Why the Department of Education Finally Needs to Accept That Education Is a Civil Right

As a 5-year old kindergartner, I was threatened with my first suspension for being talkative and “disruptive” in class by my almost 70-year-old White teacher.…

Our Students Need Every Educator to Speak Up to Ensure DeVos Hears Our Support for Restorative Justice

In my decade in Chicago Public Schools as a social worker and currently as a behavioral health specialist, I’ve learned a great education goes beyond…

Transgender Students Are Next Up in the Trump Administration’s Threat to Roll Back Civil Rights Protections

Imagine with me: One early morning my son Jonah lopes through the high school halls, high-fiving students from the marching band and volunteer “buddies” from…

There Are Charter Schools Run By the Community and For the Community

Three decades since the passage of the first charter school law, this movement of extreme promise has fallen out of favor with many of its…

Betsy DeVos on the Verge of Removing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color

Let’s just call her Betsy DeVoid. Our secretary of education earns a name-change because of her predilection for voiding guidance that protects our most disenfranchised…

Nick Didn’t Need Another Suspension. He Needed to Know I Loved and Believed in Him.

Nick was a sixth-grader who, before joining my classroom, had been suspended from several of his previous schools. He is easy to pick out in…

My Son Was Not Going to Be a Victim of the School-to-Prison Pipeline

My son loved everything about school, until he didn’t. He was eager to learn, read, write and make friends. At 5, he had already had…

Florida’s Poorest Students Are Among the Nation’s Highest Achieving, So Why Won’t DeVos Approve Their State Plan?

It looks like the feds are having a hard time figuring out what to do with Florida. After California and Utah’s education plans were approved…

Why the Trump Administration Doesn’t Give a Damn About Educating Poor People

I’ll refrain from talking about how the White House has morphed into a reality show for the world to see, thanks to the United States…

If You’re Black and Celebrating ‘Independence Day’ on the Fourth of July, I’m Looking at You Sideways

Outrage: Not Our Independence Day What does July 4 mean to me? A day off work and hopefully a powerful plate of barbecue. But, it’s…