. Other places of work (post offices, doctor’s offices, retail stores) post signs stating that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated. Yet in schools, educators, administrators, and staff are treated with disrespect.
Making time for professional growth during the school year
Q: “I am an experienced teacher; I’ve been in the classroom for about 10 years. I participate in professional learning activities and work to be actively engaged in those offerings and stay current with current pedagogy. However, I struggle with weaving my learning into my instructional practices during the academic year. I am tired of using all my breaks to do all of the reworking because it’s not timely, and I need the recharge.
Helping administrators make teacher evaluations more meaningful - Kappan Online
Q: As a new principal, I’m struggling with teacher evaluations. Is the audience teachers or administrators or both? I’d love recommendations for how administrators should frame the process to be reflective and teacher-centered in order to ensure that it is meaningful to the learner.” -Signed, a new principal A: As a new principal, one of the most significant responsibilities you will face is developing teacher talent and using evaluations as one means to do it.
Addressing workplace harassment and supporting a targeted teacher
Q: “A highly regarded prekindergarten teacher with a history of success in special education and community leadership is facing targeted harassment and emotional manipulation at his school. His principal, who previously learned sensitive personal information about him during a carpool trip, has used that knowledge to undermine him professionally, possibly in retaliation for rejecting romantic advances after his wife’s tragic passing.
Dealing with culture shock at a new school
Q: “I’ve experienced a bit of culture shock when I moved to a new region of the country, where teachers and staff promote their religion by having their whole team pray before a game or have their email signature include a quote from the Bible, which goes out to all staff and students. There are no LGBTQIA+ safe space, club, etc., due to fear of retaliation, bullying, etc.” Signed, culture-shocked educator A: Moving to a new region can be an exciting yet challenging experience.
Listening to students: Rebuilding classroom culture in a post-COVID world
As we navigate the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of a positive classroom culture has never been more pronounced. The pandemic reshaped our educational landscape, highlighting the need for schools to foster environments where students feel valued, supported, and engaged. As an advocate for student-led assessment, I have written extensively about our understanding of how class culture and the grades intersect with student commitment to learning.
Make project-based learning more authentic for middle school students
Q: I teach 7th grade US history in a 6-12 independent school. I’m the only teacher for my grade level and subject. I try to take advantage of a lot of resources on campus (library, makerspace, etc.). I also try to collaborate with other teachers, but there’s not much of a culture of collaboration in my division. I am working on doing more with upper school teachers, but the divisions are very separate.
Engaging English learners in SEL
Q: One of the teachers I coach is teaching a social-emotional learning class that meets once per week. She’s using a canned curriculum she purchased; this is her first time in the classroom. Most of the class are English learners, but they have different language backgrounds and degrees of need. She worries about those new to the language and fears some lessons won’t transfer across language barriers. What can I do to support her?
How to use AI to enhance, not replace, real student learning
Q: How do we ensure AI doesn’t disrupt real student learning? Signed, frustrated teachers committed to student learning. A: Recently, I sat with some highly respected teachers and listened to them argue about how AI is ruining education.
Communicating with parents about standards-based grading
Q: Our school just switched to standards-based grading, and I’m not sure I’ve been bought into it yet. However, I’m most concerned about the community. How can I communicate with parents about the school’s new grading paradigm? Signed, What am I supposed to say? A: As schools evolve with the growing needs of learners, so do the methods we use to assess growth.
How do we help students overcome the “I Can’ts”?
Q: I coach an art teacher who is struggling with students that have the “I suck at art” mentality. He says they aren’t motivated because they think they can’t do it. They only produce the bare minimum. What can he do to help them make more of an effort? Signed, Coach Who Knows Kids Can A: As an instructional coach, seeing students hindered by self-doubt can be disheartening, especially in a field that thrives on creativity and expression. The “I suck ” mentality is not uncommon in any subject.
Retired educator asks, “How do I stay engaged in education?”
