I Almost Gave Up on My Dream of a College Degree But Now I’m Back at School

I wasn’t a typical high school student. Motivation was hard to maintain when much of my environment negatively affected me. So many obstacles and circumstances…

These Guys Aren’t Just Talking About It, They’re Recruiting and Keeping Male Educators of Color in the Classroom

Quick: Name all of the male educators of color you had growing up. Having trouble coming up with any? You’re not alone. Only 2 percent…

Ever Seen a Black Boy Superhero?

Dion Steele, principal of Urban Prep Academies’ Englewood campus, says he has “500 sons, and three daughters at home.” Urban Prep is the nation’s first…

I Have 770 Children. Okay, Not Really. But I Love My Students All the Same.

“Education among all kinds of men, always had, and always will have, an element of…revolution.” —W.E.B DuBois “The most revolutionary thing a Black man can…

I Was a Black Male Born Into Poverty, So I Wrote This Book to Help Others Like Me

As a Black male born into poverty and raised by a single father who was a high school dropout, I used to believe that my…

Meet the Chicago Senior With $1.6 Million in College Scholarships

I have been thinking about college since my elementary school days at Frazier Prep, a charter school on Chicago’s West Side, where every classroom is…

Highlighting Diversity in the Charter School Movement

There are a lot of myths about public charter schools, but one of the inescapable truths is that there is a growing cadre of educators…

I Don’t Want My Students to Do Well, I Expect It

Students often arrive in my classroom believing the outside world expects them to fail. Through TV and other media, my students are constantly bombarded with…

Here Are Some Must-Reads From Educators Who Are Changing the Conversation

Over the past week, 2017 National Teacher of the Year Sydney Chaffee has been in the media spotlight, sharing the recipe to her success with…

How Two Black Male Educators Made the Forbes 30 Under 30

Jason Terrell and Mario Jovan Shaw met through the 2012 Teach For America Corps and lived together as roommates. Frustrated with the lack of Black…