Nothing But Education July 2024 Newsletter

Jul 10

The Vision from our CEO:

As a Woman-owned organization, our vision is to be a leading provider of innovative educational solutions that empower learners of all ages to reach their full potential and succeed in a rapidly evolving world.

In our second quarterly newsletter, we once again want to welcome you to our newsletter community. We're thrilled to have you onboard, and we want to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and share our vision with you.

Our newsletter is more than just a series of emails you'll receive in your inbox. It's a platform where we hope to build a vibrant community of like-minded individuals who share a passion for leadership in education and industry. Our goal is to provide valuable insights, resources, and updates that will enrich your journey and peak curiosities about the latest developments.

Through our newsletter, we aspire to inform you on the latest trends, news, and breakthroughs in industry and educational research. We will learn from experts, thought leaders, and practitioners through insightful articles, interviews, and curated content. We will also inspire and uncover success stories, innovative ideas, and actionable tips to fuel your own aspirations and endeavors.

And finally, we will connect and engage with a community of fellow enthusiasts, share experiences and exchange ideas.

As we embark on this journey together, you can expect regular, and diverse, content and interactive engagement. We encourage you to actively provide feedback, share your insights, and let us know what topics you'd like us to explore further. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping the direction of our newsletter.

Also, stay tuned for virtual meetups, webinars, and other events where you can connect with fellow subscribers and industry professionals.

We are excited to have you join us on this journey, and we can't wait to encourage each other along the way.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

Jennifer Taylor Boykins

CEO, Nothing But Education

Joy in the Journey with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, author, and researcher, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad was warmly greeted by an audience from the Eastern Suffolk BOCES, NY on May 9th. Attendees from the surrounding area participated in the annual ESBOCES DEI Conference where Dr. Muhammad served as their keynote speaker and focused on culturally responsive teaching. Dr. Muhammad responded to key questions led by ESBOCES’s Associate Superintendent, Claudy Damus- Makelele.

The session ended with Dr. Muhammad conversing with a small group of amazingly talented high school students regarding their high school experiences.

While in the area, Dr. Muhammad and Wanda Broome, from NBE visited the Northern Parkway Elementary School in Nassau Co, NY. Principal, Dr. Bilal Polson, has adopted Dr. Muhammad’s model of the historically responsive equity framework for his school. Teachers displayed deeply rooted connections in Dr. Muhammad’s framework as referenced in her book, Cultivating Genius. Teachers were extremely excited and moved to tears as Dr. Muhammad made surprise visits to classrooms.

As stated by Dr. Muhammad, “We have a growing population of culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse youths and families. It’s time for the course of education to change. Indeed, the genius for this transformation is at hand. We need only to properly respond.”

Thank you, Dr. Muhammad, for your amazing work in NY!

How Nothing But Education Can Support You

Strategic Planning: NBE collaborates with educational leaders to develop strategic plans tailored to their specific goals and objectives. These plans include initiatives to improve student outcomes, enhance educational experiences, and address systemic challenges.

Thoughtful Purchasing: NBE works alongside schools districts to ensure they receive the greatest value in their purchasing decisions. This involves evaluating the effectiveness, relevance, and appropriateness of various options available in the market.

Collaborative Partnerships: NBE serves as a strategic thought partner, working closely with educational leaders and organizations to identify opportunities for collaboration and innovation. By fostering partnerships and sharing best practices, NBE helps drive positive change and improvement within the education sector.

Transformational Initiatives: NBE assists educational organizations in implementing sustainable transformation initiatives designed to improve student learning outcomes, enhance teaching practices, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. This involves innovative professional development, coaching, and support to educators and administrators.

Equity and Inclusion: NBE prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in its approach to supporting educational organizations. This includes offering resources, training, and guidance on creating inclusive learning environments that honor the diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences of all students and educators.

Leadership Training: NBE supports the leadership pipeline within school districts by providing specific leadership training for assistant principals desiring to become principals. The coaches include sitting district leaders and superintendents with a proven track record of making a positive impact on organizational leadership and student achievement.

Staff Profile Highlight

Wanda Broome,
President

As President of NBE, Wanda’s passion for education has remained constant throughout her career. Beginning as a special education teacher then to director, she quickly understood the need for personalized learning and how to engage with caregivers for the betterment of ALL students. After many years of teaching, she had the opportunity to broaden her skills and interest by going to work for a division of Disney, designing early childhood classrooms. Years later, her interest in literacy led her to a major publishing company where she became a Vice President collaborating with school districts, aligning solutions with the district’s strategy plan.

At NBE, she remains dedicated to providing equity for ALL students and is committed to ensuring clients have a positive experience working with NBE.

Unpacking Generative AI

There is so much talk about generative AI today, it has become somewhat of a hot-button issue among working professionals and business leaders.

We are witnessing firsthand the power of generative AI with applications like ChatGPT, Gemini, and other content-creating software. On Meta, Instagram, and other social media sites, there are works of digital art being created by generative AI applications like Midjourney, Canva and DALL·E 3 to name a few. But despite the fact that many are already implementing it while others are kept up at night about it, even I have to beg the question: So what?

Click here to read more...

A District’s Role: Equity is Literacy

A systems level approach to the teaching of literacy is critical. This thoughtful planning ensures the use of the evidence- based practices for both literacy instruction and the development of teachers. Literacy is an umbrella with many spokes; therefore, a thoughtful systematic support structure for staff to learn the teaching of reading is vital. So, what do literacy staff need to learn about reading? The National Reading Panel found that schools using strategic, researched-based literacy instruction and reading resources aligned with the five components of effective literacy instruction are most successful in helping children learn how to read. The five components are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Furthermore, children learn how to read through stages. These stages support both code-related and meaning-related instruction (Driver, Newton, & Osborne, 2000; Pappas, Varelas, Barry, & Rife, 2002).

There are essential components and processes to a well-planned and implemented literacy classroom. These components include, but are not limited to, reading aloud, shared reading, shared writing, independent reading and writing, and flexible small group reading instruction. What Works Clearinghouse found that the teaching of academic language and narrative language along with principles of sound word correspondence

Raven Eggson