Dirk Tillotson
Blogger
Founder and Executive Director, Great School Choices
Oakland, California
Featured Blog: Great School Voices
RECENT POSTS
Posted Apr. 12, 2017
Teachers, You Never Know What Students Are Going Through Outside The Classroom
This guest post is by an anonymous, Oakland-based educator. One time my mom tried to kill me. She chased me…
Posted Mar. 24, 2017
Why I Feel Like ‘The Spook Who Sat by the Charter School Door’
I am the fly in the school reform buttermilk. An outsider, now marginally on the inside, trying to plot the…
Posted Jan. 20, 2017
What The Atlantic Got Wrong About Charter Schools and Segregation
George Joseph’s article, What Betsy DeVos Didn’t Say About School Choice, claims that charter schools “have pushed more low-income, minority…
Posted Jan. 11, 2017
Don’t Talk to Me About ‘Privatization,’ Because Your ‘Public’ School Is Hardly Public
In Oakland, one of the highest achieving schools in the city is Hillcrest Elementary. It’s a “public” school that is…
Posted Dec. 16, 2016
It’s Never Been Harder to Be a Teacher and That’s Why We Need to Train Them Better
Teacher training in the U.S. has been a crapshoot. Because when you’re hiring first year teachers, sometimes you say “crap”…
Posted Dec. 6, 2016
Oakland’s Kids Will Continue to Benefit From the Legacy of Superintendent Antwan Wilson
Late last month, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Superintendent Antwan Wilson was nominated to become the new school chief of D.C. Public Schools.…
Posted Nov. 29, 2016
This Can Be the Biggest Change We See With More Unionized Charters: Getting Everyone Focused on Quality and Equity
Charters and unions are often seen as diametrically opposed. This isn’t really an accurate history.…
Posted Oct. 14, 2016
A Message to the NAACP on the Eve of Its Charter Vote: Black Families Want More School Choices
Black families support charter schools. That’s clear from a number of recent surveys on school choice. In the 2016 Education Next…
Posted Sep. 8, 2016
Here’s Why I and Other Black Families Support Charter Schools
Most Black families support charter schools. It’s not because we’ve been duped, or that we’re “privatizers.” It’s because many of us…
Posted June 27, 2016
2 Rules to Explain Why Expulsion Hearings Will Always Be Biased Against Black Boys
Four hours in an expulsion hearing gives you time to think. And afterwards, you are wrapped tight. So it takes…
