It’s Time To Break the Discipline Cycle and Invest in Student Supports

While we continue to struggle to figure out how to educate students 12 months into the global pandemic, we cannot afford to lose sight of…

I Know What the Challenges Are for Black Teachers and How to Start Fixing Them

I will never forget the moment last year when a seventh-grade African American student came to my door and said, “Mr. Taylor, I just wanted…

Want to Build Anti-Racist Schools? Start With the Adults.

The past year has put an intense spotlight on the racism and inequities that plague American schools. It has also inspired leaders and educators to…

Don’t Buy Into the Hype Around Learning Loss

I get it: “learning loss” is scary. Considering the unprecedented overuse of the word “unprecedented” to describe what our nation’s K-12 education system has faced…

School Discipline Explained: Why It Harms Students of Color and How We Can Fix It

Over many decades, America’s disciplinary policies, from preschool to high school, have disproportionately affected marginalized students. This difference creates a “discipline gap.” Black students account…

The FCC Can Help End Digital Segregation Now by Expanding E-Rate

Exactly 60 years ago, James Baldwin wrote in Esquire magazine that “Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to…

Three Lessons We Learned Through This Pandemic in 2020

It’s easy to view remote learning through the lens of its deficits. After all, there’s really no substitute for the face-to-face rapport with an excellent…

Better Late Than Never, OUSD Commits to Housing on Unused Properties

In California, growing numbers of school districts are putting their vacant land and buildings to work to house vulnerable students and families. In November, Oakland…

Here’s Why ‘No Politics in the Classroom’ Isn’t Working for Marginalized Students

Which of the following is too political to be displayed in a public school teacher’s classroom? We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all…

How Low Will Standards Go for Underserved Parents? Oakland Families Are About to Find Out.

“My baby wants to go to Stanford,” an irate grandmother told me, “and this is what they give me.” She sent me a series of texts…