April Lutz

Christian worship singer Brandon Lake says he experienced the most holy moment in worship of his entire life during Charlie Kirk's memorial. Lake says he still has goosebumps remembering when no one sang for 9 minutes and only the strings were playing. "I never in a million years thought that He would bring about revival in this way. I always thought it would happen in the four walls of a church..." "The church is happening, maybe even more so, outside of the four walls of where you attend on Sunday..." Praise God.

I want to address some of the discussion about the lack of an exit wound with Charlie. I’m usually not interested in delving into most of this kind of online chatter, and I apologize this is somewhat graphic, but in this case, the fact that there wasn’t an exit wound is probably another miracle, and I want people to know. I just spoke with the surgeon who worked on Charlie in the hospital… He said the bullet “absolutely should have gone through, which is very very normal for a high powered, high velocity round. I’ve seen wounds from this caliber many times and they always just go through everything. This would have taken a moose or two down, an elk, etc.” But it didn’t go through. Charlie’s body stopped it. I mentioned to his doctor that there were dozens of staff, students, and special guests standing directly behind Charlie on the other side of the tent, and he replied: “It was an absolute miracle that someone else didn’t get killed.” “His bone was so healthy and the density was so so impressive that he’s like the man of steel. It should have just gone through and through. It likely would have killed those standing behind him too.” In the end, the coroner did find the bullet just beneath the skin. Even in death, Charlie managed to save the lives of those around him. Remarkable. Miraculous.

Motivation vs. Discipline

Write More, Grade Less "If we carefully and repeatedly teach the important aspects of writing/rubric elements, using good student exemplars, students will write better...that means less correcting." -Mike Schmoker mikeschmoker.com/write-more.html

Collective Leader Efficacy matters. It's a 3-legged stool: 1. Shared Understanding 2. Joint Work 3. Evidence of Impact -Peter DeWitt, Michael Nelson

Leaders- Be informed. Know the research. Know your impact. “Too many leaders making key decisions …are unable to reliably identify rigorous evidence or even distinguish research from anecdote and marketing materials.” edweek.org/leadership/opi…

Massive crowd chillingly sing “I have decided to follow Jesus” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC America is returning to Christ. ✝️

We spend too much time arguing like we're right—and too little time listening like we're wrong. Diatribes don't change minds. Productive disagreement depends on showing respect, curiosity, and humility. The most compelling teachers are the ones who are most eager to learn.

Ive been going back and watching videos of Charlie debating with students. This particular debate left me in awe. What an incredibly knowledgeable man. Take a moment to witness and be inspired……

A mark of emotional intelligence is prioritizing your values over your moods. Immature people are victims of their feelings. Their choices are governed by fleeting sensations. Mature people take responsibility for their reactions. Their choices are guided by lasting principles.

Define your priories with piercing clarity, and say “no thank you” to anything that would divert you from successfully implementing them. - Jim Collins

What if we spent a year only focusing on our core? Just insistence of sound curriculum, sound instruction, and sound literacy. No annual initiatives, no new innovative programs. - Mike Schmoker

“Clarity is the antidote to anxiety. If you do nothing else as a leader, be clear.” - Marcus Buckingham

“The achievement gap is chiefly a knowledge gap and a language gap” - E.D. Hirsch Jr.

“Measurable gains in students learning cannot be realized until deep levels of implementation are reached…the adoption of initiatives among 90% or more of the faculty is the threshold if we want to see changes resulting in measurable outcomes for students.” -Doug Reeves

“If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.” -Adam Grant #ThinkAgain

No Father’s Day is complete without this video.

“Reports demonstrate that evidence-based practices can take an average of 17 years to be incorporated into routine general practice in health care, and less than 50% gets incorporated at all.” (Balas & Boren, 2000) @Jenni_Donohoo #QualityImplementation

"Strong instruction that asks students to grapple with challenging content- and that cultivates a classroom-wide expectation that it's okay to be wrong- has the potential to increase students' natural drive to learn, rather than squander it." @TNTP

Four of the most passionate educators you will find! Moving the needle for CEW kiddos every day. 💙 #ONE264 collaborativeclassroom.org/blog/sipps-cle…