Hey Advocates!

One of my favorite reminders is, "The one who holds the pen controls the story." It keeps me focused on owning and bringing the "main character energy" I want to introduce to the world. When working with students, this is a statement that I have to use frequently to remind them that they are the authors of their stories while also helping them see and understand other people's perspectives. It also helps them own and evaluate the part they choose to play when narrating and co-narrating their stories (aka "experiences"). Our personal beliefs are deeply ingrained and often unconscious, and they greatly influence what we choose to share with the pen we hold. They are major players in our everyday moves and shape how we react to folks and situations. Our beliefs, deeply rooted in rich, generational culture and pride, can provide stability and inspire us, connecting us to our heritage and shaping our identity. However, these beliefs can hold us back from real progress and un...

Hey Advocates,

Family meeting time. Go ahead and silence your cell phones, grab your favorite beverage and snack, and let’s gather around our virtual dinner table for this week’s topic. As you settle in, I want you to think about a tradition that you have engaged in and that brings you a lot of joy and fond memories. Now, and I sincerely apologize in advance if this brings about some triggers, I want you to think of a tradition that you were forced to participate in and did not make you feel safe or that you belonged in the space. Shake all of that icky off, and let’s regroup. 

A tradition for one person or the heritage for one group of people can easily become or be one person’s or a group of people’s trauma. Take a pause right here. Sit with this for a moment. 

This statement is a key reason why the “We’ve always done it this way” thinking needs further exploration, especially in educational spaces. Imagine if the United States of America, the home of the free and the land of the ...

Hey Advocates!

It’s your girl!! Back on the digital mic. I just want to say this topic was hard for me to write about. Not because I don’t have a lot to say. You all know by now, I have a lot to say. However, I was so one with it, so I was in my own “Amen corner” and side-eyeing (with love) a few people at the same time. Listen. Don’t judge me, because by the time you finish reading this piece, you’ll be side-eyeing (with love) some people, too. I am going to say something possibly controversial and that definitely may not be the popular opinion. However, I live on the edge, so here we go: A struggling administrator or administration team holds power in title only. A strong indicator of a struggling administration is when one person or a group of people hold influential power and voice in the choices being offered and the decisions being made. These choices and decisions impact all students but they were designed to support and to be good for a select few. Though administration doesn’...

Hey Advocates!

Let’s get this gathering started with a question. Have you ever been jazzed up for a Professional Development (PD)/In-Service Learning Opportunity, thinking, "Oooo weeee! My whole career is about to be fireworks and four-leaf clovers. This training is about to be litty!”? But, then, you roll up to the training, and someone (or, if you're scratch off ticket-lucky, a group of people) hits you with the skunkiest look, saying, "This could’ve been an email"? Uh-oh. They’re looking for compatibility, waiting for you to nod along, do a custom handshake, and sync your heartbeat with their gloomy vibe. Time stops as you contemplate your response. Your inner excitement? Squashed. You don't want to be the lone ranger showing enthusiasm, so you mellow out your grin, slow your heartbeat down, and slide into your seat. Fingers crossed that no one saw your initial excitement. For the duration of the training, you count your nods, monitor the intensity of your attention span, and put o...

Hey Advocates!

We’ve been hanging out for a while now, but I have never really formally introduced myself. Since I plan on being around for a while, I think it’s time for you to know more about me, as a person. 

First and foremost, I love my Southy-ness! You may see a “Bless your heart” at some point in “The Weekend Voice”. I hail from the mighty state of Arkansas, but the Peach State (Georgia) raised me. My husband, Adrian, my four children, and I are bicoastal residents - residing in both Phoenix, AZ and in Covington, GA (“The Hollywood of the South”). 

In the words of one of the greatest women I know, Dr. Bettina Love, I wanted to do more than survive, so I set myself on the path of getting into “Good Trouble” (The Honorable and Beloved Congressman John Lewis), by becoming a Special Educator and a Certified School Counselor. As an architect of dreams and a guardian of aspirations, I am a very proud Diversity and Equity school leader. I am fiercely determined to ensure that every ...

