Engage Your Emotional Intelligence to Improve Staff Retention

You’ve likely heard the idea that employees don’t necessarily leave companies—they leave when they don’t feel supported by their leaders. At the heart of effective leadership is the ability not only to…

Leadership Language that Promotes Psychological Safety

Foster psychological safety through clear, intentional communication and shared mental models.

Inclusive Leadership "I Believe" Statements

Your beliefs shape your leadership—guiding how you decide, support your team, and drive meaningful change.

7 Great Leadership Qualities

Not all great leaders are the same or lead in the same way. Educational leaders, specifically, face many different responsibilities and challenges that other leaders may not. However, there are some core…

6 Types of Courage for Inclusive Workplaces

The role of educator—and educational leader—takes heart. And courage. But did you know that courage isn’t one-size-fits-all? Not only are there different types of courage, but you can also develop your own…

Foster Student SEL Competencies: Embed SEL Explanations Into Daily Check-Ins and Student Self-Management

In today’s world, students need more than academic knowledge to succeed—they need the social and emotional skills to navigate challenges, build relationships, and grow with confidence. Embedding social and…

Well-Being in Schools: 4 Steps to Building an Approach to Well-Being in Your School

This paper is the first policy research paper in a series on student well-being in IB World Schools. In this resource, the paper provides practical guidance to schools for developing a context-specific well-being policy.

Supporting Your School Community: Culturally Responsive Trauma-Informed Teaching

While research has shown school-wide trauma-informed practices benefit all students, one-size-fits-all programs don’t work. Mainstream approaches to trauma-informed practices often fail to address or prevent…

5-Point Intervention Approach: Implementing PBIS with a Racial Equity Mindset

Many schools are implementing PBIS in efforts to reduce racial disproportionality in school discipline. Research shows that schools implementing PBIS with fidelity have more equitable school discipline,…

Implementing PBIS: 6 Challenges and 7 Supports to Consider for Your Schoolwide Program

Effectively implementing a schoolwide PBIS system that is equitable and meets the needs of all students may feel like a fairy tale. But by understanding the barriers to successful implementation and the…

Dos and Don'ts of PBIS: 10 Ways to Increase Equity and Authentic Positive Reinforcement

Instead of ditching the entire philosophy and practice of PBIS, we need to be aware of and prevent implicit biases from influencing our systems and practices.

Ditch the Clip: PBIS Alternatives to the Clip Chart

Clip charts have been a common classroom strategy for many years. Once considered an effective tool for displaying behavioral progress and adherence to classroom rules, they may not be as helpful as once…

Personalize Your Professional Development: Leadership Scope and Sequence Planning

Portico coach, Jocelyn Bigay, uses this Leadership Scope and Sequence Planning Template within her Copilot sessions to focus goals for the year and identify short term measurable goals. It allows school leaders…

Student Cell Phone Policy: Best Practices for Student Success

As principal of Milwaukie High School, Carmen Gelman (now Director of Professional Development, Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, COSA) worked with the school community (including students) to ensure…

Student Surveys: Evaluate and Elevate Your School's Tiers of Support

In this segment, he shares examples of how focused and meaningful student surveys can help keep MTSS efforts, programs, and vision on-track to ensure ALL students are thriving and successful.

Evaluate and Elevate Your School's Tiers of Support

In this segment, he explains the concept and provides examples of how expansive opportunities—in addition to traditional MTSS tiers of support—ensure ALL students are thriving and successful.

Strategies for Equitable Family Engagement: Engaging Outside of the School Building

To build trust and relationships with families, it can be helpful for school staff to engage with families in spaces or at events in which families feel comfortable. These may include family homes,…

Checklist for Making Your Family-Community Partnership Work

Successful family engagement requires a multi-faceted approach. This customizable checklist can help you keep track of new and continuing family engagement practices at your school.

