Posts by Gretchen Schultek Bridgers

The Empowering Educators Podcast has reached it’s 5th birthday and has over 200 episodes to celebrate. It’s mission is to educate and inspire educators to remain in the field with the support shared on every episode. This podcast is geared towards new teachers, teacher leaders, and teachers in distress or transition. With over 250,000 downloads,…

Asking higher order thinking questions in the classroom is a simple strategy that packs a big academic punch. It’s a free tool that educators all have access to as long as they are willing to plan and prepare prior to instructional delivery. The goal of every lesson is to drive students towards understanding. If we…

One of the hardest obstacles to overcome as a teacher leader is to set boundaries. It’s uncomfortable and often frowned upon. However, it is the most powerful leadership tool one can employ. It’s no secret that the role of teacher leadership is ever evolving, and sometimes not quite articulated or planned out. This leads to…

Virtual connections are becoming more important by the day as schools are forced to move to distance learning models. Traditional in-person parent communication methods (conferences, open houses, school events etc.) are no longer at an educator’s disposal due to COVID-19 precautions. This doesn’t mean parent communication halts; rather, it’s time to reinvent the way parent…

Virtual classroom management is becoming the new teacher superpower as schools pivot to online learning environments. Luckily, the skills teachers use to manage a classroom in-person can easily translate to virtual instruction. However, there are a few additional skills to acquire that specifically will apply to successfully managing a virtual classroom. Both aspects will be…