Fall is here! Cozy up with these books this season.

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Fall is my favorite season. There is just something about the changing leaves, the fall skies, the cooler weather, and the start of a new school year. The end of summer symbolizes a renewal, a chance to start fresh.

If you are wanting to start this school year off right by ensuring that your child is immersed in a literacy-rich environment at home, now’s the perfect time to add some books to your home library. Set a goal of reading with your children (or with yourself… because they are always watching and following your lead) for a few days each week. Plus, October is National Book Month. It celebrated by authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers from all over and is dedicated to acknowledging the joy and impact books can have on our lives.

Here are just a few of our fall favorites that you and your family can dig into this season:

Early Elementary

Late Elementary/Middle School

High School

Family Trips as Educational Enrichment Opportunities: 5 Easy Ways to Incorporate Learning into Your Travel

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If you’ve been thinking about a trip with the kids, one close by or a big trip across the country or internationally, we’re here to tell you to go ahead and take the trip! Why? Keep reading…

By the way, we recorded a podcast episode on this topic. Listen here!

There are so many educational and developmental benefits for children when they are fortunate enough to go on excursions. Traveling, near and far, can correlate with better grades and higher levels of academic success. How? Studies show that:

  • Traveling can significantly improve cognitive and linguistic development, especially in the years from birth to age 8.

  • Traveling makes children more tolerant and empathetic to differences due to their exposure to different places, people, and cultures.

  • Traveling sparks a child’s curiosity about the world around them (allow space for them to confidently ask questions!).

  • Traveling provides children with opportunities for real-world application of the concepts they learn in school. It allows for hands-on learning that they’ll be able to better remember and recall when needed.

  • Traveling helps children to adapt to novel or changing situations. Running late for a flight? What changes do we need to make to ensure that we don’t miss the plane? GPS not working? What should we do to find the museum we want to visit without having to use our phones?

And don’t think that your child is too young to benefit from travel. Even babies will benefit from all they see and hear. This exposure to the vast world around them will positively impact their development, hands down!

Here are 5 easy ways to facilitate learning even when you’re on vacation.

1. Before the trip, research the educational opportunities and activities wherever you’re visiting (especially the free ones!). For instance, you can visit National Parks that sometimes have discounts on tickets or even free activities. Public libraries across the country also put on a lot of great programs that you and your family can take advantage of.

2. Narrate the trip by overexplaining everything. This one is simple! Talk about what you’re doing and where you’re going. If you’re headed to the airport, talk to your kids about the route you’re taking, how the airport is set up, what “checking into a hotel” means, and so on. And remember, no word is too big. Narration expands their vocabulary and will help them to make connections when they later are exposed to the words and concepts in school texts.

3. Make educational outings during the trip as fun as possible.

4. If there is a day that you’re inside due to weather or your family is just staying into relax, interactive games are a great way to get educational skills.

5. Always get a book wherever you visit.

Teaching Kids How to Set Goals, and How to Actually Accomplish Them

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Goal-setting, and actually following through on the goals we set, can be difficult for adults and children alike. We can all stand to practice principles of goal-setting more, especially if you are aiming to be more consistent and disciplined this year (see our previous post, “Our 5 Words for the New Year”). There are a few tips that Gillis Education teaches our students, beginning as early as second and third grade.


  1. When you decide that you want to accomplish a specific goal, ask yourself, “What smaller, more digestible tasks do I need to get done in order to accomplish my bigger goal?” Small, achievable “to-dos” makes the larger goal reachable. For instance, if your child says that one of their goals is to become a better reader, you may want to help them set a goal of reading 10 minutes per day or 60 minutes per week. You all can use a journal or agenda book to track their progress.

  2. Make goal-setting fun by using visualization techniques. Grab a poster or a piece of cardboard, magazines, newspapers, and your creativity, and make a vision board. Actually visualizing what accomplishing their goal looks like in real life will help them to take the necessary steps to get there. This is an activity we love doing with our students throughout the year!

  3. Encourage consistency and persistence by reminding your child that some goals are difficult, but just because obstacles may pop up, it is worth it to keep putting your best foot forward to reach those goals.

  4. Finally, you are your child’s first role model. Show them what setting goals, and achieving them, looks like. Talk to them about your own personal and professional goals and explain how you plan to tackle them.

We hope these words of advice help you and your family on your goal-setting journeys for the new year. Don’t forget to take time to celebrate the small wins along the way!