Q: “What do I do after retirement? I want to stay active in an education-related field or role, but not in the classroom or in a school.” Signed, Eager to Stay Engaged A: Retirement can feel like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it opens up a world of possibilities; On the other, it can leave you wondering how to fill the void left by a career that defined so much of your life.
New leader wants to create buy-in for new initiatives
Q: I’m a new leader, and I recognize the strengths and challenges of my new district, but I know we can be great. How do we get full staff buy-in for a new initiative? The district hasn’t had a history of high expectations for professional learning and growth, so the learning culture hasn’t yet been established. Please help me prepare my staff to embrace change.
Educator wonders when and how to begin a leadership journey
Q: I absolutely love being in the classroom with my students, and I’ve been encouraged by my principal to consider a pathway into educational leadership. I don’t know where to start! What things should I be considering for a leadership pathway? How do I select an institution for a degree? Which degree should I get? How do I set myself up for success down the road? How do I not lose touch with who I am as an educator?
Student motivation going down as teacher burdens go up
Q: As an educator, I’ve witnessed a profound shift in my students since COVID. Their motivation has dwindled. Once eager learners now display apathy toward assignments and class participation. Many seem disengaged, staring blankly at screens or texting during lessons. Behavioral challenges have also escalated, with increased disruptions and emotional outbursts. Seeing students struggle with focus and connection is disheartening. It’s as if the pandemic has created a barrier between us.
Veteran educator wonders, “Is it too late to start over?”
Q: I’m in that place on my education journey that feels almost done and just getting started. At 51, I’m 10-12 years away from retirement. I’m settled in my position, grounded in my experience, and mentoring new leaders. However, I am bored, and there’s no promotion path. When I do apply for promotion, I’m not the first choice because I lack site leadership experience. So, do I sit and stay, take a few steps backward, or completely pivot?
Making an Impact Outside of the Classroom
Educators, you can continue to make an impact after you’re ready to leave the classroom! This handy, comprehensive resource will help you explore alternative career paths in education that will still allow you to use the skillsets and unique qualifications you developed as a teacher or leader. Bestselling author Starr Sackstein begins by helping you decide whether you want to move into another position or leave altogether.
Standards-Based Portfolio Assessment | Edutopia
How should a teacher, school, or system determine the purpose of a portfolio? It depends on what they are using them for. It is essential to know your community so you can select the type of portfolio that will serve it best. You will also need to review state requirements and how best to fulfill them, especially if the portfolio is going to take the place of something more traditional. Consider the following questions: • What are you hoping to achieve with this portfolio?
Cultivar prácticas de evaluación que ayuden a los estudiantes a prosperar
Cultivar prácticas de evaluación que ayuden a los estudiantes a prosperar Localización: Cuadernos de pedagogía, ISSN 0210-0630, Nº 542, 2023 Idioma: español Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...) Resumen español Tomemos decisiones sobre cómo calificamos y evaluamos a los estudiantes para impactar positivamente sus sentimientos sobre el aprendizaje y promover el progreso en sus experiencias de aprendizaje de manera exponencial.
Sharing Gratitude on Thanksgiving
Starr Sackstein Starr Sackstein is a secondary educator and school leader in New York. She is the author of several books on education, on topics such as going gradeless, peer feedback, and blogging. Sisyphus pushes the rock up a hill only to repeatedly have it roll back down, and for eternity, he is cursed to push it back up again. Sometimes as educators, this is what the school system feels like.
Data Doesn't Have to Be a Dirty Word (Opinion)
Save to favorites Print Email Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Copy URL Starr Sackstein It’s all about perspective. Too often when we hear the word “data” we assume that the person speaking is talking solely about summative test results and the plethora of possibilities for learning we can take away from those numbers. But this is NOT the only kind of data that exists, it is just the kind that gets the brunt of our ire and frustration as it is a solitary indicator of teaching and learning.
