The blog is back.

Hi! The blog is back. Longtime readers are aware that I take this blog in and out of service, depending on what else is going on in my life. You shouldn't see this current reawakening of Providence Schools and Beyond as a sign that I have free time to burn. From that perspective, committing to writing regularly here is a bad idea. Life is as full and engaging as usual. Nevertheless, the blog is back to think through the impact that a new governor and mayor may have on our state and city's educational system and to write about a few other issues that have come up that are demanding to see the light of day.

So who am I? 

Personally...

I've lived in Providence for nearly 10 years; my family and I moved here from San Francisco at the end of 2004. I have three sons in the Providence Public Schools: a ninth grader at Classical High School, a sixth grader at Nathan Bishop Middle School, and a third grader at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. I try to get involved with the schools' Parent-Teacher Organizations and in other ways as much as reasonably possible.

Professionally...

I'm the director of publications and communications at Engaging Schools, an education nonprofit based in Cambridge, MA. Engaging Schools (which until recently was known as Educators for Social Responsibility) offers professional development, mostly to middle and high schools, in order to support schools and districts to be come safer, more engaging places for teaching and learning. We work nationwide (and sometimes beyond) and publish resources to support educators' work. I edit and publish those books, and also manage our external communications, writing our blog and newsletter, doing our social media, etc. 

In Providence-related professional work, I also write a monthly education column for East Side Monthly (recent stuff is here) and occasionally contribute on the topic of education to other local publications. 

So this blog is where I share what I think about as a result of the interplay between the personal and the professional. I make no promises to keep it up forever, or perhaps even for long. But for now, I'm back and though I don't mind talking (writing) to myself, I'm grateful for any comments, interaction, or contributions. 

Providence Schools and Beyond: unpaused!

After an extensive pause, today I’m hitting “play” on this blog, which I needed to put on ice for a few weeks in order to focus my energy completely on the Coalition of Essential Schools’ Fall Forum 2011, which took place last week. The shortest possible story about Fall Forum is: big success! I’ll be posting more extensively about Fall Forum and the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) in the near future.

But first, I want to share my own professional news. After working at CES for more than 12 years, which has been a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience, I have moved onto a new opportunity. I’m now the Director of Publications and Communications at Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). ESR provides support and services to educators and school communities in areas that include secondary school redesign, school culture, social-emotional learning, and conflict resolution. I’m working on maintaining abd expanding ESR’s publications, developing an electronic product distribution strategy, and refining and expanding ESR’s communications capacity. I’m thrilled to be there and hope that what I learn can continue to inform my understanding of the opportunities and challenges that face public schools in Providence and beyond.

Blog, consider yourself unpaused. Away we go!