Diversity
What White Educators Can Do to Create Space for More Black Teachers
Last year, several of my talented, dedicated colleagues of color announced they were leaving our school, and the news hit some students hard. “Black teachers are so rare to find,” one Black student,...
Achievement Gap
Just Give Me the Facts, Don't Tell Me Where My Child Should Go to School
Hard decisions are not new to me, but in the past seven years, decisions about where to send my daughter for elementary and middle school have been among my hardest. I knew the school community I...
Achievement Gap
Does Standardized Testing Help Students?
Every state uses standardized tests to find out how students in public schools are doing. Federal law requires it. But why? And how do standardized tests actually help students? The short answer:...
California
I Graduated College So I Could Teach at My High School
At the end of my junior year, I was expecting my daughter Alyssa, who was born right before my senior year started. It was a time of struggle. Ever since third grade, my dream had been to attend the...
Teaching
His Hometown in Mexico Had No School. Now He's Inspiring the Next Generation of Latino Educators.
This profile of teacher Manuel Mendoza was written for Honored by Steve Padilla of the Los Angeles Times. Each month, Honored recognizes a impactful teacher who is changing students’ lives, seeking...
Diversity
Why Are White People So Afraid of Immigrant Kids?
Not long ago I was in Wilmington, Delaware— reporting another story—and I visited Academia Antonia Alonso, a two-way dual immersion charter school where over half the students are English-language...