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…

Here’s How You Prepare Teachers to Teach in a Pandemic

We continue to live in a Brave New World—of Zoom rooms and Google Meets, virtual check-ins, Seesaw, Flipgrid and Nearpod. Technologies and tools that were…

I Found Out One of My Students Tested Positive for COVID and My Heart Sank

I was so excited last week. Exhausted, like so many of us are, but just plain happy. As my students romped into my room, and…

The Pandemic Has Only Underscored the Unfair Burden That Schools Shoulder

Joe Biden’s election and this week’s good news about several coronavirus vaccine candidates are massive developments in a months-long debate over how our schools should…

There Are Actually a Few Things I’ll Bring Into My Real Classroom Once This Is Over

For families, students and staff, the start of this year was markedly different from past years. In place of student schedules and bus routes, our…

Q&A: Chris Cerf on Fighting COVID Learning Loss With Great Teaching

Last March schools across the country closed and typical live instruction morphed into erratic meetings on Zoom. Many of us assumed this was a short-term…

Even Remotely, I Still Plan to Lead a Student-Centered Second Grade

As we settle into this school year virtually, I’ve been a little nervous, but I am committed to providing my second grade students with the…

KIPP Students Know What They Need to Thrive in Remote Learning

On July 30th, the Mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, announced that D.C. schools would begin the year remotely. It was clearly time to take the…

Remote Learning Isn’t Great. Whining Is Worse.

My kids are upstairs pretending to learn. My wife and I know they aren’t engaged. Their teachers range from earnest to weird. The most challenging…

Internet Access Is a National Crisis, So Who’s Going To Fix It?

It’s October, almost seven months into a pandemic that has turned the world upside down. Since the shutdowns in March, folks have adapted; businesses have…