Achievement Gap
While We're Stuck On Blackface, Black Faces Continue to Suffer in a Racist School System
Yeah, I said it. All week, on social media and news outlets, there’s been coverage of Virginia’s Governor, Ralph Northam, denying claims of wearing blackface in the ’80s and refusing to resign over...
Diversity
Forget the School-to-Prison Pipeline, For White Boys It's the School-to-Politics Pipeline
Tonight, President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. Like many other U.S. citizens, I see our current president as deeply flawed, lacking in empathy, racist and unable to take...
Diversity
We Cannot Go Another Month Without Teachers Knowing Black History
In just the past several weeks, school systems across the United States have, at last, taken the steps to elevate critical lessons from African-American history for our nation’s students. On January...
Teaching
I’m a Black Gay Man, and Supporting LGBTQ+ Kids Is Important to Me
Brian Coleman, who heads the counseling department at Jones College Prep, has been named the 2019 National School Counselor of the Year. This is the second year in a row that a Chicago Public Schools...
student achievement
I'm Showing My Students a Scientist Doesn't Have to Be a White Guy in a Lab Coat
When I was a young girl, everyone in my life told me I should be a lawyer, because I challenged their statements, asked clarifying questions and debated their claims. Perhaps surprisingly, I now...
Poverty
A Psychology Professor Explains How Racial Trauma Impacts Students of Color
Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi has been thinking about and studying children’s mental health since she was a child herself. I recently talked to her about the racial trauma students of color experience in...