Maximizing Growth This School Year

Back to School Excitement

Think back to when you were in elementary school and the excitement that began to build when school was drawing near. Perhaps you thought nervously about who your teacher would be, or which friends were going to be in your classroom.

Perhaps you remember the excitement of making preparations with back to school clothes or getting new school supplies (Remember those classic Scratch-and-Sniff Stickers, triangular rubber pencil grips, pencil boxes, smelly markers & Pee Chee Folders).

For many of us, our first homework assignment at the beginning of the year, was to wrap all of our text books in brown paper bags to protect them from the daily pounding that we would put our books through.

When school started; we were ready (or as ready as we could be, after spending summer enjoying riding bikes, playing sports and video games, playing with friends, staying up late and sleeping in).

District & Site Preparations

Teachers, Site and District Administrators have this same excitement as they make preparations for the start of their new school year. Just like students are excited (and anxious) to have a good school year, educators have these same emotions as they do their very best to set the stage to create optimal learning environments for students.

As a teacher, I would organize my desks, make name tags, hang motivational quotes and images around the room, prepare bulletin boards, put books and supplies in students desks and make a warm and welcoming classroom environment.

As a principal, I would think and plan back-to-school staff meetings, create a yearly theme, work on team building ideas to build a cohesive school, work on class placements, hire staff, create schedules and a multitude of other tasks.

Time to Get Back on Track

As educators are about to embark on the 23-24 school year, it's crucial that this school year maximizes growth and joy in every way for students as we continue to put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror. New data shows that upper elementary and middle school students have lost ground in reading and math in the last year.?On average, students need four more months(!) in school to catch up to pre-pandemic levels, according to the results from NWEA, a K-12 assessment provider.

Additionally, schools are struggling with chronic absenteeism (Too many kids are chronically absent. How can schools bring them back?). "Chronic absenteeism, which was a problem long before COVID-19, has become a?crisis?in the eyes of many experts. Up to?16 million children?— a third of the total U.S. public school population — missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 academic year, according to an estimate by the nonprofit group Attendance Works."

Based on these academic and attendance factors, efforts to engage, personalize and accelerate learning in the coming year is crucial for students.

Essential Resource

As preparations are made, providing teachers and students with the best possible tools for success is of upmost importance. One of these tools should be BrainPOP; an essential tool proven to impact learning across all content areas, and increase essential literacy skills. BrainPOP?'s?standards-aligned instruction provides deeper learning experiences, supported by research, to engage & challenge ALL students.

And don't just take my word for it, in the past month,?BrainPOP?&?BrainPOP Science?were awarded Tech & Learning?"Best of Show at ISTE 2023" and "Best Science Instructional Solution"?by the prestigious CODie Awards.?

BrainPOP will ignite a love for learning that leads to lifelong achievement by:

?? Empowering Kids to Shape the World Around Them & Within Them ??

BrainPOP?inspires students to connect deeply to any topic by making it relatable, entertaining, and easy to understand. What's more, BrainPOP's proven approach boosts academic achievement while simultaneously building the thinking and emotional intelligence skills that students need now and in the future.

At?BrainPOP, our mission is, “To EMPOWER kids to shape the world around them and within them.” As educators prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, BrainPOP can be a powerful tool to provide the deeper learning opportunities that our students need!