If You Want Justice, Teach Kids How to Read

In 1990, I was a brand-new teacher in an unusual environment: a Chicago alternative high school where teens and young adults could earn their diplomas…

James Baldwin’s ‘Talk to Teachers’ Is Just as Relevant Today

As I sit here, processing my thoughts on the severity of events that are currently grappling our nation, I reflect on the historical circumstances that…

I Believe in School Choice, But Only When Those Choices Are Available to Everyone

Two weeks ago, the governor of my state directed $32 million dollars in funds from the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund to create…

Parents Are Rebuilding School, And Systems Must Follow Their Lead to Create Equity

As we prepare to send our children back to school in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis—a unique and terrible event I hope we never…

White Teachers, Our Whiteness Is Getting in Our Way

Since the murder of George Floyd, teacher leaders across America have sought to prove the necessity of antiracism in public education. And rightly so: from…

Let’s Tap Afterschool to Create Pandemic Pods for All Kids

These are scary times. I’m navigating an elderly mom afraid to leave her house, two socially isolated kids struggling to learn on their own, and…

Why It’s Time to Raise Hell About Reopening Schools

This week, teachers all over the country are holding demonstrations protesting plans to re-open schools for in-person learning. Obviously, there’s heated debate everywhere about how…

Some Kids Need a Brick and Mortar School. I Know Because I Was One of Them.

The most terrifying and dangerous experiences I had as a child were at home. I am not alone. My mother battled demons and heard voices,…

Districts Should Partner With Experienced Online Learning Providers and Save Us From a Train Wreck of a School Year

Last March, when so much of our lives moved from in-person work and learning to digital spaces, one group of students and teachers experienced continuity:…

Today Should Have Been Our First Day of School

For 14 years I have taught math at the same high school. The entirety of my career—three thousand students, eighty classes, 13 preps, five rooms,…