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I decided not to leave a phone message. As my mind began racing through what I wanted to say in an email instead, I thought about my dual roles in school. As a teacher for more than 20 years, I have confidence that schools and teachers are there to help, support and build a relationship with parents. But as a parent, faced with having to speak to my child’s teacher, I froze.

Affordable ways to build positive school climate.

This just in: Men make up a small fraction of early childhood and elementary school teachers. And for children younger than 6, having a male teacher is a rarity. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 2.3 percent of preschool and kindergarten teachers are men.

Educators at this school find that their book club helps build the teacher community and provides a vehicle for support when needed.

When a student has trouble connecting with his new class, the icebreaker can be a book, family photo or picture that connects the child to his personal history and offers an opportunity to share.

Like many of us, I sometimes overuse the word “need.” I have a tendency to say that I need the new iPhone or I need a pedicure, even though those are clearly things that I want, rather than need. My greatest lesson on distinguishing between a want and a need came with my first-grade class when I was a new teacher. Volunteers from the business community came to teach for a day through the Junior Achievement program. As a new teacher, I was overwhelmed and relieved not to be responsible for lesson plans for the day. I was nervous, however, about how an idealistic businessperson would deal with 20 extremely needy first-graders living in one of the most violent parts of Oakland, Calif.

Inspired by a TED Talk, a teacher mobilizes his entire school community to plant an urban garden.

Many schools are offering civil rights trips over spring break. Find out how you can engage students in your communities and across the country.

School discipline practices often disproportionately affect students of color and students with disabilities. Use this toolkit to form a professional learning community that reflects, researches and plans together to create a more just and equitable behavior management system in your school.

Just Children Who Bully—And You Can Help Them