Supporting Family Engagement: Tools & Resources to Keep Families Connected

Developing a plan for family engagement may be the first step, but sooner rather than later, you also need to ensure that there are family-friendly tools and resources provided to families to ensure equitable…

Get Started with Community School Development

So you’re familiar with community schools. You’re interested. But getting started can feel like the hardest part. While your own school/district’s path may ultimately differ from Anaheim Union School…

Understanding & Evaluating The Four Pillars of Community Schools

What are community schools? Why should I consider this model? This resource provides an overview of the Four Pillars of Community Schools framework, so you can start reflecting more specifically on your…

Understanding Community Schools

What are community schools? Why should I consider this model? This resource provides an overview, so you can start reflecting on your own school’s approaches to supporting students in and out of the…

Evaluate Systems & Structures That Support School Communities

During a Crowdsource on March 16, 2023, Anaheim Union High School District shared strategies for effectively engaging parents and family members. How can you create more authentic connections with and supports…

Monday Morning Wins: Staff Newsletters Support and Connect the School Community

To support her school staff, a principal developed a weekly newsletter called Monday Morning Wins where she ties what’s happening in the school to a new schoolwide initiative.

Foster Relationships and Cooperative Learning: Adopt Block Scheduling At Your School

Block scheduling is better for fostering and nurturing relationships for both teacher to student, as well as student to student relationships. 

Practice Mindfulness: 5 Minutes or Less to Prioritize Your Well-Being

The practice of mindfulness is a combination of awareness and acceptance. When you practice awareness, you focus your attention on your current—present—thoughts, feelings, and experiences. When you practice…

Hiring and Retaining Top Talent: The Importance of Site Leadership and Identity Alignment

Hiring and keeping teachers is tough but crucial. Take action now to attract and retain the talent students need.

Rethinking Schoolwide Schedules: Build a School Day That Prioritizes People

A well-designed schoolwide schedule supports equitable learning, fosters well-being, and strengthens your school community.

Hire and Retain a Diverse Staff: Nurture a Positive Staff Community

This activity will help you analyze your current recruitment and retention efforts. Developing and nurturing a staff community aligned with your school’s identity and vision is key.

Purposeful, Valuable Learning: Foster Learners With Autonomy and Drive

Imagine a classroom where students are no longer racing to keep up with the teacher’s lesson plan, but instead, learning at the pace that works for them—deepening their understanding, exploring their…

Rethinking Priorities: 6 Ways to Focus on What’s Important

Being a school leader means dealing with 100 urgent fires every day. It’s so easy to get distracted from the really important work that results in meaningful lasting impact. Here are six strategies that can help…

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 innovate. By studying the success of innovative organizations…

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 Coffee, school leaders shared concerns and best practices…

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 (COSA), discussed the importance of student voice and how to…

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 passion project with the group. This schoolwide capstone…

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 felt unprepared for using communication skills in the…

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 brainstormed strategies to re-engage and connect authentically, so…

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-system support due to extreme or intensive circumstances, such…

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 have voiced that it has been hard to have those…

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 slowing. In order for teachers/staff to best support and care…

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 communication styles that exist, why they exist, and how…

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 we can all begin taking this challenge on for our students.…

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 and success should be defined by students’ engagement,…

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 Crowdsource Webinar on January 19, 2023.

Before students can…

Celebrate Progress as Excellence: Encouraging Growth Mindsets & Inclusion

In education, celebration is far more than a feel-good moment—it’s a powerful practice that nurtures belonging, reinforces growth, and sustains momentum. When schools take time to acknowledge…

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 identity is more than school colors and a mascot; it’s how a…

Getting to Really Know Each Other Through Inquiry: Activity with Staff and Students

This activity was shared by the former principal of Oceanview High School, Courtney Spelber (Huntington Beach Union High School District), in a Crowdsource Webinar on January 19, 2023.

Before your…

Bonding Braid Activity: Fostering Staff Relationships That Students Prosper From

This staff activity was shared by the former principal of Martin Luther King, Jr. Junior High School, Angela Stevens-Stevenson, in a Crowdsource Webinar on November 17, 2022. As a school leader, you’re of…

Maximize Your School Identity Work: 5 Benefits of School Identity Work

Use this resource to evaluate and reflect on how you’re maximizing the benefits of your school’s identity work, and then create an action plan for areas of improvement.

7 Strategies for Building Trust in Working Relationships: Survey and Reflect on Your Relationship-Building Skills

Use this resource to evaluate, survey, and reflect on your own relationship-building skills as a leader, and then commit to an action plan for self-improvement and growth.