Dr. Stacey Schmidt

I'm not sure we needed Punxsutawney Phil yesterday to see his shadow and tell us that we were in for six more weeks of winter. (This was also confirmed by Wiarton Willie--although Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam disagrees!) The only comfort is that...

Have you ever "Googled" yourself to see what results pop up first in the search engine? As an employer have you ever "Googled" and applicant? In August I encountered an awesome speaker, George Couros, who was working with a group of educational...

As you know, I've recently re-read the book Mindset by Carol Dweck. As I was reading the book I was really revisiting things that parents and teachers/educators can do to help build children's growth mindsets. Here are some great ideas that the...

Don't Graduate Early, Earn Dual Credits! This past week I spent time at Ivy Tech in Valparaiso with Aco Sikoski, who is their Vice Chancellor. I was able to tour the campus and learn more about how we can increase dual credit opportunities for PTSC...

The timeless debate of nature vs. nurture is alive and well and takes on many different faces. I remember sitting in some of my educational leadership classes debating if leaders are born or created. (I don't like either/or questions--I think it's a...

The Indiana Department of Education has released letter grades for the 2012-2013 school year. We are pleased to report the following grades: Porter Township School Corporation: A (increased from a B in 2011-2012) Boone Grove High School: A (increased...

I grew up with my parents instilling in me the belief that whatever I put my mind to I could achieve. That belief coupled with the high expectations my parents had has served me well. Along with believing in me they also supported me in my interests...

Welcome to the new home of the Porter Township Schools Weekly Updates! I will continue to publish the same type of content each week, but will use a format that is easier for me to distribute to PTSC families and also our community. I hope you will...

We all want to be winners, don't we? We want to achieve to our full potential and do great things. I've been reading about motivation and engagement lately, specifically trying to find the key to unlocking both in students. (My Twitter theme...

Last week I was invited to participate in my first ever Twitter Chat. (Learn more about their regular chats here!) It was about blogging which was ironic since I hadn't posted in a couple of weeks, but I thought it was a good opportunity since I'd...