The Power of Play: How Play Stimulates Brain Development in Children

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The power of play in early childhood cannot be overstated. Play not only helps children physically, it is a child’s natural way of learning and exploring the world around them. It allows children to use their imagination, creativity, and problem-solving skills in a fun and engaging way. Play also helps to develop important social-emotional skills, such as communication, cooperation, and empathy. Children learn to share, take turns, and collaborate through play. They express their feelings, emotions, and ideas through play. Over the next several months, Gillis Education will highlight the many benefits of play and how you and your family can incorporate play in small, yet impactful ways.

There are several different types of play, each with its own unique set of benefits. In this blog, we cover just a few main types of play.

  • Independent Play: Independent play is when children play alone and engage in activities without adult supervision or interaction with others. Through independent play, children develop a sense of self and autonomy.

  • Parallel Play: Parallel play is when children play alongside other children, but do not interact with them.

  • Associative Play: Through associative play, children play together and interact with one another, but without a specific goal or activity in mind. This type of play encourages communication and social skills.

  • Cooperative Play: Cooperative play is when children work together to achieve a specific task or goal. They collaborate, share ideas and resources, and problem solve. This type of play is especially important for building problem-solving skills and teamwork.

  • Competitive Play: Children engage in competitive play when they are involved in activities with the goal of winning or outperforming others. This is great for sportsmanship and self-regulation.

  • Constructive Play: Constructive play involves building materials such as blocks, legos, or other manipulatives to create structures or designs. Constructive play helps children develop their spatial awareness and fine motor skills.

What types of play do your children typically engage in? How do you incorporate play into your child’s day?

The 5 Words We're Focusing on in 2023

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Welcome to 2023! Can you believe that we are already halfway through January?

Each year, like many of you, I create a vision board using old magazines and newspapers, cutting out words and images that represent my personal and professional goals. I take time to think about what I want to accomplish over the next several months and use the vision board as a springboard for visually manifesting those goals. 

This year I decided to do the same thing for Gillis Education. I sat down and thought through programs and initiatives I want to spearhead this year with the Gillis Education team. I reflected on the products and services that are working and where there are opportunities for reform. But, I also spent a lot of time thinking about what our students and parents truly need. There were five words that came to mind: consistency, focus, discipline, efficiency, and grace. These words resonated with me because I believe the students we work with can benefit from learning more about these concepts and putting them into practice in the classroom. The parents we work with can use strategies to reinforce these critical concepts at home. And I believe that these words are important for me to incorporate in my everyday life as a mom of two early learners, as an attorney fighting for civil rights, and as the owner of a small business. 

Over the next few months, I’ll be creating blogs and social media content that dissects each one of these words. I’ll break down what each of these words mean and what they look like in practice for students and parents. For instance, how can we teach our students to be more consistent? What are some effective ways to teach students how to focus in the classroom and at home? How can we all be more efficient with our time? 

Stay tuned! I look forward to going on this journey with you to becoming more consistent, focused, disciplined, efficient, and graceful in 2023. 

Cheers!

Tiffany

Gillis Education's 2023 Holiday Gift Guides

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Using Digital Media to Improve Reading Skills Post-Pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented school closures, and now many children are coping with levels of learning loss that could drastically hinder their academic performance and future success. Literacy is one area that has been deeply impacted. According to the Pew Research Center, rates for the number of children who read for fun have gotten lower each year. The transition from in-person to virtual schooling is one factor that has led to reading rates plummeting even further. Extensive research shows that reading is fundamental for language acquisition, social skills, cognitive function, and literacy skills. Because of the pandemic, it has become more important than ever to explore different options available to enhance a child’s reading skills. As we grapple with the negative consequences of the pandemic, educators and parents should think about how to incorporate informational texts and other forms of informative media into students’ learning experiences more frequently as a way to improve academic performance. 

Informational texts are non-fiction writings that inform the reader about the real world. These kinds of works are essential to children’s daily life as reading them can lead to gaining knowledge about various subjects and have been shown to improve academic performance. That being said, getting children to read informational texts can be tough. In fact, children in kindergarten and first grade often prefer to read non-fiction books, but by the time they reach fourth grade, where they are expected to read and learn from informational text and content area textbooks, there is an overall decline in reading scores (Chall, Jacobs, & Baldwin, 1990). Greater exposure to informational texts during the early years may help minimize the effects of the “fourth grade slump” in reading achievement.

However, many children are disproportionately under-exposed to informational texts (particularly in high-poverty areas), causing them to be at an academic disadvantage. Children who are minorities are the most affected by unequal access to early learning opportunities, and therefore, informational texts. It is important to find ways to make free public media as accessible to these kids as possible, particularly for students facing barriers to unequal access. 

