The Epidemic We’re Not Talking About: Most High School Seniors Can’t Read or Do Math

The National Assessment for Education Progress (NAEP)—nicknamed “America’s Report Card”—released their 12th grade scores at the end of October.  The horrifying results: Just 37% of 12th-graders reached or…

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,…

You Can’t Have Quality Educational Opportunities and Cap School Choice

I’ll just come out and say it: You can’t be for expanding access to quality educational opportunities and be in favor of capping charter schools.…

DeVos Will Recommend the Removal of Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color

Any day now we’re going to hear the news that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration are removing guidance meant to reduce…

Why Is It So Hard for Baby Boomers to Volunteer at Our Local Schools?

“We urge more of our fellow New Yorkers to impact the lives of others through service.”—New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Leaders across the…

Just Imagine Being a Parent at This School Where Your Kid Was Stabbed to Death

I write from a place of privilege today. I have never once worried about the safety of my three children at school. The victim of…

Could This Teacher and Leadership Program Be Part of the ‘Secret Sauce’ for Chicago Schools?

In most urban school districts, “turnaround” is a dirty word. Turnaround schools are first identified as failing and left to languish for some time in…

Don’t Get Angry, Get Eva

Somehow, while managing a sprawling network of public charter schools serving 15,000 children, engaging in the day-to-day political combat of New York, and raising three…

Suspension Is No Longer the Only Tool Educators Have to Address Discipline Problems

A student yells at a teacher, engages in an altercation with a peer or is continually late to class. For decades, under a zero-tolerance framework,…

It’s Hard to See the Progress in Bill de Blasio’s School Reforms Because There’s Been None

In January 2013, just before Bill de Blasio was sworn in for his first term as New York City’s mayor, a reporter asked him what…