As part of their National Board Certification, Gateway Middle School Humanities Teachers, Elizabeth Colen and Lucy Hilarides, created a tool to help students read, understand, and analyze complex texts deeper.

In my last blog I explained what student agency is and the important research base behind it. But what are some best practices to teach and develop student agency? How do I, as a classroom teacher, start integrating student agency strategies into my classroom? Here are a few daily and weekly strategies which, when used regularly, help students to become more self-aware and grow in their skills as learners.

Helping young people grow and evolve into mindful, independent and successful young adults takes more than family, more than teachers, more than a coach; it takes a village.

Gateway teachers are exceptional and are constantly exploring new ways to support our students and create safe spaces for learning and growing, even over the summer. In addition to participating in professional development trainings and workshops during the summer months, our teachers read books that helped deepen their teaching practice.

Last summer, Gateway High School biology teacher Mary Plant Thomas spent her summer days surrounded by flora in her role as a Plant Detective at the SF Botanical Gardens, a 55 acre living museum. She and her fellow sleuths were tasked with identifying and cataloging plants in the Garden’s vast collection. At the same time, Humanities teacher David Booth and other educators explored the galleries of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, studying artwork dealing with issues of identity.