Using Digital Media to Improve Children’s Ability to Use Informational Texts - Molly of Denali

An article published in the American Education Research Journal titled, “The Efficacy of Digital Media Resources in Improving Children’s Ability to Use Informational Text: An Evaluation of Molly of Denali From PBS KIDS,” underscores the need for students to be exposed to informational text, inside and outside of the home, to build their knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

One way to address the lack of exposure to informational text is quality, educational media, and Molly of Denali is a great example of a tv show that promotes the use of informational texts.

“Molly of Denali” airs on PBS Kids and is geared towards 4-8-year-olds. In “Molly of Denali”, the main character, Molly Mabray, is a young Alaska Native who maintains a blog that details her life. The show has been praised for educating children about diversity while still remaining relatable to the audience. The show’s primary purpose is to aid children in developing the skills needed to use informational texts through the use of videos, games, and real-world activities.

In a recent study, researchers examined 263 children from low-income communities on whether access to these free educational platforms and media led to improvements in their ability to answer real-world questions based on informational texts. To find out how effective “Molly of Denali” is at improving a child’s ability to utilize informational text, half of the children in the study were given a tablet with access to “Molly of Denali” resources (the treatment group). While the remaining half (the control group) were given a tablet without access to these resources. Parents were responsible for completing a weekly log of their child’s media-related activities during each week. The control group could use their tablet for educational purposes for at least one hour a week. However, they did not have access to any of the material from “Molly of Denali”, PBS Kids, or any other app that included strong informational text content. Parents from the treatment group received an orientation on the importance of informational texts for children. They also received a study calendar with hands-on activities. Both groups were exposed to video content however, only the treatment group had access to all the multi-platform media by PBS Kids. The researchers’ findings indicated that the treatment group outperformed the control group in their ability to utilize informational texts to answer questions or solve real-world problems. 

The study suggests that learning can take place when children engage with high-quality educational media. That means, all screen time isn’t bad.

Key Takeaways

  • While school closures as a result of the pandemic were not ideal, the pandemic-induced closures led to children engaging with more educational technology (“ed tech”).

  • Though limiting screen time is important, not all media is the same, and strict limitations on educational media might be counterproductive. 

  • It’s important that parents and guardians engage in multi-platform content with their kids. Co-viewing supports literacy, math, and science learning as children will be able to converse about a variety of subjects. 

  • Exploring innovative ways to encourage learning at home through the use of technology is crucial as the world is moving towards a more digitized lifestyle. 

  • More intentional exposure to informational texts, either through actual print material or through shows like “Molly of Denali,” will be key in making up for learning loss in reading.

Redistricting Pt. 1 - What is it and How Does it Impact Local Education?

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In the wake of federal, state, and local redistricting efforts following the 2020 United States Census, political discourse around redrawing district lines tends to focus on the implications for hot-button issues like abortion rights and COVID-19 public health restrictions. A less discussed, but no less important, implication of redistricting is educational inequity. Redistricting that results in politically and racially unbalanced boundaries reinforces this country’s legacy of educational segregation and exacerbates other systemic societal harms.

Partisan and Racial Gerrymandering

Every ten years, the United States Census Bureau counts the country’s population by state. These counts are then used to determine the number of Congressional representatives allocated to each state. Given that there is a fixed number of representatives – 435 total seats in the House –  as populations grow and shift, so must congressional districts. Redistricting is the process of creating representational district maps for state and local communities and is completed based on data from the census count. Redistricting not only impacts how communities are represented, it affects how finite funds for public services are disbursed. 

There is no universal process for creating district maps. States utilize a variety of approaches in redistricting. Some states delegate the task to an independent voter commission while others leave it up to state legislators. Whereas many redistricting commissions are composed of nonpartisan citizens and advisors, when redistricting is assigned to state legislators, these legislators are incentivized to draw their own boundaries and essentially pick their own voters. Gerrymandering is the practice by parties in power to manipulate electoral boundaries to favor their own party, drawing districts to dilute the influence of voters who oppose them and increase the influence of their own voters. There are two types of gerrymandering: political and racial. 

  • Political gerrymandering is the drawing of electoral lines to favor one political party over another. In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts cannot decide challenges to political gerrymandering because it is inherently political rather than legal in nature. See Rucho v. Common Cause. This type of gerrymandering is considered to be non-justiciable in federal courts, because it has been deemed inappropriate for judicial deliberation or resolution.

  • Racial gerrymandering is the drawing of electoral lines to dilute the power of minority voters. In practice, this often looks like cramming minority voters into one district as opposed to a fair and competitive spread (“packing”), or splitting up neighborhoods by grouping small amounts of minority voters with enough white voters to dilute their influence (“cracking”). (See “What is racial gerrymandering?” on now.org.)

