At Highlander Institute, improving experiences for students is a critical part of our mission. Hearing the student perspective about what is working and what is not working in classrooms — including what may be causing harm — inspired the creation of our Student Experience SurveyHighlander Institute’s Student Experience SurveyHighlander Institute's Student Experience Survey (SES) helps educators understand how students are experiencing learning through five domains: Sociocultural Awareness, Community Building, Academic Mindset, Cognitive Development, and Critical Consciousness. Survey results may be disaggregated by gender, race and ethnicity, lunch status, and learning profile to raise awareness of how different student groups can perceive the same classroom differently based on their lived experiences. Responses help teachers develop immediate action steps to improve the learning experience for specific students, centering student feedback in intervention efforts. Early results show connections between shifts in teacher mindset and behaviors, student growth within survey domains, and student academic growth.  (SES) helps educators understand how students…

“…we can no longer be victims, we can impact social change.”  A 5th-grade student of a teacher we coach wrote these words as part of a project reflection. I keep these words on a post-it at my desk to remind me of the purpose of schooling: to inspire and support our students to become self-directed…

Last week, Stephanie Garcia from our coaching and change management team attended the New York Charter School Association Conference in New York City. Read on for Steph’s thoughts from the experience: In all honesty, given the education field’s chaotic climate right now, I truly did not know what to expect. What resulted was a revival…

October is associated with traditions and holidays that offer us a time to reflect on our shared history. It is, among many things, Filipino American History Month (FAHM). As we aspire to be agents of positive change in the education space, we are always working to build our sociocultural awareness. Examining the best and worst…

As an educator, I draw incredible inspiration from my niece. Her picture sits on my desk and she is the reason I push through challenging times with grit and persistence. She was born in 2011 when I was a teenager. She grew up amidst multiple family traumas, which became a trigger for her behavioral issues…