Blog

After more than four decades of collaborating with educators to build equitable, engaging classrooms and schools that nurture students’ academic, social, and emotional growth, Engaging Schools has closed its doors. While this marks the end of an era, we are delighted to announce that two exceptional organizations will carry forward much of our work, ensuring…

Engaging Schools experienced a significant drop in revenues that began during the pandemic, when many schools were closed for in-person learning. Many districts are still facing severe budget challenges, which are forcing them to make difficult decisions on how to allocate their funds. This situation shows no signs of easing, severely impacting our ability to…

The recent wave of school shootings is among the reasons cited for the movement underway in the country to support or expand the use of punishment and exclusion to address behavior concerns. Bills have been introduced in many states that allow educators to suspend more students for reasons like disruptive behavior, making it easier for…

Carol Miller Lieber, a leader at Engaging Schools for four decades, passed away in her home in late October. Facilitating academic success, healthy development, and postsecondary aspirations for every student were at the heart of her work. Carol got the call to teach when she was just a teenager and it was her driving passion…

Edna brings over 25 years of experience as a classroom teacher, school administrator, coach, facilitator, consultant, and entrepreneur, with a focus on positive and restorative approaches, school and district culture and climate, and educational equity. She knew as a young child that her life path was to be an educator. She followed in the footsteps…

The impacts of COVID-19 on students and a national movement for racial justice are compelling many districts to explore ways they can implement supportive and restorative discipline practices as students readjust to in-person classrooms. NBC News covered the story in ‘Growing awareness’: Schools focus new policies on equity with students back in school. One such…

The Engaging Schools Board of Directors is pleased to present the first Deborah Childs-Bowen Leadership for Equity Award to Dr. Charlos Banks and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District Code and Task Force Teams. The award was created to honor the life and work of Dr. Deborah Childs-Bowen, who served on our Board for twelve…

Engaging Schools joins those standing collectively against racism. We are horrified by the recent deaths of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor — the latest public atrocities in the more than 400-year history of continuous oppression faced by African Americans. We know that racism is systemic, built into our institutions, and woven…

Our Engaged Classrooms approach for secondary schools offers three key pedagogical frameworks that support increases in equity and the academic success and achievement of every student. They are: Equity-Centered Classrooms, which emphasize culturally responsive and developmentally informed practices that affirm students’ multiple identities, their cultural experiences, and the range of their developmental needs and interests….

One of the essential questions at the heart of our Engaged Classrooms approach is “How do I foster and sustain strong and supportive personal relationships?” For adolescents, an emotional connection with adults is perhaps the single most important factor for fostering positive development, including higher levels of engagement, motivation, and academic performance. In addition, the…