Gerrymandering of Educational Boundaries at the Local Level

At the local level, the redrawing of school districts tends to concentrate low-income students in underfunded and failing schools, magnifying educational inequities. Research shows, however, that school diversity has positive effects on achievement for all students. However, despite the potential and imperative to diversify schools, urban schools remain highly segregated. In most major urban centers, schools are funded with a baseline grant from the state in addition to a certain amount of funds derived from property taxes. States, and therefore gerrymandered legislative majorities, tend not to provide sufficient funding at a baseline to maintain educational standards without significant property tax revenue. Tight budgets often result in school closures, sending students from closed schools to other schools that are either far away from home, less diverse, or lower performing. In a Harvard study examining an unnamed major metropolitan school district, researchers observed that while merging several segregated schools would have solved capacity issues and increased racial and socioeconomic diversity, policymakers chose to redraw school zones. This rezoning moved many minority and low-income students from diverse, academically competitive feeder schools into lower-performing and highly segregated schools. Disinvestment in inner city schools then multiplies, as white middle class parents hesitate to send their children to schools they perceive as underfunded, depriving districts of tax revenue and parents with greater levels of political and social capital. Even pro-public school middle class white parents are discouraged from investing time and resources into neighborhood schools, given the appearance that diverse schools will always get the short end of the stick when dealing with districts and the state. Given that school districts fall under the purview of the state, and are often drawn along similar lines to political districts, gerrymandering directly impacts the assignment of students to schools as well as the allocation of funds to these schools. 

Missouri state Rep. Doug Richey (R) points out elements of a proposed congressional redistricting map to fellow lawmakers during House debate on May 9 in Jefferson City, Mo. (David A. Lieb/AP) - From Washington Post Article titled, “I was gerrymandered out of my Missouri district. Voters deserve real competition.”

Far from a simple political issue confined to statehouses, gerrymandering directly and indirectly impacts the quality of education children receive, acting through the mechanisms of funding, censorship, and school zones. Given that underprivileged communities, with less political capital and lacking the options to move or put their children in private school, are especially vulnerable to educational shortcomings, gerrymandering takes on tremendous importance in the fight for fair schools. While educational equity is a complex and multifaceted goal, ensuring fairly drawn districts is a huge step towards just representation at the state level. 

Learn more about the impacts of gerrymandering on the Brennan Center for Justice’s website.

Banned Books: "When books are threatened, where do we turn?"

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On March 29, 2022, Random House Publishing and PEN America brought together educators, librarians, activists, and journalists for a panel discussion concerning the recent spate of Republican-led attempts to ban certain books mostly written by and reflecting the experiences of BIPOC authors. The event, hosted by Dr. Emily Ross of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, kicked off with Central Texas librarian Becky Calzada sharing her perspective on her mission as a librarian, to share information with students and create lifelong learners through intellectual freedom. Connecting book bans to larger social justice fights, Missouri English teacher Chloe Telle recounted her belief that no issue is an island - the fact that books are being banned amidst larger cultural clashes over systemic racism and politicization of identities is no coincidence. Furthermore, Telle positioned the banning of books as the banning of authors’ “voices, experiences, and existences,” and those who attempt to censor these voices are upholding a very specific racialized vision of whose voices matter and should be uplifted. Wrapping up the introduction, co-founders Stephana Ferrell and Jen Cousins of Florida Right to Read shared their framing of the issue of banning books as an infringement of students’ rights to explore all types of books, beyond those deemed politically appropriate by the most conservative counties in the state. As public school parents themselves, Ferrell and Cousins have showed up to school board meetings across the state fighting for the rights of all Florida children to exercise their own intellectual freedom. 

The three panelists, journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, fiction author Nic Stone, and professor Ibram X. Kendi, began by sharing their initial reactions to their own books being banned at the state and federal levels. Stone recounted a certain sadness that her values and work were questioned, but felt that the ban reinforced the importance of her work to ensure that kids could see themselves on their shelves. Hannah-Jones found the reactions to her book both frightening, as banning books is blatantly undemocratic, but also a badge of honor, that she was capable of producing a work of writing that so threatened those in power that they tried to ban it. Kendi drew on his personal experience of not reading much in elementary school, musing that perhaps many young people don’t enjoy reading because they cannot access books that reflect their own experiences. 

