Karega Rausch Says Charter Schools Get Better Outcomes for Kids When They Listen to Communities

With all the ruckus around charter schools, it’s easy to forget they can’t be painted with a broad brush. Each state has its own charter…

Here’s Why Dumping the Discipline Question on the Common App Really Matters

This is a year unlike any other. I am sure you have heard this over and over again as, over the past seven months, our…

I’m Not Going to Tell You Who to Vote For, But I Will Tell You How to Decide

In a time when concerns about public health are stealing precious learning time from America’s children, it’s sad that this week’s presidential debate was another…

Cultural Competence Only Goes So Far. Kids Need Teacher Diversity.

I am a middle school science teacher. When covering the laws of physics, I teach that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” This…

This School Really Called the Police on a Black Child for Playing With a Toy Gun on Camera

Recently, I saw a mother post on Facebook about how her son’s school called the cops on her child. In the post, the mother details…

What Trump’s Weekend Memo Means for Students of Color

My wife and I woke up on Saturday morning to devastating news that the White House released a memo demanding for federal government agencies to…

Statues Are Only One Kind of Monument to White Supremacy

Every year, I ask my students to identify phenomena in our world that are both imagined and real. In other words, what are some things…

If You Want Justice, Teach Kids How to Read

In 1990, I was a brand-new teacher in an unusual environment: a Chicago alternative high school where teens and young adults could earn their diplomas…

White Teachers, Our Whiteness Is Getting in Our Way

Since the murder of George Floyd, teacher leaders across America have sought to prove the necessity of antiracism in public education. And rightly so: from…

Getting Pepper-Sprayed by School Police Shouldn’t Be a Part of My Job

I have only felt the terrible sting and discomfort of pepper spray one time, and that was when I was teaching and coaching teachers in…