As the U.S. Department of Education Turns 40, the Real Battleground for Kids Lies in the States

This week marks the 40th anniversary of President Jimmy Carter signing the legislation that authorized him to create the U.S. Department of Education (ED). In…

We Can’t Fight This Education Battle If Our Trauma Beats Us Before We Beat the System

Last night during the Education Leaders of Color (EdLoc) Convening, an itty bitty lady from Puerto Rico with a powerful voice and massive mission was…

Afi Tagnedji’s Making Sure Students’ Voices Are Heard in the Equity Conversation

Everyone is talking about how schools should care about equity for their students, but that can’t be the whole conversation. Equity has to mean more…

I Shouldn’t Have to Go to a Conference of Black Male Educators to Realize How Essential They Are for Our Schools

For the first time in my life, I found myself in a room of hundreds of people, and there was only a handful of White…

Episode 04: #TeachtheBabies (ft. David Johns and Dr. John King)

We finally got to sit down with David Johns and John B. King Jr. at The Inaugural National Black Male Educators Convening in Philly last month, hosted…

Don’t Like ‘Take a Knee’? Take a Civics Class.

For the past month the news has been filled with a seemingly endless stream of topics that have sparked controversy and unrest in our nation,…

Don’t Get Angry, Get Eva

Somehow, while managing a sprawling network of public charter schools serving 15,000 children, engaging in the day-to-day political combat of New York, and raising three…

Restorative Justice Practices in Schools Are Good for the Body, Mind and Soul

If you ever wanted a crash course on school-based restorative justice practices, then I urge you to watch this panel. I recently attended the “Re-Thinking Discipline:…

Betsy DeVos Says Discrimination Isn’t Her Problem. And She’s Dead Wrong.

Give Education Secretary Betsy DeVos points for ideological consistency. In a budget hearing yesterday, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) pressed DeVos on whether her plan for…

Race, Reform and the Firestorm: Reflections on Our Progress a Year Later

One year ago, I excused myself from dinner with friends and returned to my hotel room to blog about my awe-inspiring experience at the NewSchools…