The Three R’s of Parents Who Want to Raise Free Children

A parent’s power to determine the right to choose where, when and what their children learn is only one power among many that create what I call parental sovereignty—a concept I believe is rooted in three essential R’s: roles, responsibilities and rights. …

His Mom Lied About Their Address So He Could Go to a Good School. Now He’s a Rhodes Scholar.

Hazim Hardeman is a Rhodes Scholar. In fact, he is Temple University’s first student to be bestowed this honor. The award’s namesake aside, this is…

If You Think Excellence Can’t Exist in All-Black Schools, You’re Tripping

As a child, youth, and adult, I have had the absolute pleasure of being surrounded by Mamas and Babas who upheld Black liberation in thought…

We Should Support Schools That Work. It’s Really That Simple.

Politics makes strange bedfellows. As a liberal who is theoretically supportive of unions, public education, governmental social programs, and wary of the private marketplace as…

Three Things You Should Think About When Choosing a School for Your Kid

I am a first-generation college graduate who wants my daughter to be successful. Growing up in the Englewood community in Chicago, I was exposed to…

We’re 42 Years Apart But Our Mission Is the Same: Change Education for the Black Community

We are two Black men separated by 42 years in age. But we are bound by our collective rage about what is happening to our…

These Two Sisters Aren’t Afraid to Get Messy If It Means Better Schools for Philadelphia’s Kids

“Don’t mess it up.” Those words rode the bus with Quibila Divine in the late 1960s and early ’70s from North Philadelphia to the predominantly…

I Always Hated Charter Schools. Until I Put My Kids on the Waitlist.

I have never been much of a proponent of charter schools. I am the proud product of traditional public education from kindergarten through 12th grade…

When Parents Don’t Trust School Vouchers, Community Advocates Can Lead Them to Tax-Credit Scholarships

On Lawrence Avenue in Chicago, sandwiched between a quesadilla restaurant and Helen’s Hair Design, sits a tiny, nondescript storefront. Inside, at Asian Youth Services (AYS), quiet…

Ms. Rhames Goes to Washington: My Visit at the U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos mentioned me by name in her keynote speech (starting at 29 min.) at the Brookings Institute last week. It…