Illuminate Blog
Follow our latest stories on educators, students and classroom technology
MTSS Tiers & MTSS Interventions 101
This article was co-written with Lynn Ehlers Interventions aren’t new to education—they’re a long-time component of good instructional practices. But as districts implement multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and response to intervention (RtI), interventions are being tracked, monitored, and tied to program evaluation in a way that is new to many. It’s also brought some…
How I Made MTSS Work in My District
As a practicing educator for 15 years, I coordinated our district’s multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and response to intervention (RtI) implementations for many years. For ten of those years, I was the only school psychologist in the whole district. As this new school year starts, I know first hand the types of challenges many…
Customer Spotlight: Sarah Rines
Spotlight On: Sarah Rines, 7th Grade Science Teacher Calavera Hills Middle School, Carlsbad Unified School District (Carlsbad, CA) School Description: 574 students, Grades 6-8 Free/Reduced Lunch Population: 32% Suburban community, 115,330 total population How do you use Illuminate with your students? Illuminate is a tool that I use in multiple ways with my students. I…
What’s the ROI on RtI?
Every teacher, site leader, and district administrator has a question in common: Is what we are doing working? We all became educators because we want to make a difference for students. For many of us today, a large portion of those efforts are focused on response to intervention (RtI) and/or multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)…
Creating a Next Generation Inquiry-Based Classroom
As we discussed in a previous blog, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have transformed K-12 science education in countless ways. One of those major shifts is the change in the role of the teacher. Teachers are no longer “on stage” or “performing,” which has been the traditional model of instruction. Instead, the science classroom…
2019 eduCLIMBER Power User and Platinum Level Certificate Awardees Announced
Last week, we were delighted to host our first ever ceremony for the eduCLIMBER Power User and Platinum Level Certificate Awards. These programs are designed to honor outstanding educators who use Illuminate eduCLIMBER to increase the power of teaching and the delight of learning. Five 2019 Power Users and three 2019 Platinum Level Certificates were…
How a Large Georgia School District Sees Every Student
Located just east of metro Atlanta, the Newton County School System (NCSS) is the twenty-first largest district in the state of Georgia. It is home to 13 elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools, a theme school (grades K-6), a charter school, and an alternative education program. The diverse district is 57% African American,…
PLCs: Leveraging Collaboration to Move Student Achievement
While collaboration is central to a PLC’s success, it can sometimes feel difficult for educators to accomplish. For many districts and schools, this challenge stems from having a single subject area teacher for the whole grade level (for example, having only one fifth grade math teacher). These lone subject teachers are sometimes referred to as…
How to Make Change Stick
This article was co-written with Bill Storm There are few professions that experience change as often as education, and the beginning of the school year is often ripe with “new.” New staff and new leadership. New strategic goals or new areas of strength and improvement. As our student population shifts, new subgroups may be in…
What it Really Means to Be a Data-Driven District–and How to Make it Happen
A simple internet search for “data-driven instruction” yields over 70 million hits. Clearly, the concept is neither new nor novel. But that wealth of information is accompanied by a wealth of research showing that educators’ ability to actually use data to guide instructional decisions is still lacking. How can that be? While sifting through those…