Fixing School Discipline Policies Requires Listening and Looking at the Data

Research tells us that despite past efforts of educators and education advocates, Black and Latinx students are still consistently suspended at disproportionate rates. As districts…

To Defeat Implicit Bias, Try Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning is a very powerful practice for accelerating important learning for Black, Brown, and low-income kids. It provides “voice and choice” for the students…

My Student Turned His Life Around Thanks to Hands-On Learning

When I first met Oscar, a junior at Health & Science High School in Beaverton, Oregon, he was an extremely disengaged, cynical young man. He…

My Science Teacher Told Me I Wasn’t Going to College. Good Thing I Didn’t Believe Him.

I grew up in East San Jose, where I attended our local traditional public schools. In elementary school, I received many awards for my academic…

College Credit in High School Is Great, But Where Are the Classes About My Latina History?

As a first-generation college student, I jumped at the opportunity to take college classes while in high school. As a result, I was able to…

That’s Right, I’m on the Roland Martin Bandwagon

Outrage: Access Still Denied Last week, my mentor and sister in the struggle, Kenya Bradshaw, dropped a gem at the LEAP InnovatEd Summit that really…

Betsy DeVos on the Verge of Removing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color

Let’s just call her Betsy DeVoid. Our secretary of education earns a name-change because of her predilection for voiding guidance that protects our most disenfranchised…

8 Million Stories Is Here to End the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Our Black boys aren’t served by the education system. Period. So many of them are sent right into the correctional industry. But that could be…

54 Years Since the Civil Rights Act and Schools Still Haven’t Figured Out How to Serve Students of Color

A basic right like education can sometimes feel more like a privilege than a constitutional promise. In the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case,…

I’m Proud to Be First-Gen, But There’s a Lot More to Me Than Just That

I am proud to be the first in my family to have gone to college. However, that is not all I am. I am the…