Black Principals Matter

As we embark on Black History Month, it is important to illuminate the salience of high-quality leaders of color in schools across the country. Nationwide,…

Here’s How We Got Educating Black Kids Wrong Again in the 2010s

WHAT WE GOT WRONG: Congratulations, America! You’ve once again managed to provide the shittiest public education for Black students and families. So as we close out this decade and enter a new year, I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting some of these moments, policies and practices that have upheld your deep-rooted oppression!…

These Are the Students Who Inspired Us This Decade

WHAT WE GOT RIGHT: With the end of the year fast approaching—and with it the closing of a decade—it is the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on some of the stories we’ve had the privilege of sharing and amplifying over the years.…

The Biggest Threat to Public Education Is Still Its Insidious ‘Belief Gap’

For a long time school reform seemed to be winning the public argument about the failure of schools to prepare students academically. During that run,…

How This Music Program Is Helping Incarcerated Youth Tell Their Stories

More than 60,000 young people are incarcerated in secure facilities, residences and group homes, learning in alternative education settings designed to keep them in school…

If the College Board Is Going to Withhold Student SAT Scores, They Need to Hand Over Some Receipts

The College Board recently announced it will launch a new tool, an “adversity index,” which will help college admissions officers evaluate an applicant’s SAT score…

To Defeat Implicit Bias, Try Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning is a very powerful practice for accelerating important learning for Black, Brown, and low-income kids. It provides “voice and choice” for the students…

Dear White People: When it Comes to Educational Equity, You’ll Have to Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

Is the public school system rooted in White supremacy culture? Damn right it is. And This brings me to question why teachers in New York…

The Discomfort of White Adults Should Never Take Priority Over the Success of Our Black and Brown Students

“I didn’t come here to teach those kinds of kids.” It’s alarming to think that adults charged with helping students of color succeed in school…

When I Walk Into a School I See Kids Who Remind Me of Myself, Waiting for an Opportunity

Recently I have been thinking about what it means to be in the “education reform” space and reflecting on how I got here. Many of…