What If We Radically Reimagined the New School Year?

Monday night I sat on my back patio staring up into a rare, starry Chicago night. I squinted and made out each point of The…

Now Is the Time to Remake Our Schools With Equity in Mind

This week, the school reopening conversation is largely about when we reopen schools. Some people, including our president, want schools to reopen widely, as soon…

You Can Call It a ‘Lost Decade,’ But I See a Lot of Good Things Happening

WHAT WE GOT RIGHT: The spin never stops when it comes to education and it goes into overdrive with the close of a decade. Amidst all the hype of a lost decade and the need for humility from education reformers, I see a glass way more than half full.…

We Were Making Progress on School Discipline Until Betsy DeVos Came Along

WHAT WE GOT WRONG: At the turn of the century, in 1999, I was graduating from high school, motivated to enter the teaching profession with a passion to reform school discipline practices and eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline. …

What You Think You Know About Restorative Justice Is Probably Wrong

On Monday, we ran a piece written by a mother whose experience with restorative justice was a horror story. Readers responded in large numbers to the piece,…

My Child Was a Victim of Restorative Justice. But It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way.

In 2015, I started a three-year journey to acquire my doctorate in educational leadership. On top of going back to graduate school, I was a…

Here’s Why I Say No to Recess Detention, and You Should, Too

Recess Detention. The low-hanging fruit of punishments. The easiest thing to take away from a child because they owe us something. At best, it’s a…

Fixing School Discipline Policies Requires Listening and Looking at the Data

Research tells us that despite past efforts of educators and education advocates, Black and Latinx students are still consistently suspended at disproportionate rates. As districts…

When I Failed My Student, Restorative Justice Picked Us Up

During one of my daily writing warm-up exercises Alex, a sophomore in my remedial English class, decided to exercise his defiance by yelling, “Get off…

6 Steps Towards Restorative Justice in Your School

In all the talk about the importance of reducing suspensions and other exclusionary discipline practices in schools, one question looms large for most educators and…