Leadership Challenge: Create Collective Genius to Innovate Education
The role of a leader of innovation is not to set a vision and motivate others to follow it. It’s to create a community that is willing and able to i…
Structures that Elevate Student Voice in Equitable Ways: Empowering Students While They Develop Life Skills
Carmen Gelman, Director of Professional Development at COSA, is all about student voice and equity. She joined Portico for a Crowdsource on December …
Reinforce Your School’s Identity to Launch The New Year With Momentum
We had the pleasure of hosting a Crowdsource webinar with Courtney Spelber from the Huntington Beach Union High School District on January 19, 2023. C…
Learning from Experience: Create a Culture of Partnership With Your Leaders
This activity will help you examine the effectiveness of your teams. Take action to work toward ensuring that you have a culture of partnership with y…
Real Prep: Provide (College) Application Day
Commit time in your yearly calendar to schoolwide activities that remove barriers to postsecondary education such as College Application Day for all s…
Student Life Connection: Implement Programs to Explore Interests and Aspirations
Implement programs like Roadtrip Nation to give students the opportunity to explore their interests and aspirations while also building ownership of l…
Holistic Well-Being: Teach and Model Self-Care for Students
Teach and model self-care to students to include: time, meditation, yoga, exercise, sleep, creative expression, and more. Adults on campus can openly …
Staffing Solutions: Hiring and Retaining Top Talent
Many schools and districts are struggling to hire and retain talented teachers, with small candidate pools and other constraints. In this Crowdsource …
Moving from Me to We: 8 Ways to Make the Shift to a Positive School Culture
Roosevelt Middle School principal, Amy Zilk, knows that a new leadership role is both rewarding and challenging. But instead of allowing some overwhel…
Time to Process: Allow Students Space for Major Life Transitions
Provide students time and space for processing major life transitions including the change from middle school to high school and the change from high …
8 Ways to Move from Me to We & Create Positive School Culture
Roosevelt Middle School principal, Amy Zilk, knows that a new leadership role is both rewarding and challenging. But instead of allowing some overwhel…
Principal’s Advisory Council: Develop Structures that Elevate Student Voice in Equitable Ways
During a Crowdsource Webinar on December 15, 2022, Carmen Gelman, Director of Professional Development, Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COS…
Capstone Passion Project: Empowering Students to Contribute Their Passions to Their Community
During a Crowdsource Coffee on February 8, 2023, Chris McAdoo, Principal at Santa Fe South Pathways Middle College, shared this high school capstone p…
Communicating With Gen Z: Responding to the Evolving Communication Needs of Students
A 2019 study on workplace readiness surveyed over 3,000 members of Generation Z (Gen Z), or those born between approximately 1996-2010. Respondents fe…
Starting the New Year Connected: Strategies for Connecting With and Engaging All Students
During this January 11, 2023, Crowdsource Coffee, leaders discussed how to identify students who feel disconnected from their community. We brainstorm…
Exceptional Situations, Exceptional Students: Networks to Support Students in Intensive Circumstances
The academic and behavioral needs of most students are met through a continuum of support within a school. Some students, however, require out-of-syst…
Embracing Difficult Discussions: How to Have a Crucial Conversation
Having difficult conversations is, well, difficult. However, these are also often the most important and urgent conversations to have. Many leaders ha…
Acknowledge, Understand, Address: Practices that Uproot a Culture of Fear
During a Crowdsource Coffee on October 28, 2022, Portico leaders, coaches, and facilitators shared their experiences and discussed the fears that exis…
Teacher Burnout: Addressing Educator Exhaustion
Educator (and support staff) exhaustion is nothing new, though it has arguably accelerated exponentially over the past few years with no signs of slow…
Class Emoji Activity: Getting to Know Your Students and How They Communicate
While this activity focuses on (fun/ny) emoji use, its purpose is for you and your students to develop a better understanding of any differences in co…
Elevating Diverse Student Voices: Empower Student Engagement and Agency
During a Crowdsource Coffee on December 7, 2023, Portico leaders, coaches, and facilitators shared their experiences and discussed new ideas for how …
Portico Student Experience Survey: Measuring Belonging, Connection, Engagement
Let’s move away from an environment where kids are sorted, packaged, and labeled based on the perceptions of adults that barely knew them. Readiness…
Compliment Activity: Create a Caring Campus Community from Day One
This activity was shared by the former principal of Oceanview High School, Courtney Spelber (Huntington Beach Union High School District), in a Crowds…
Celebrate Progress as Excellence: Encouraging Growth Mindsets & Inclusion
This classroom/school activity was inspired by the former principal of Martin Luther King, Jr. Junior High School, Angela Stevens-Stevenson, in a Crow…
Staff Maxims T-Shirts: Foster a Sense of Connection and Community with Staff and Students
This activity was shared by Todd Miller, superintendent at Santiam Canyon School District, in a Crowdsource Webinar on October 20, 2022.
School ident…