student achievement
Charter Schools Must Be Part of the Solution for Desegregation
America is more diverse than it’s ever been, as are the students attending public schools, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at individual schools. In fact, schools are the most segregated they’ve...
Teaching
When a Student Says, 'The President Is Going to Take My Parents Away'
In my fourth-grade classroom in Houston, Texas, the morning after Election Day 2016 was quiet. As students filed into the classroom, I asked them to make a circle on the rug to talk through the...
School Discipline
Your Fave Teaching Guru May Tell You What to Do, But What Do YOU Do Next?
If you’re a teacher, the world is awash with people who know how to do your job better than you. Just ask them. Or, better yet, don’t even worry about asking, because they’re going to show up and...
California
Do I Really Have to Defend Civil Rights Activists From the NAACP?
For months, I’ve struggled internally with blasting the NAACP for its stance on charter schools. To chastise an advocacy organization that has been instrumental in progressing equality for Black...
California
In Everything We Do, We Must Ask, 'How Are the Children?'
With so many pressing issues that threaten our planet, our elections, and our major institutions, why do I live and breathe education activism? For me the answer is simple. The education of America’s...
bias
No English Teacher Gets to Tell Me How to Understand Toni Morrison
This week, the entire nation is mourning the death of writer Toni Morrison. Book lovers of all races, ethnicities, genders and sexualities recognize the genius of her art. However, for Black women,...