What It’s Like to Attend School in Rural America

On a rainy day in May of 2018, I toured a public school in northern Pennsylvania. Most of the students were eligible for free lunch.…

I’m Not Willing to Trade Fixing Income Inequality for Better Schools. We Need to Do Both.

I don’t know about y’all but I get tired of seeing annual reports basically saying the same thing: Black people in America are suffering. Like…

Better Schools Have a Place in Creating a More Equitable America

As someone who spent the first portion of his career deep in the “education reform” movement, I wasn’t surprised when Nick Hanauer’s Atlantic article, “Better…

Being a School Principal and a Parent of a Special Needs Child Took Me Under, But I’m Coming Back

For five years, I was principal of one of the most difficult schools in my urban district. In those five years, I had eight supervisors.…

This Thanksgiving I’m Thankful for All the Education Advocates Who Make Doing This Work Just a Little Bit Easier

Outrage: Distractions Y’all, I’m irritated. The internet stays failing us and we believe almost everything we see and hear without doing our own research. Over…

How Kentucky’s Superintendent of the Year Got Autonomous Schools to Adopt the Same Curriculum

Understanding that the content we put in front of children matters, 50CAN, a nonprofit network of citizen advocates, recently held a session on the importance…

Philadelphia’s Great Unless You’re a Sick Student at a School Filled With Asbestos and Lead

Philadelphia’s on the rise! The Eagles won the Super Bowl. Michelle Obama led an all star cast of celebrities to celebrate thousands of graduating high…

Is Integration Your Silver Bullet? Time to Get Real.

Hey, guess what? That whole school reform thing? They’ve figured it out. That’s right, it turns out all students can achieve, excel academically and grow…

7 Things I Think Every Principal Should Know

Education is the one thing that cannot be taken away from you and is the key to success. This is my 12th year as a…

What Teachers Can and Can’t Learn from ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Author J.D. Vance

In his provocative memoir “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” author J.D. Vance describes his childhood upbringing in Middletown, Ohio.…