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The Masks We Wear
What Halloween, middle school behavior, and school turnaround have in common.
Melissa France
14 hours ago9 min read
Driving Into the Storm
The sky opened up on my way to work, and I could barely see the road ahead. It was one of those unusually dark Arizona mornings when the desert looks unfamiliar. Rain hammered the windshield. The wipers struggled to keep up. I slowed down, tightened my grip on the steering wheel, and focused on what I could see. And somewhere in that downpour, it hit me: this drive felt a lot like leading a turnaround school. Limited visibility. Uncertainty around the next corner. The respons
Melissa France
Oct 74 min read
The Work Between the Conferences
People often ask what it's like to attend education conferences. The answer is usually the same. You come home with pages of notes, a suitcase full of ideas, and enough inspiration to carry you into the next school year. This year was different. I came home with something even more valuable. Validation. Over the past two weeks, Dr. Stephanie Nardi and I have traveled thousands of miles, beginning at the Innovative Schools Summit in Las Vegas, where we had the privilege of pre
Melissa France
Jul 124 min read
Fish Sales, State Tests, and the Messy Middle of Turnaround
I cannot imagine not showing up every morning for these students, even when the challenges feel endless and the time always feels too short. Underneath the attendance reports, staffing frustrations, discipline conversations, testing pressure, and state labels there are more than 500 kids who deserve adults willing to stay in the fight long enough to see them succeed. Even if, occasionally, that fight includes shutting down an underground fish market.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
May 63 min read
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