We Cannot Allow Reopening Schools to Be a Political Issue

After four years of being a largely forgotten policy area, PK-12 education suddenly became a national priority last week. Under ordinary circumstances, this should be…

I Am a Teacher. Here’s What Scares Me Most About COVID-19

I’m afraid of COVID-19. So are you. And so is everyone else. Fear is the only rational response given the current pandemic. Yet fear can…

5 Ways School Leaders Can Respond to the Challenges Ahead and Open Stronger

There is no doubt educators are exhausted from a trial-by-fire school year. As a virulent pathogen spread, we were forced to abandon brick and mortar…

Pandemic or Not, Students Need Great Content Paired With Strong Teaching

When teachers welcomed their students on the first day of school last September, they never imagined ending the year on Zoom. Now, as the new…

Award-Winning Teachers Demand 4 Anti-Racist Policies to Ensure Schools Are a Place of Liberation

As educators, and also as community members, parents, and learners, the undersigned 2018 Teachers of the Year, rise in solidarity with Black Lives Matter against…

Black Lives Don’t Matter to Trump and DeVos. That’s Why They’re in a Hurry to Send Our Kids Back to School.

A few weeks ago, I watched my good friend’s nephew jump and tussle around on a trampoline with his friends at his eighth birthday party.…

Let’s Focus on Our Students’ Health and Humanity, Not on ‘Getting Back to Normal’

I almost forgot we were stuck at home. My daughter’s pre-K class was on a field trip to the zoo through a Zoom meeting and…

City Year Offers Schools a Research-Backed Guide to Plan for Next Year

When our students return to school this fall, it won’t be “business as usual” for them—or for any of us. Student success—particularly during this disruptive…

Donald Trump Will Never Give Us the Smart, Nuanced Conversation We Need About Going Back to School

As COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the end of the 2019-2020 school year, parents and politicians nationwide sang the praises of teachers across the country—and it…

Schools Are Essential, So Let’s Reopen the Right Way This Fall

This afternoon, President Donald Trump said, “We want to get our schools open. We want to get them open, quickly, beautifully in the fall.” I…