Let's Focus on What Learners CAN Do, and Plan From There (Opinion)
Deficit models don’t work, yet we are traditionally trained to see learning through that lens. “What don’t students know?” “How can we help students know what they don’t know?” “Let’s focus on the bottom third.” The trouble is that the students in this group are used to being unsuccessful. We focus too heavily on what they can’t do and not heavily enough on what they can. If we want students or adult learners to be successful, we must start from what they are successful at and build from there.
HACKING ASSESSMENT
In the bestselling Hacking Assessment, award-winning teacher and world-renowned formative assessment expert Starr Sackstein unravels one of education’s oldest mysteries: How to assess learning without grades – even in a school that uses numbers, letters, GPAs, and report cards. While many educators can only muse about the possibility of a world without grades, teachers like Sackstein are reimagining education.
10 Offers of Wisdom From Fictional Characters
64094 « How I Told My Students I Have Cancer | Main | Adjust Instruction Based on Student Work » Literature is a cozy escape for many that offers refuge from an often cruel world. As we read, we're engulfed in new realities that can make the "real" world a little more manageable. Authors have a way of elevating characters, fiction or otherwise, to a level of respect and likeability or pure evil. In the words of these characters we learn great truths and immeasurable wisdom.
Changing the Conversation: Grades vs. Learning
41500 « Imagining the First Day of the Best Year Yet | Main | My Next Step in Being My Most Recent Me » If a report card is reflective of a students' learning, why does it only happen a few times a year? Why do high school students only get 1 grade per class? What does that grade actually mean? This and many other questions have recently plagued my traditional beliefs about what it means to achieve and then equally as importantly how to communicate that achievement.
What I Learned From Chorus
45352 « 10 Tips for Successful Student Projects | Main | What If Teachers Were Paid What We Are Worth? » Girls dressed in matching robes or dresses, boys with bow ties neatly tied. Lining the risers in our sections in size order, eyes ready upon our choral director. Quiet. The lights go down in the house and the audience, except for the front row, is barely visible, numbing the stage fright moderately as the stage lights up come to blur whomever is left.
What I Learned From Being a Baseball Mom That Will Make Me a Better Teacher
51137 « 5 Steps for Building Trust in a Hybrid Teacher/Coach Role | Main | Revision Is Necessary for Learning » Baseball is a great sport. It teaches kids discipline and teamwork and when it is done right, it's a lot of fun. When my son started playing baseball, I was told to "not be that mom." You know the type, coaching, I mean, screaming from the sideline.
11 Tips For Dealing With Teacher Guilt
46217 « Do YOU Deserve Tenure? | Main | Periscope For Awesome Classroom Sharing » Every working parent experiences at least a small nagging feeling that what they are doing is never enough. We struggle ardently to be everything to everyone and usually feel like we're failing. Some teachers experience this as well. It's the sad and uncomfortable feeling like we're not reaching everyone.
School Dreams in July?
47454 « Pregnant Pauses and Other In-between Spaces (My Love Affair With the Semicolon) | Main | Summer ... We're Supposed to Have Time Off? » They don't usually start until late August. The panic of being late for the first day of school and the assorted other nightmares that have accumulated over the years as the new school year is upon us. This year they've started three weeks after school ended. This is atypical, but I'm not surprised. These are different though.
Declutter Your Classroom, Declutter Your Life
57776 « Tips for Helping a Wait-Listed Student Get Into College | Main | Give Yourself Permission to Take a Break » As winter is clearing away and the heavy cover of darkness lifts, it's time to start doing a little "spring cleaning". Taking the time to evaluate what is needed and what isn't a great way to clear physical space as well as mental space as the school year is drawing to a close.
Does Teaching Get Easier With Time?
59414 « Throwing Out Grades Is Not Without Its Challenges | Main | When the School Dreams Start Earlier Than Usual » In my early career, many veteran teachers told me that if I could stick it out, then teaching would get easier with time. And now after finishing 14 years in the classroom, I understand what they meant. Sort of. Yes, planning lessons and managing spaces has gotten easier, but the daily grind of teaching really hasn't. And I'm proud to say that.
