Stories

COVID-19

Hey Principals, Y’all Alright?

How many of you have asked the question, “How are principals doing during this time?” Since March of 2020, when our education system was turned upside down, I have not heard many asking principals...

activism

Education Activist Dirk Tillotson Was as Real as They Come

Last Friday, October 1, Oakland education activist Dirk Tillotson was murdered in his home. He was as real as they come, self-described as the “patron saint of lost causes.” His death is a massive...

student achievement

The System Failed Me

I was always a good student — I did very well academically. Every nine weeks, we had these standardized tests for the state. I would always place in “advanced” — I would only miss two or three...

COVID-19

America’s Rural Schools May Not Be Tragic, but They Have Known Tragedy

Maybe this is the turning point. Education advocacy is exhausting — particularly in rural communities like mine, where our opportunities are limited and our challenges are unique. A myriad of...

IEP

Families Can't Afford for Schools to Continue to Treat Students With Disabilities Like an Afterthought

Every single thing we do is challenging. My kids are being forgotten. That’s Keri Akkawi, a Philadelphia mom of two boys with Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic mutation that can cause multiple...

There's No Excuse for Not Teaching Critical Thinking

It was an engineer at Lockheed Skunkworks who coined the design principal of “Keep it simple, stupid.” His belief that complexity should be avoided, and that simplicity should always be the goal, has...