Posts by Juan
Stay the Course: A Superintendent’s Journey
Four years ago the El Paso Independent School District set nine goals. Since then, trustees and district leaders have revisited those goals every month, looking for better ways to support their students, teachers and goals. Their commitment is paying off.
Partnering with Parents on Social-Emotional Learning
Because SEL is grounded in the understanding that the best learning emerges in the context of supportive relationships, partnering with parents and helping them understand the importance of SEL can have a dramatic impact on the development of our students.
Teachers ARE Innovators
One may think that innovation in education always entails using fancy new tech to make a new product or a radically divergent idea, but I think at times we miss a driving force at the heart of innovation – engaging teachers.
Competitive, Coherent, Creative: The 21st Century School District
It’s time for district leaders to create clarity and coherence by making crystal clear how things are supposed to work. To accomplish that, it’s a good time to reexamine why school districts exist, how they work and what value they add.
Partnering to Create Quality Options
One of the biggest and most transformative changes my school district has made is partnering with a non-profit school network. Here, I share details about the benefits we saw.
Active Learning Requires Innovative Learning Spaces
Active learning requires that students have space to work, build, iterate, communicate and ultimately have learning experiences that are not pre-planned. Here, I discuss ways to build spaces that enable these activities.
Embracing the Border Economy
As the superintendent of a district in a border economy, I have faced a number of challenges that will be shared by more and more educators as the world globalizes. Here's what I've learned from my journey so far.