Author Archives: Tammy Hanna

Read the article below…   March 27, 2013 Bill requires administrators to substitute teach By The Associated Press   CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate has passed a bill requiring that school administrators serve as substitute teachers for three days each year.The bill passed Wednesday gives exemptions to county superintendents and administrators who have [...]
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Translation: “To be or not to be on the cutting edge…but you knew that.” Or, did you? Grab any teenager’s cell phone and you might need a translator to read the messages. Our 21st century digital natives desire to hold, use, and learn with some sort of technology as the preferred medium. However, our schools [...]
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It is very odd to me that I never noticed how many white vans were in our area until the DC Sniper was said to be driving one back in the early 2000s. Suddenly, there were white vans everywhere. In reality, there were no more, no less than before. Inst… Read more »

I attend a very progressive church in Stafford that believes in transparency and sharing data. Check out this Vimeo clip and be prepared for the quiz that follows. What impact has this church had on the local school children? (hint…there was a blurb involving book bags) How much food was collected for local families? How [...]
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If I had a nickel for each time I sat in a parent conference and determined that the main reason for a child’s lack of success was internal motivation, I’d be a rich woman! My question for you: What is it that gives some inner drive while others seemed to be stuck in neutral? During [...]
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Interesting reading from http://www.verizonfoundation.org/successes/middle-school-students-and-mobile-technology/ The Verizon Foundation gains additional insight into middle school students and their use of mobile technology with a recently released st… Read more »

Recently, I read an editorial in NASSP’s NewsLeader (November, 2012) communication. In it, JoAnn Bartoletti, the Executive Director, chastised former DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee for some comments made on NPR’s Tell Me More Program (Oct. 10, 2012). During the program, there were analogous comments comparing effective schools to effective dry cleaners. Bartoletti also referred [...]
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Recently, I had the privilege of watching my daughter’s high school marching band during the last home football game of the season. My own middle school band program is one of this high school’s feeder schools so I was thrilled to pick out familiar faces from years gone by. As the students began to play [...]
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This week, I had the opportunity to spend quality time on a field trip with my fourteen-year-old daughter. At her age, asking mom to go anywhere is just shy of a miracle. The trip was with her Commonwealth Governor’s School science class to Weyers Cave to go through both a wild and a commercial cave. [...]
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My home phone rings. It’s 7:30 PM; the number is not familiar. Yet, even without extra-sensory perception, I know who it is. You see, I’m an American, registered voter during a presidential election year. The caller is some poor soul hired to conduct surveys. Most of the time, I would probably say, “Sorry, I don’t [...]
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