When We Talk to Our Students, Let’s Focus Less on ‘Learning Loss’ and More on Their Learning Leaps

In the winter and spring of 2021, as the year of remote and hybrid learning continued, I started to notice a drop in attendance, particularly…

EXPLAINED: What Are Standardized Tests and Why Do We Need Them?

Few education topics get parents, teachers, and school leaders more riled up than discussions about using results from student tests to measure the quality of…

What School Leaders Do Has a Major Impact on Educational Outcomes

If our goal is to accelerate learning for those most impacted by the pandemic, we must make the most of the time that we have.…

The Rush to Reopen Schools Comes at a Price for Marginalized Students

The growing demand to reopen schools echoes across the country, supported by billions of dollars in federal funds to help schools “build back better.” States…

As Schools Reopen, High-Quality Tutoring Programs Will Make a Difference for Kids in the Early Grades

As we turn the corner on COVID-19, we must help our kids recover from the terrible disruptions caused by the pandemic. There are lots of…

No, You Should Not Be Teaching Black Children if You Reject Anti-Racism

There would be no lynching if it did not start in the schoolroom. Dr. Carter G. Woodson The news has been full of parents, school…

EXPLAINED: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and How It Shows Up in Your Child’s Classroom

What is critical race theory? Critical race theory (sometimes abbreviated to CRT) is an intellectual approach to looking at U.S. society with a belief that racism…

EXPLAINED: The American Rescue Plan Gives a Huge Boost to School Funding

What is the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021? You may have heard it as the “second big COVID stimulus,” but the actual name is…

We Learned a Lot About What Our Students Actually Need This Year. Now We Must Do Better.

We have all been steeped in the vivid, traumatic consequences of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with regard to a year of disrupted learning for…

To the People Pushing Back on Culturally Responsive Teaching During Black History Month

A war has been waging in my home state of Illinois, and the battle lines have been drawn. In one corner of the ring—the “uber…