How Being a Mentor Has Sharpened My Teaching
55505 « Are We Appropriately Preparing Students for College? | Main | Sharing Gratitude on Thanksgiving » They say the best way to learn is to teach and that's why we put such a high emphasis in the classroom on giving students the power to work with each other. Whether creating tutorials or actually tutoring, the opportunity to explain what you know and can do in a way another can learn from it, provides powerful growth experiences. The same is true for teachers and colleagues.
Teaching Questioning Skills to Arm Students for Learning
40937 « Revisions to the Draft Require Parent Input | Main | Applying Personal Learning for Success in the New Year » In the earliest part of my career, I wrote full procedural lesson plans that spelled out to the letter the questions I would ask AND the answers I considered correct. When the students didn't provide the proscribed answer, I asked helper questions until I elicited the appropriate response. Man, did I have it wrong! This is the battle we fight. It demands our full attention.
A New Year, A New Draft
40673 Main | Developing the Draft, the #1st5days of Learning » Book bags. Pencils. New clothes. Could it be back to school time already? Commercials for the new scholastic year have been airing since July 5th suggest it is and the blank page of a new school year has been placed before us. As with all first drafts, there are amazing possibilities for greatness coupled with the inherent challenges of what to do first.
I Reflect for Me
59066 « Teaching Wisdom from #HarryPotter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Main | Repetition or Redundancy or Repetition and Redundancy » My blogging is my own. I don't do it for anyone else or for anything else. Part of the reason I took to writing in this way was that I wanted an authentic outlet for expressing my challenges and successes as an educator, parent and person. For me, the process of writing about what happens is reflective, cathartic and growth oriented.
It's Not as Easy as It Looks and That's Okay
59109 « Character Development in the Half-Blood Prince | Main | Professional Growth Is From Me, Nowhere Else » "Do you ever sleep?" "How do you write so much and so well?" "How do you keep up with the all of the duties you take on?" These are questions I'm often asked because of the amount of content I share on social media, the fact that I raise a son as a single mom and I work as a full time teacher. Agreed, it's a lot.
Being in the Smartest Room-ASCD Style
75830 « Inspirational Professional Learning That Connects | Main | Creating Epic Moments With Playful Formative Assessment » #Empower18 was just that, empowering. Being around so many smart people, learning; it was an incredible professional and personal opportunity to grow and be inspired. There is nothing stranger than going to an ASCD author's dinner and being around so many smart people, just acting like I'm not starstruck.
Teachers Should Not Have Guns
75433 « The Dilemmas of Change in the Assessment Culture, Part 2 | Main | Ask the Right Questions, Listen to the Answers » Walking up to the beautiful, old school building, I took a deep breath and crossed the threshold to my first teaching job. Once I climbed the giant steps and entered the school I couldn't believe the airport-style security that awaited me once within the walls. My first school was in the inner city in New York and considered one of the most dangerous in the city at that time.
Award-Winning Teachers Share Insights: The Technology Project
Award-Winning Teachers Share Insights: The Technology Project By Starr Sackstein [Starr Sackstein was one of the Outstanding Educators of the Year honored at Education Update’s 10th Annual Harvard Club event in June 2012. The following is one of her many successful lessons. ED] Producing a student-run publication is the perfect juggling act of direct, individuated instruction, leadership mentoring and technology usage.
12 Tips for Using Twitter in the Classroom
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE 12 Tips for Using Twitter in the Classroom By Starr Sackstein, NBCT They're under desks. In hoodie front pouches. In giant purses, lurking in boots or even undercover in a binder. Phones are out. They aren't supposed to be, but students are covertly examining Facebook, Twitter and other personal "non-school" media on school time. What are teachers to do?
I Am a Badass and So Are You
79388 « Five Minutes Until Show Time, and I'd Like to Throw Up | Main We are only limited by our thoughts and beliefs about who we are and what we do. On some level, I have always believed this around most things in my life and I have tried to instill it in my students. We are all uniquely qualified for the lives we create for ourselves, and therefore, our actions have a way of paving the way for the futures we enjoy.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Starr
Contact Starr, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack