The Gifted and Talented Debates Aren’t About Rigor, They’re About Access

An interesting, complicated, and rather polarizing trend is going around in American education, and it has to do with special admission schools and the designation…

How Public Schools Fail to Recognize Black Prodigies

Amid numerous articles about how Black students lag behind others in educational achievement, occasionally you may hear about a young Black “prodigy” who got accepted into college at an early…

New York Talks a Big Game on Gifted and Talented Educational Opportunities, But Illinois Is Doing Equity Better

Attacks against private school options are frequent and fervent, but what happens when public school opportunities become the point of confliction? You may have seen…

It Doesn’t Take a Miracle to Educate Kids of Color

Outrage: We’re Wasting Time Last week I went to my first Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. I came home empowered, inspired and motivated.…

What James Baldwin’s Activism Can Teach Schools About Social Justice

Every August 2, I spend nearly the entire day observing the birthday of the late James Baldwin, one of the 20th century’s most esteemed and…

Listen to Parents, Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

At the end of a long day, the last thing I’m looking for is a long and detailed email from a parent. Not that I…

The Racial Achievement Gap Can’t Be Fixed With a #BlackLivesMatter Sign in Your Yard

“How can I be sexist? I have a mother, a wife and daughters!” If you’re a woman reading that sentence, you almost certainly won’t have…

I Never Thought Gifted and Talented Kids Could Be At-Risk Too, Until My Son Said He Wanted to Drop Out of School

It’s almost the end of the summer and I realize that the professional development I have been in has been pretty fantastic, and pretty awful.…

I Thought I Suffered for Not Being Placed in ESL Classes, But I Was Wrong

At the age of 2, I left the United States to live in my parents’ native country, Guatemala. I completed my first two years of…

I Didn’t Have Dual-Language Classes When I Immigrated. Maybe That’s a Good Thing.

Earlier this year, I wrote about dual-language programs in New York City schools, and who really benefits from them. Is it the non-English speakers that Chancellor…