I teach biology and chemistry at a high school on the Olympic Peninsula. After school, I like to run. My main trail? Straight from my classroom to a place called Big Rock several times a week. The running is a buffer between my time in school and my time at home with my kids. I also use this time, and this place in the woods, to think, and I write some of those thoughts here on this blog. I’m a lifelong Washingtonian and I am committed to improving education in this state. Follow on Twitter: @maren_johnson.
A few of my posts:
- 1080 Instructional Hours? New state mandates on instructional hours and collaboration time.
- Speed Dating and Student Work: Teacher Collaboration Time and a Senate Bill. How might proposed changes to instructional time affect teachers working together?
- Student Growth Percentiles and Teacher Evaluation: More Questions than Answers What are Student Growth Percentiles? How do they relate to teacher
evaluation and state test scores? - Ambitious Teaching = Rigor + Equity Equity and access in the Next Generation Science Standards.
- Washington State Teacher Evaluation: At High Risk? Taking a look at the US Department of Education’s high risk warning letter regarding teacher evaluation.
- Just a Tweak? Educator Effectiveness and the Evergreen Effect A D.C. think tank policy analyst issued a critical report on Washington state teacher evaluation, “The Evergreen Effect.” Here’s my response. Is our new evaluation system really just a tweak?
- Let’s Hijack that Spaceship: The Next Generation Science Standards So what about these new science standards? What will implementation look like in our state?
- Teacher Talk: West Africa and New England Thinking about schools in West Africa, New England, and even here in at home: Why those of us in public schools need to advocate for school funding and education!
- Accountability at What Cost? The Biology End-of-Course Exam What are the implications of a high stakes biology end of course exam in Washington state? What are some possible solutions?
- Looking Back, Looking Forward: Legislative Advocacy for National Board Certification! National Board Advocacy in a legislative district.
- The ‘People’s Plan’ for Washington Education Looking at the Excellent Schools Now coalition “People’s Plan” for education in Washington state. This coalition’s plan has been revised and is now called “A+ Washington.”