Poverty
Fix the Formula, Illinois. It’s Time.
Yesterday afternoon, my second-grader got her copy of the school yearbook. She flipped back to the kindergarten class photos. “Miss Maya’s class used to have three teachers,” she observed. Now it has...
Poverty
Illinois' Current School Funding Formula Is the Definition of Insanity. Here's How This Superintendent Says We Can Fix It.
Kimako Patterson is the superintendent of Prairie-Hills Elementary District 144. Prairie-Hills is a 2,600-student district in the south suburbs of Illinois where 95 percent of students are from...
Parents
What Do Baltimore Parents Want? Advanced Academics and Help Choosing Schools
When it comes to school choice, opportunity in theory isn’t enough. We must ensure that families have the know-how to exercise choice wisely and that students in every elementary school leave fully...
equity
Kids Might Be Addicted to Screens But Schools Aren't Helping Either
Recently my school’s counseling department organized a showing of the documentary “Screenagers” to all 450 of our middle school students. The film explores the negative impacts of children spending...
School Choice
Common Enrollment Is Just the First Step Toward High School Equity in Chicago
This week, the Chicago Board of Education voted to adopt a common enrollment process for high school admissions next year. This could be a great relief to the city’s eighth-graders and their families...
Parents
Is Politics the Problem in Education or the Solution?
Politics is at the heart of so much that is wrong with public education. On the left, education politics is often about increasing funding while evading responsibility for results. On the right, it’s...
