Effective Early Education Requires Effective and Empowered Early Educators

Effective early childhood education paves the way for school success and better life chances. This is a well-researched fact. Yet, a high percentage of young…

I’m a Cambodian Kid From Compton and Because of My Mom, I Graduated From College

As a young man growing up on the East Side of Compton, California, I never quite understood my place in my community or society. I…

Why We’ve Got to Talk About Race If We Want to Achieve Education Equity

Our inability as a nation to engage in difficult conversations about race has left us with a lack of agreement on how to define equity.…

Most of My Students Didn’t Know Any College Graduates But That’s Not Stopping Them From Going to College

“I can’t believe they picked me.” That’s what Keaton Hall, a senior at Uncommon Schools Rochester Prep High School, said to me on FaceTime when…

Real Educational Equity Isn’t Going to Just Happen in Schools

Those of us in the education and learning fields are focused on developing ways to reduce the persistent educational inequities that harm low-income students. Unfortunately,…

Coffee Break: PowerMyLearning’s Elisabeth Stock on How Personalized Learning Involves the Whole Family

Elisabeth Stock has been at the education game for decades as the head of PowerMyLearning, a nonprofit focused on personalized learning. I recently chatted with…

A Raise Is Nice, But Teachers Have an Opportunity to Fight for Something Even Bigger

The wave of teacher protests in the nation’s heartland are turning much-needed attention to the desperately under-resourced public school systems of many states. But the…

The Possibilities for Our Black and Brown Students Are Unlimited. We Just Need to Change Our Approach.

I grew up in Chicago, attending all-Black public schools. My parents and most of the adults in my extended family were educators. My dad grew…

You Shouldn’t Have to Pay a College Entrance Fee to Live the American Dream

I never thought about how my college was going to be paid for. None of my friends wondered about how their colleges would be paid…

We Can’t Keep Doing the Same Thing in Schools and Expect Better Results

“School reform” is such a misunderstood concept in the education world. That misunderstanding, of course, leads many people to dismiss useful improvements. But we need…