Nilsen Classroom

I just wrote a letter: Ask Your Policymakers to Prioritize SEL. Write one here:
tinyurl.com/PrioritizeSELwithSEL4ORLetter

Loving my new posters in my office. Art by Ryan Lomber. Procedes benefiting the

Exactly.

Reminder: School Board approved 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR is available on the TTSD website.
The calendar includes:
- Two additional teacher planning days (March and May)
- Adjusts the dates of planning days in October, January, and April
- Moves the Family Partnership Days (formerly conference days) from October to November

https://www.ttsdschools.org/Page/10712

“We ache to be seen in our full humanity, and fear of what we don’t understand pulls us back from seeing the complex humanity of other people.” - Elena Aguilar

What are you currently reading to broaden your thinking or understanding understand the complex humanity of others?

A fantastic educator friend of mine highly recommended this resource. Check it out!

Did you know? Oregon Black Pioneers is committed to making our research materials available for educators. We believe that students gain a better appreciation of Oregon’s history when they have the opportunity to learn about the unique experiences of Black Americans in Oregon. Developed by Oregon Black Pioneers and our education partners, each lesson plan includes a Teacher Guide, daily lessons, and activities. These multi-day lessons are designed to align with Oregon Social Studies standards and Ethnic Studies standards. Request your free lesson plans at the link in the comments.

Saturdays in my house are full of mamma time with my kiddos (my partner works Tuesday-Saturday), catching up on household tasks, and very few moments to myself. But our daily “rest time” after lunch is full of reading. While my big kid reads in her room on her own for a bit of down time, I’m going to try to spend some time in a teaching book every Saturday.

First up is “The Impact Cycle” by Jim Knight. While I’ve coached teachers in the past (mis maestros incredibles de Nicaragua! 😍🇳🇮) my team is looking to formalize and standardized our process to make sure we’re providing quality coaching to each of our 10 TTSD elementary schools. We’re using “The Impact Cycle” as a grounding and starting point.

How are you trying to improve in your personal or professional life?

We need to support teachers and students with more trauma informed practices.

Rings true. Thanks to Dr. Bryan Pearlman for posting this perspective from Bessel van der Kolk 💚

Snuggling a sweet, sleepy babe while attending our district’s PAX training with new elementary teachers.

PAX has Latin roots and means peace, productivity, health, and happiness. Our training today aims to help TTSD teachers foster each of those in their classrooms. One of the most powerful elements is that we believe all students can learn to better self-regulate through explicit expectation instruction and time to practice; all students can be a part of building PAX in their lives. I’m excited to work with teachers to practice these strategies and more this coming year.

What is one way you brought peace, productivity, health, or happiness to someone you care for this week?