A Calendar, a Plan and Friends Can Make Unexpected School Closures Rewarding and Productive for Your Kids

Although only a handful of schools and districts have so far closed in the U.S. due to COVID-19, other countries—like Ireland and El Salvador—have closed their entire national school systems in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. If more states and districts here take that step, how can parents manage?…

Two Years Since Marjory Stoneman Douglas and State Legislatures Are Still Trying to Arm Teachers

It’s been just over two years since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and I struggle to find an appropriate word to describe…

Fellow Black Parents, It’s Time to Break the Silence About Our Kids With Disabilities

My mom and society have taught me that it is rude to offer advice when no one asks for it. But Black folks aren’t talking about…

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…

Instead of Attacking Charter Schools, How About Y’all Work to Improve Traditional Schools?

It’s silent but deadly—and I’m not talking about heart disease. I’m talking about this assault on charter schools that has flown under the radar, is…

Coffee Break: Why Ramon Griffin Left Law to Change School Discipline

As a youth in Ford Heights, Illinois, Ramon Griffin grew up asking hard questions. Why did his ZIP code have so many schools on the…

First Day Jitters? Teachers Get Them Too!

As I embark on my 15th year in public education, I’m baffled that it still happens to me. After all, this is my 15th “first…

Illinois Has Fixed Its School Funding Formula, But That Didn’t Help My Student

Kylie, now an eighth-grader, came to our school in second grade. In her six years with us, she came to think of our school as…

I’m Teaching My Students How to Read and Think Beyond the Headline

We’ve all been there. A tempting headline, a picture too startling to keep our fingers at rest. We skim through the article. We write a…

Even in Death, Black and Brown Students Are Dehumanized

In my second year of teaching, I had a notorious student we’ll call Israel. After the first day of class, we sat down and discussed…