We All Must Call Out Inequitable Grading Practices

Chicago students demonstrated extraordinary character and resilience during the pandemic crisis transitioning from traditional classroom learning experiences to remote learning practically overnight. Yet, resilience was…

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…

White Progressives Have a Lot of Work to Do, and I’m Not Here to Help

When I ran for school board it was the former Minneapolis mayor who was the first elected official to endorse me. She asked me a…

Parents, It’s Way Past Time to Break Up With Traditional Education and School Funding

This pandemic is an opportunity to change not only how we educate children, but how we fund that education. Right now, school and district leaders…

Here’s Why This Year’s AP Exams Never Should Have Happened

High school students are graduating into an uncertain world. As a high school physics teacher in Boston Public Schools (BPS), I have seen the many…

From West Philly to the Jersey Suburbs, We Can All Take Steps to Change the World

I remember my years at The University of Vermont (UVM) in the early 2000s as days of idealism—passionate people driven with passionate resolve to change…

Educators, Don’t Be Loud in the Streets, But Silent in the Schools

Amid the horror and sadness of the murder of unarmed Black people at the hands of police officers, we are seeing the coming together of…

Our Students Have Strong Emotions Right Now, And That’s Not a Disability

When a local newspaper featured a picture of one of our students at a peaceful protest against police brutality, the staff at the small special…

America Has to Take Its Knees Off the Neck of Public Education, Too

By now, the image of George Floyd pinned to the ground with the knees of a murderous cop who the public trusted to serve and…

ZIP Code May Not Be Destiny, But It’s as Hard to Fight as Gravity

One Saturday I was picking my daughter up from a birthday party at one of those modern-day upscale arcades, and I was surprised to run…