Poverty

Don’t Mistake Black Voter Turnout as Renewed Faith in the Democratic Party. Y’all Owe Us Bigly.
The presidential election had me so stressed that I had to run my ass across the border to the beaches and palm trees in Mexico…

Integration Is a Noble Goal, But Obsessing Over It Shouldn’t Distract Us From Improving Teaching and Learning
Another week, another headline about the urgency of jettisoning efforts to improve teaching and learning for all kids and instead laser-focusing on ending segregation in…

How We Can Empower Girls Through Sports
The U.S. Women’s National Team is making a high-profile run through the World Cup, but overall girls aren’t getting the same chances on the field…

What It’s Like to Attend School in Rural America
On a rainy day in May of 2018, I toured a public school in northern Pennsylvania. Most of the students were eligible for free lunch.…

I’m Not Willing to Trade Fixing Income Inequality for Better Schools. We Need to Do Both.
I don’t know about y’all but I get tired of seeing annual reports basically saying the same thing: Black people in America are suffering. Like…

Better Schools Have a Place in Creating a More Equitable America
As someone who spent the first portion of his career deep in the “education reform” movement, I wasn’t surprised when Nick Hanauer’s Atlantic article, “Better…

The High School Play Everyone’s Talking About Shows Why We Need More Arts Funding in Schools
The sun can’t reach you but face-hugging and acid-spewing aliens can. Welcome, you’ve arrived at LV-426. Or have you? for their self-funded stage adaptation of…

A Psychology Professor Explains How Racial Trauma Impacts Students of Color
Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi has been thinking about and studying children’s mental health since she was a child herself. I recently talked to her about the…

This Mom Raised $20K to Help Wipe Out Student Lunch Debt in Her State
Kate Lacroix is a mom from Boulder, Colorado. She has spent the last few months living her motto, “The need to feel nourished is universal.”…

This Has Been a Different Type of School Year
Engage. Enrich. Educate. That is what we, the educators at Phoenix Charter Academy in Chelsea, Massachusetts, set out to do while embarking on a different…