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…

This Transgender Awareness Week, Let’s Create Change, One School District at a Time

As the parent of a transgender child, I’m really not surprised by the Department of Health and Human Services’ recently leaked memo. This attempt to…

I Never Thought I Would See the Day I Defend Donald Trump But Here We Are

I stood up for the Trump guy. Life has a way of serving up some very surreal moments. Imagine, if you will, that you are…

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Most Effective Cabinet Member? The Answer May Frighten You.

Two winters ago, Kaitlyn Kirk, one of my premier students, came into the library with her eyes glued to her phone. Headphones in, she sat…

I’m Doing the Patriotic Thing and Telling My Sons to Never Act Like Their President

Of all the innumerable ways in which I am disgusted by our president, perhaps none is more infuriating and nauseating than his bullying strongman swagger;…

Instead of Bashing Trump, Here’s the Conversation You Should Have With Your Students

Kids are angry at Donald Trump and the state of politics in America. And they have every right to be. Our president bullies his critics,…

There Are Charter Schools Run By the Community and For the Community

Three decades since the passage of the first charter school law, this movement of extreme promise has fallen out of favor with many of its…

Florida’s Poorest Students Are Among the Nation’s Highest Achieving, So Why Won’t DeVos Approve Their State Plan?

It looks like the feds are having a hard time figuring out what to do with Florida. After California and Utah’s education plans were approved…

Why the Trump Administration Doesn’t Give a Damn About Educating Poor People

I’ll refrain from talking about how the White House has morphed into a reality show for the world to see, thanks to the United States…

I’ll Celebrate the Fourth. Not for Who We Are. But for Who We Can Be.

I’ve never been the flag waving type. Patriotism, to me, was just one step down the road from nationalism, and my European-Jewish heritage knew enough…