Hey Advocates,

Welcome back! I’m from the South, so, in true Southern Hospitality, I’m passing out hugs and Georgia sweet tea all around, to show that your presence is such a present! 

This week, we are going to celebrate the diverse tapestry of humanity, while highlighting the idea of “Same But Different” in Communities of Color (CoC). It should be no secret that diversity exists beyond race. However, as I’ve said before, when people use the word “diversity”, they often use it as the twin of race, specifically using it as a description for Black and Brown folks. The struggle with this is that people sometimes forget that, within Black and Brown communities, there exists a spectrum of radical diversity components. We're a vibrant mix of cultures, languages, and experiences. I haven’t met a person, yet, outside of my family, who can say they have lived my EXACT life experiences, no matter how close the proximity was. You know what? Even in my own family, underneath the same roof, our ...

Hey Advocates,

Welcome! I’m so happy you are here. This week’s topic is more than a message. This week’s topic is an ongoing and evolving pledge of liberation and intentionality. As a matter of fact, it shows up, daily, in my professional and personal life. I want to ask you for a favor. I would love it if you would allow yourself to be fully present in this reading. 

I almost feel like I should put a trigger warning/content warning here (TW/CW: “Life be life-ing, yo” or “Humankindness should be more of a thing, because human-meanness definitely exists” or “Why can’t I be accepted just as I am” or “My tears have tears”). I know I am not using “TW/CW” correctly. I was trying to ease you into this topic, but let’s be real. There is no easing into ableism, discrimination, prejudice, implicit and explicit bias, stereotyping, homophobia, transphobia, racism, ageism, classism, sexism, xenophobia, microaggressions, etc. You are either giving me love and looking forward to this conversation,...

Hey Advocates,

I'm back! Thank you for liking me enough to allow me to invade your digital address again this week. I do have to be a snitch just a little bit. I tell everyone upfront that I'm great at snitching on myself because I want to ensure the right narrative always gets out. Now, I need to leak a secret, but please don't add me to the "Canceled" list. I think you'll appreciate what I'm about to share. Super quick questions: 

First, is there another person you trust to tell your story? How often do you get to tell your side of the story or tell your story? Let's revisit these questions in a few sentences.

It's no secret that we have lunch break talk, prep talk, and before, during, and after PD talk. Let's be honest with each other because all great relationships start with a cup of coffee/tea and a side of honesty. Not all of the talk is about how great our school is or how great our Admin (or Admin team, if you have more than one Admin) is. Far too often, we break bread (or ...

Hey Advocates,

If you’ve ever sat (or napped) in a “professional development workshop” and thought to yourself, “This could have been an email,” you have found your people. Hey Fam!! Welcome! Dinner starts at 5 PM. Now, I am not the host of a famous TV game show, so I don’t have formal survey results to prove this statement. Still, observational data (i.e., my own experiences and statements) tells me that we have sat in at least one PD session that could have and should have been an email. The last time I checked, time was still a very precious commodity. Would you agree with me in saying that we don’t mind sharing our time when there is a guaranteed return on investment? I think we can stack hands on the statement that sitting for hours in professional development, which could have started with some form of “hello” and ended with a nicety that supported me having a great day, is not a great return on my investment of time. 

So, Sholanda, what do we need to bring joy back to professi...

Hey Advocates, 

This week, I want to discuss the value of student-led professional development. Consider traditional thoughts about adult/student learning dynamics. Typically, students are viewed as the receivers of learning, and adults provide the teaching. However, we need to remove the idea that students are exclusively the learners and adults are solely the teachers.

Amplifying your student's voices is a game-changing way to improve teaching and learning. Student-led professional development influences teacher practices (Holdsworth, 2014). It's essential to incorporate what students say and go through to make lessons relevant to their needs.

Who are we serving, and who should ultimately benefit from our professional development?

The outcome from PD must be tools to serve your students and their families better. Who better to learn from? We talk about co-teaching and learning from our students from a classroom level. But we don't always talk about the importance and value of l...