Skylar L. Primm
Project- & Place-Based Educator /
Teacher Leader
Cultivating students' power,
nurturing students' joy,
celebrating students' humanity.
About Me
Who am I?
What do I do?
I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and live in Madison, Wisconsin.I teach math, science, and a little bit of everything else as Lead Teacher at Koshkonong Trails School in the School District of Cambridge. Prior to that, I taught for 11 years at High Marq Environmental Charter School in Montello.I am also a Wisconsin ambassador for the Teacher-Powered Schools Network.I research, write, reflect, and grow with the Greater Madison Writing Project and facilitate with Rise Up & Write.I have served on the boards for the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education and the Human Restoration Project.I was a 2017 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellow and the 2021 Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education Formal Educator of the Year.I sometimes write about my teaching for McGraw Hill's Inspired Ideas blog.I take photos (mostly nature, often lichens) for fun.
Writing
A selection of my writings on teaching.
McGraw Hill Inspired Ideas
Students Are Always Listening. Our Words Make a Difference. (April 2024)My Year of Both/And (May 2023)New Year, New School, Same Me (August 2022)Maintaining My Energy by Focusing on the Students (May 2022)Cultivating Empathy Through Phenology, part of the "Empathy Changes Everything" Virtual Care Package (February 2022)Restorative Justice in the Classroom (June 2021)Reflections on Teaching in the Year of COVID: Hearing Every Student's Voice (May 2021)Social-Emotional Explorations in the Outdoors (April 2021)Focusing on My Circles of Concern (November 2020)Teaching During Coronavirus Has Filled Me with More Purpose Than Ever (August 2020)Finding Comfort in the Rhythms of Nature (April 2020)Why Teaching Outside Builds an Ecosystem of Community and Collaboration (November 2019)
Greater Madison Writing Project Blog
With Love, Mr. Primm (February 2023)Growing Hope on the School Farm (December 2022)Nurturing Hope in New Places (August 2022)My Math Equity Project āStorientationā (July 2020)Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. (July 2020)So Long, and Thanks for All the TIWI (May 2020)Seasons of Change, Deferred (May 2020)Humanizing the End of the Semester (April 2020)Dear GMWPā¦ (April 2020)Whereās the humanity in standardized testing? (January 2020)Finding Humanity in Studentsā Stories (December 2019)āNormal does not exist.ā (November 2019)Focusing in on Humane Assessment (September 2019)Rise Up & Transform Lives (August 2019)My Studentsā Thoughts on a Year Without Rubrics (July 2019)Looking Back on a Year Without Rubrics (June 2019)On Pivoting (May 2019)Swirling in the Polar Vortex (March 2019)Iām just gonna stop using rubrics. (December 2018)How do you assess that? (November 2018)āIt sounds like a nice version of ātest,ā which I hate.ā (October 2018)My Assessment Autobiography (August 2018)Set Them Up and Get Out of the Way (August 2018)On Driving Bus & Paying Attention to Kids (May 2017)The Simple Pleasure of Taking Kids Outside to Write (March 2017)
Additional Writing
BRIGHT MagazineMeet the School Where Students Call the Shots (October 2015)FIELD EdventuresFIELD Corps at High Marq (December 2020)Green Schools National Network BlogParent Engagement Fuels High Marq Public Presentation Nights (February 2020)Capstone Projects Provide Stability in a Tumultuous School Year (July 2019)Green Schools National Network Catalyst QuarterlyCreating a More Sustainable Future (September 2017)Natural Resources Foundation of WisconsinSnapshot Wisconsin Brings Wildlife to the Classroom (April 2021)Teachers Going Gradeless (TGĀ²)Beyond the Classroom: Developing leadership and community through outdoor learning (June 2019)Teacher Researcher VoiceāHow is this math?ā A Story of the 2020-21 Math Equity Project (June 2021)Wisconsin Natural Resources MagazineLearning Rooted In Place (with Kim Wahl) (April 2017)