Three weeks into 2015 and I’ve made some headway on my personal new year’s resolutions. I’ve been planning out my meals and grocery shopping on Sunday to make weeknights a little bit easier and a lot healthier. I’ve tried to be less critical of my husband’s household contributions (really I have!). And I’ve managed to make it to the gym even when traveling. With my personal confidence bolstered, I’m ready to share my Teachstone resolutions with the world, hoping that you’ll keep me accountable and maybe even share some of your own resolutions. So here goes …
- Find more opportunities to talk with and observe the people (you!) who use the products we develop and are doing the hard work in the classroom. Over the past year, my colleagues and I have a lot of time on the phone and at conferences speaking with customers. We’ve learned about the problems you face and how we can support you in achieving your goals. In 2015, I want to spend even more time on the phone, in your classrooms, and at events hearing about what would be most valuable for you in improving the ways that you and your colleagues interact with children. And as a shameless plug for this resolution, if you are interested in talking about how you use CLASS, please add a comment below or send me an email at lisa.rogoff@teachstone.com.
- Support early childhood programs with the highest levels of need. We have already launched our second annual scholarship program for National Head Start Association members. This year, we’ll give away more scholarships and provide more benefits to our scholars. Learn more and apply here.
- Blog about what you care about. This one is going to require some help from you. We love blogging, but we want to make sure we’re writing about the issues that matter most to you. So, let us know in the comments what else you want to hear about!
- Operate at the intersection of fidelity, usability, and affordability. We were founded out of a research institution, so it only makes sense that we’re extremely serious about fidelity to what has been proven to lead to results. But we also know that classrooms are complex places and implementing research-based practices must be coupled with a dose of reality. This year, I want to see us focus on making sure that the research-based programs are easy to use, engaging, and take into account teachers and coaches’ limited time and budget. And speaking of budget, these programs have to be affordable. So, we’re working on that through a new, subscription-based product, myTeachstone, that will help you deliver on the promise of CLASS - all while remaining true to the research, making sure that the product is easy to use, and not blowing the bank (did someone say $100/teacher?!?). Sign up to find out more about myTeachstone over the next few months.
- Celebrate! There are so many exciting things going on in the world of early childhood education that we sometimes forget to celebrate! This year, I want to make sure that we do that! We’ll be sponsoring some great events at BUILD and NHSA - I hope you’ll join us in celebrating what we’re all doing to support teachers and improve outcomes for kids!
