The Atlantic Shoots an Airball on Its Coverage of LeBron’s New School

I’m a fan of Atlantic writer Alia Wong and her stewardship of the magazine’s education coverage, even if it does seem to tilt against reform.…

The Right Is Distracting Us From Needed Gun Safety Laws by Creating a Myth About School Discipline

This is how myths are made. It typically starts with a view grounded in ideology. Then “research” is generated to support the view. Lastly, pundits…

It’s Non-Negotiable. We Have to Teach Social Justice in Our Schools.

In a recent article, J. Martin Rochester, a professor of political science at the University of St. Louis-Missouri, raised concerns about teaching social justice in…

Bad Schools Are Like Restaurants With Cockroaches, We Like Them Until We Discover the Cockroaches

When I sent my oldest child to school for the first time I wasn’t sure my wife and I had made the right choice. I…

Test Scores Are Important But I Wish Fordham Would Have Looked at What Else Matters to Parents and Community Members

One of the most important questions in education is: How will students and schools—district and chartered—be evaluated? While well intentioned, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s…

When Parents Don’t Trust School Vouchers, Community Advocates Can Lead Them to Tax-Credit Scholarships

On Lawrence Avenue in Chicago, sandwiched between a quesadilla restaurant and Helen’s Hair Design, sits a tiny, nondescript storefront. Inside, at Asian Youth Services (AYS), quiet…

Robert Pondiscio Is Creating a False Battle Over School Choice

Fordham Institute’s Robert Pondiscio is at it again, sowing discord in the education reform community by pitting public charter and school voucher supporters against each…

Charter Schools Are Working for Kids and Parents. Here’s How We Can Tell That Story.

There are various views about public school choice coming out of the 2016 election. Some choice advocates view the Trump administration as more committed to…

3 Reasons I’m Missing Teachers Union Legend Al Shanker Right About Now

Three recent experiences have served to remind me how much I miss—and how much the country and the cause of better education were diminished by…

Here’s the Trick to Becoming a Better Teacher on Your Own

As a high school English teacher, I was faced with a fundamental problem: Many of my kids weren’t actually reading the class material. Reading the…