Achievement Gap
Trying to Talk About the Achievement Gap? Try This.
Politics and education are two of my favorite subjects. It’s neat when I have an opportunity to combine them. I recently listened to a speech by Gloria Ladson-Billings that did just that. I recommend...
Achievement Gap
What Do We Actually Know About Discipline Reform?
Question: Which does more harm? Over-suspending disruptive kids, which denies them learning time and contributes to the dropout rate. Under-suspending disruptive kids, which undermines the education...
student achievement
Students and Teachers Sound the Alarm on the End of DACA
Time is running out for Congress to do something about DACA protections for undocumented immigrants. If they fail to act on a long-term fix for a program begun by former President Barack Obama, the...
Charter Schools
Is This Education Reform’s 'E Pluribus Unum' Moment?
Everyone trying to influence policy dreams of leading “an organized whole that acts as a single, unified, powerful or influential force.” Merriam-Webster’s dictionary will tell you that is the...
Poverty
If 12,000 Families Didn't Want School Choice, We Wouldn't Be Here
Every morning, I come to work thinking about our students. Not politics, or rhetoric, or the news. Just our students—all 12,000 of them. They come from every one of Chicago’s neighborhoods, as far...
Poverty
Helping Students With College Essays Shouldn’t Cost Parents an Arm and a Leg
Anyone who has worked in a school can tell you that students can be tonic for the soul. Without realizing they are doing it, they pull us out of ourselves—our lousy morning, a bad mood and even a...