Last summer, school administrators and teachers prepared for a category 5 hurricane, named COVID-19, as it steadily approached their shores. Evacuating wasn’t an option. They had to hunker in place and reinforce, reinvent, and build/rebuild structures (hybrid learning, online learning, social-distant at-school learning) that could both protect and prepare their…

A thank you message to educators — Was it a year or a lifetime ago? As schools shut down across the country in March 2020, educators did what they do best — worked late into the night and sent their students home with supplies to learn and a cheerful message: “See you in a few weeks!” Spoiler…

Brad Fischer Senior Director of Data Analytics Five Star Technology Solutions Educators continue to do exceptional work during extraordinary times. As they begin to dream about life after a pandemic, they are acutely aware of the toll this last year has taken on them and their students. Whether students have…

Matt Miller Professional Development Specialist with Five Star Being a Professional Development Specialist and technology coach at Five Star often means being called into situations where you could be asked to provide solutions to anything and everything related to school technology. …

I find myself sitting at my desk way too often. So when a friend asked recently if anyone was interested in a combined team effort of walking more regularly, I thought group accountability might be exactly the motivation I needed. …

No matter the role you play for students, you’ve likely come to appreciate the fact that social and emotional skills permeate just about every facet of the school experience (and life!). Because of this realization, many educators have been highlighting Social-Emotional Learning’s cornerstones — self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills…

I know what you’re thinking… “data analytics” and “life of the party” rarely are strung together in the same sentence. Although we all may recognize the value of data, most people don’t bubble with enthusiasm when the topic is raised in casual conversations. Aren’t convoluted concepts such as mean, percent…

It’s likely that when you hear the word contagious, especially after coming off of the year we just had, your first thought isn’t school culture. But for anyone who has been a part of an uplifting team, or conversely, a toxic one, you know that culture is truly contagious. …