Illuminate Blog
Follow our latest stories on educators, students and classroom technology
Quick Summary of California’s New Accountability Measures
The State Board of Education will be voting on the state’s new accountability measure on Thursday. Here’s a sneak peak at what they’ll be voting on. What will the board…
Benchmarks, Norms, and Expected Student Growth
Many teachers are in the process of conducting fall universal screening with all students in their class. Universal screening involves having all of the students in each grade complete assessments…
Teaching Social Emotional Learning Skills Can Reduce the Achievement Gap
As many are well-aware, there are student achievement gaps that exist among various groups in the U.S. and around the world. One well-documented gap is observed across the economic spectrum with…
What is Evidence-Based Instruction?
By: Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP The term “evidence-based” has become very popular in schools and other professional service settings. For example, physicians and dentists now often refer to the importance…
Illuminator Spotlight: Kate Goedeker
Meet Kate Goedeker, the Assistant Principal at Oakland Unity Middle School. As a recent project, the school just completed their founding year and are gearing up for another year with 80 new students and…
Questioning Your Way into a New School Year
As the new school year begins, teachers are setting up their classrooms, establishing rules and procedures, creating lesson plans and activities to create a positive environment where students will engage and learning…
7 Can’t Miss Blogs to Jumpstart the School Year
The freshly-polished hallways and classrooms across the country are filling up once again as another school year begins. Many students are showing up with a renewed enthusiasm for learning, with…
Understanding Why Social Emotional Learning is Important for Schools
For many years, the focus within classrooms has been centered on assessments. How students were performing on state exams were supposed to tell the story of student achievement—or at least,…
Why Should Educators Use Data?
People often ask us, “How can I get more people to use data and educational technology tools?” It’s a fair question, as school districts are often bombarded with initiatives and, as…