Melissa Sherman grew up in rural Virginia playing in the woods and streams.

Taught PK–7th grade in public and independent school in VA, AL, TN for 17 years before becoming a principal

Was a title I reaching coach/interventionist for much of this time

Now am a principal of a small independent PK–5th grade School, The Fay School in Houston

We have chickens, a 3 acre forest and have kids spend lots of time outside

• Play in the woods and dig in the dirt for nature’s sake.
• Forest recess, incidents of injury are lower than regular recess
• Last child in the woods
• Give kids
• Free Forest Schools
• Obstacles to kids going outside.
• Raised bed gardens just take cinder blocks, dirt, and sunflower seeds.
• State parks have free or low-cost field trips
• Master gardener
• How Trust-based observations has helped Melissa.
• How to be a transformative principal? Go to recess and watch kids play!

Lead a school everyone can be proud of.

Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do.

I help you stop putting out fires and start leading.

Learn more at https://transformativeprincipal.com

Just Right Reader Decodables are a great way to help your students learn how to read, with research-based strategies that are proven to be effective. Each grade level has over 100 books. Send books home in packs of ten, with video lessons accessible via QR codes on each book, with lessons in Spanish and English. Learn more at https://justrightreader.com

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL Renaissance Learning:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Renaissance Learning. Renaissance helps schools accelerate learning with solutions that make it easier to assess progress, personalize support, and help every student succeed. Visit Renaissance Learning to learn more.