Be Reasonable: A Back-to-School Survival Guide

In this episode, Larissa is joined by Erin Meek, a senior data implementation specialist at Branching Minds and a former educator and K-12 data researcher, for a back-to-school conversation with no frameworks and no fidelity checklists. They get honest about which back-to-school PD is worth pulling teachers out of their rooms for and which could have been an email, whether any icebreaker survives scrutiny, and why the routines you set on day one shouldn't be the ones you're still running in March. Larissa also puts listener-submitted survival tips to Erin for a yes, a no, or a rewrite.Resources:Ep 25: Being A Reasonable MTSS Leader with Angie Plugge, Director of Learning (10/3/2023) — the "let's be reasonable" advice Larissa citesDifferentiating Your MTSS PD articleBeginning of Year MTSS Gameplan EbookAdministrators Guide to Supporting TeachersRequest a consultationTakeaways:The first week is a blur, so the setup that matters happens before it starts.PD that models bad teaching practice teaches teachers to tune out.Day-one routines are a starting point, not a contract for the year.Protect a few days for home and family before the whirlwind begins.Send it as an email if it could have been an email.Save icebreakers for rooms where people genuinely don't know each other.Pair morning PD with afternoon work time in classrooms.Ask what's reasonable before adding another initiative this year. Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our Branching Minds Website, or sign up for our weekly Newsletter on all things MTSS. Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.  Send feedback or inquiries to podcast@branchingminds.com!