Teaching
I Should Have Done More for My Undocumented Students, So Now I'm Showing Up for DACA
When I first heard the news that the Trump administration planned to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), my thoughts went immediately to my former students. I taught 11th and 12th...
Teaching
For This Chicago Public Schools Graduate, It's the Teachers Who Made the Difference
This morning, academics and civic leaders gathered in Chicago to dig in on research that shows Chicago’s public schools have done a remarkable job of increasing student achievement over time. We know...
Teaching
You Might Need to Check Your Assumptions on Teacher Turnover
Too often in education, policy wonks and researchers (like me) talk about an issue in ways that bear little resemblance to the way it plays out on the grounds for teachers and students. I was...
Teaching
If You're Thinking About Becoming a Principal, You Should Read This Letter
Dear Future Principal: As you slog your way through classes that will directly affect your future work as a principal, I need you to remember a few points even more important than your lessons. You...
California
My Undocumented Students Have Invested in Our Country. We Should Invest in Them.
At the end of my first year of teaching, Maria, one of my sixth-graders, wrote this to me: Before you, school just wasn’t my thing. But you showed me that hard work pays off! I went from wanting to...
Teaching
Being an Assistant Principal Has Taught Me a Lot About Leadership
I have crossed over to the “dark side.” I am now an assistant principal. Although I transitioned from a teacher leader to an assistant principal over two months ago, I made this decision back in...