Move Over, ‘Stranger Danger’→

Joe Keohane, writing for the Boston Globe, highlights multiple studies that emphasize the widespread fear of talking to strangers is largely unfounded and that such interactions can help young people develop critical social skills and reduce their reliance on technology:

"According to a growing number of psychologists, talking to strangers confers a host of benefits that will lessen the malaise affecting young people... studies she [Sandstrom] and others have conducted have consistently found that talking to strangers makes people happy, enhances a sense of belonging and connectedness, and alleviates feelings of loneliness, isolation, and distrust. This holds for men and women and introverts and extroverts across a wide range of ages."

Graduate Profile: How Community Engagement Can Shape the Future

This video encapsulates the collective vision we're building for Bay City Public Schools. It represents extensive community engagement—listening sessions, business summits, parent roundtables, you name it. I love how the video describes our graduate profile through voices in our community.

Leading this work has been so rewarding. It's the embodiment of what I've always believed: that when schools and communities align, magic happens. We're not just aiming for academic benchmarks; we're nurturing problem-solvers, communicators, and critical thinkers. This is about efficiency, yes, but it's also about effectiveness—about making sure our educational system is as agile and adaptable as the world our students will enter. When we listen to our community, we're not just being inclusive; we're unlocking the doors to innovation and long-term success.

Why videoconferencing can feel so exhausting→

Dr. Jena Lee explains why spending so much time on Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms is leading to increased fatigue, tiredness, worry, and burnout:

“However, on video, most [social] cues are difficult to visualize, since the same environment is not shared (limiting joint attention) and both subtle facial expressions and full bodily gestures may not be captured. Without the help of these unconscious cues on which we have relied since infancy to socioemotionally assess each other and bond, compensatory cognitive and emotional effort is required.”

The Friday Five→

An admirable practice explained well by 4th grade teacher, Justin Birckbichler:

Every Friday, I call five parents. While calling them, I share something great about their student from that week. It could be a concept they worked hard to improve, a great peer interaction, or showing respect to me or another teacher. I do this every Friday without fail.