In terms of the concrete impacts of banning books, Stone drew on the concept of collective liberation, arguing that nobody can be free to pursue happiness and freedom if others are not free to learn and explore from people that look like them and have similar life experiences. Children will be unprepared to enter the workforce, and the polity, and interact with folks from different backgrounds if they don’t read books that reflect these different experiences. Kendi added that books are crucial in the liberation of groups of people, and brought up the example of “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Spanish monk Bartolomé de las Casas, a condemning work recounting enslavement of Native Americans that spurred calls to end native slavery in Spain during the 16th century. Kendi argued that banning books can ban people from being liberated. Adding to Kendi’s point, Hannah-Jones asserted that the purpose of banning books indeed is to prevent people from being liberated, as narrative has the power to drive policy and thus threaten the ideological backbone of those in power.

When asked how we can fight back against book bans, Stone emphatically expressed her hope and faith in young people, and her personal experiences reflecting that young people are often much more open and willing to explore than their parents, who are often driving bans. Parents may not understand everything their children are exposed to, and it’s natural that there will be a gap between young people and their parents in attitudes and beliefs. Hannah-Jones believes that parents are much more receptive than politicians to open and honest discussions, and their concerns must be understood and respected in order to engage in dialogue. However, for politicians motivated by votes, there’s no way to have an authentic conversation, as their only skin in the game is electoral imperatives, rather than legitimate parental concern. She argues that children shouldn’t be protected from discomfort, as it’s essential for growth, and supporting teachers and librarians to better facilitate this discomfort and channel it into productivity ought to be a central goal for progressives. 

Going forward, all three authors predict additional attempts to limit the topics of education, especially in light of Florida’s just-passed “Don’t Say Gay” law. Hannah-Jones noted the success of the right running on educational censorship in the Virginia gubernatorial race, and asserted that the best way to fight back against these book bans is to counter-organize and create a cross-racial alliance to ensure America’s children are able to access an uncensored education drawing on the experiences of a wide variety of people. As Stone recounted, famed Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel observed that “memory of evil is the best shield against evil.” It is crucial for American children to have an accurate memory of the cruelties of American history and the ways in which these cruelties live on today, in order to become productive democratic citizens who can work to undo the lasting legacies of our past.

True Diversity Matters, on the High Court and Elsewhere

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PHOTO COURTESY OF AP

President Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson 

In a historic move, just before closing out Black History Month and right on time for Women’s History Month, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, which will become vacant early summer, at the end of the Court’s current term when Breyer retires. Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman to sit on the high court if confirmed, and her impressive credentials make her more than qualified. 

Jackson graduated from Harvard College in 1992 and from Harvard Law School in 1996. Jackson clerked for Justice Breyer in the 1999-2000 term, making her nomination to the Court at the time of his retirement a full circle moment. She went on to work as a public defender, at a private law firm, and for the U.S. Sentencing Commission before being nominated by President Barack Obama as a federal district judge in 2013. 

On Tuesday, March 1st, during his State of the Union address, the President spoke to the nation and the world about his decision to nominate Judge Jackson (he had promised to nominate a Black woman to the Court back on the campaign trail). Judge Jackson now starts a campaign of her own to win over the votes of at least 51 Senators on Capitol Hill. 

Where We Go From Here: True Diversity Matters

There are no hard and fast rules on who can sit on the Court - the Constitution does not spell out citizenship, educational, or even professional requirements. However, there are certainly unofficial guideposts used during the nomination and confirmation process. For instance, as of October 2020, there have been 115 Supreme Court Justices. All but 6 of these justices have been white men, majority of whom attended Ivy League institutions. Only 5 did not have any formal legal education. Given the Court’s history of only hosting those who conform to a certain Ivy-bred avatar, it’s as good a time as any to welcome some “new blood.” 

While it’s true that Judge Jackson’s profile checks off most of the unofficial “criteria of the court,” as a Black woman of parents who survived, and excelled, in the Jim Crow South, she brings qualities that differ immensely from Justices who have come before her. This is one step in the right direction. Also notable is her experience as a public defender, a unique addition to her fulsome resume. Justice Thurgood Marshall was the last to have such substantial experience within the criminal justice system. Having worked on behalf of the accused in a criminal justice capacity gives Jackson a remarkable perspective that will be useful to the Court.

We should pause to celebrate this historic moment. But, this moment should trigger an analysis of how true diversity is determined. In this age of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideals, we should be careful not to fall victim to diversity for diversity’s sake. Personal, professional, and educational diversity matters. When placing people in positions of power — whether it’s the Supreme Court, the superintendent of a school district, or even a classroom teacher — the whole person should be considered. Diversity of race, religion, class, and sexual orientation is needed in classrooms, in boardrooms, and all throughout the three branches of government. And arguably most important is diversity of thought and of life experience. 

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will not just satisfy an affirmative action of sorts for the Supreme Court. Her experience as a Black woman navigating life in America is special, and we will all be better for it.