Don’t Like Who’s on the School Board Ballot? Run.

With headlines dominated by news of 2020 presidential candidates, it’s easy to forget that there are elections happening across the country in 2019. But in…

Here’s the One Thing We Just Can’t Agree on When It Comes to Schools

Ask any parent and they’ll tell you they want their child to go to a good school. But ask them what makes a good school,…

What If Students Were Walking Out for Better Schools?

Student walkouts have been a hot topic lately and the media has been quick to swoon with round-the-clock coverage. There is no doubt that an…

Is This Education Reform’s ‘E Pluribus Unum’ Moment?

Everyone trying to influence policy dreams of leading “an organized whole that acts as a single, unified, powerful or influential force.” Merriam-Webster’s dictionary will tell…

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…

New Jersey Skated by for Years on Misleading Graduation Rates, But Now It’s Closing the ‘Honesty Gap’

Does it seem odd to you that we’re celebrating the fact that half of New Jersey’s third-graders are at or above grade level in language…

Reject the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

(Trigger warning: This essay contains a bleeped, profanity-laced rant that may cause you to question your most deeply held beliefs.) It’s not often I cite…

Fancy Education Luncheons Aren’t Going to Fix the Schools in My Neighborhood

The other day I had the honor of attending a luncheon and panel discussion about our failure to provide equitable schooling here in Illinois. It…

Illinois’ School Accountability Plan Doesn’t Work for Our Kids and the Feds Told Them So

It’s comforting to learn that the feds (i.e. The U.S. Department of Education run by Secretary Betsy DeVos) has some serious concerns about Illinois accountability…

Thought Charter and District Schools Couldn’t Work Together? Newark Has Found a Way

It’s often noted that the original vision for charter schools, championed by legendary teachers’ union leader Al Shanker and others, was that they’d be “laboratories…