student achievement
My School's Dual Language Immersion Program Helps Immigrant Students Blossom Into Leaders
It’s the first week of the 2018-19 year in my second grade classroom at Munger Mountain Elementary School, and one girl sits apart from the rest of the class. For privacy, let’s call her Rosa (not...
Teaching
Not to Be a Buzzkill, But Teachers Need a Reminder to Be Nice to Their Students
I couldn’t sleep the other night and found myself doing what any reasonable person would do: I turned to Twitter. There was the usual: President Trump had insulted someone again, Congress was arguing...
Charter Schools
Coffee Break: Why Ramon Griffin Left Law to Change School Discipline
As a youth in Ford Heights, Illinois, Ramon Griffin grew up asking hard questions. Why did his ZIP code have so many schools on the academic watch list? Why did his community have so few resources,...
Charter Schools
Classroom Jobs Let Students Take Control of Their Own Learning
Is there anyone happier than a 6-year-old who has been entrusted with an important task? Kiddos, in my experience, like almost nothing better than to be taken seriously. They’re smart and capable and...
Teaching
First Day Jitters? Teachers Get Them Too!
As I embark on my 15th year in public education, I’m baffled that it still happens to me. After all, this is my 15th “first day”! I have my first-day handouts copied and I’ve spent the last two weeks...
bias
The Suffragettes Were Not Allies to Black Women, They Were Racist
This week America celebrated the 99th anniversary of the 19th Amendment's passage, which granted women the right to vote. However, like much of American history, the words in our Constitution don’t...