Author Archives: sutterlearn

RT3 Winners and Losers

Posted on September 25, 2011 by sutterlearn

I was recently reading an article about how states who won Race To The Top (RT3) funding awards from the federal government are now struggling to create appropriate models that evaluate teachers using 40% student achievement data and 60% observation … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Politics, School Reform | Leave a comment

The Ms. Alice Files

Posted on September 24, 2011 by sutterlearn

As I struggled to find my legs in this new role of Instructional Coach, I remembered Ms. Alice.  Ms. Alice was a teacher who retired from my building after forty-years, the year before I started teaching.  Unannounced or introduced, she … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Teachers | Leave a comment

Football Apologies and Thanks

Posted on September 24, 2011 by sutterlearn

To my daughter and the other eighteen daughters on your cheerleading squad, you deserve an apology.  You are learning synchronization, how to smile in a crowd, the rules of football.  You are proud to put on matching uniforms, to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting, Students | Leave a comment

First Day Reflections

Posted on September 7, 2011 by sutterlearn

Yesterday was the first day of school, but the last day of something subtly sacred to me as a father, something that me as a teacher never realized I would miss. This is why it took me a day to … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting | Leave a comment

Learn and Serve

Posted on September 1, 2011 by sutterlearn

It’s been almost three months since I’ve written here.  To be honest, I needed that time to step away from the intense schedule I’ve run for the previous nine years.  Quite literally, I have been a formal student, full-time employee, … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Teachers | 4 Comments

Chasing Squirrels and Dreams

Posted on June 8, 2011 by sutterlearn

I’ve lost count of how many people have tried the derail my dreams and ambitions throughout life.  Perhaps it’s because I never kept count of them, but I’m sure I can keep it on both hands if I counted those … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Parenting | 11 Comments

Spelling is Impotent…

Posted on May 30, 2011 by sutterlearn

Surely, I noticed the erroneous error in this title, but spellcheck didn’t!  I thought it was a clever intro to this heartwarming story direct from our classroom last week.  I sat with one of our young writers reviewing her “About … Continue reading →

Posted in Students, Teachers | 2 Comments

I Felt Annie There

Posted on May 15, 2011 by sutterlearn

A few weeks ago I wished for a lever as I blogged about our team’s experience during a weeklong nature trip.  The culmination of that week was a lesson on songwriting where we analyzed some of the songs we’ve learned … Continue reading →

Posted in Students, Teachers, Technology | 6 Comments

Earth In Good Hands

Posted on May 10, 2011 by sutterlearn

In a reading group today, I was helping two boys read through an article about floods.  The gist of their synthesizing was that the Army Corp of Engineers had to make a hard decision, to either flood 130,000 acres of … Continue reading →

Posted in Students, Teachers | 3 Comments

Sunday at Five

Posted on May 10, 2011 by sutterlearn

I am convinced that five-years old is self-actualization.  After five, life gets complicated, complex, and downright unfair, but at five we are old enough to function independently, enjoy life fully, and question endlessly…all while running.  Here’s an example of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting | 1 Comment