By the End of My Third Year, I Was in Therapy. We Must Start Taking Teachers’ Emotional Health Seriously.

We all know the female elementary school teacher stereotype, perhaps best portrayed by the iconic Jessica Day from New Girl: bubby, cheerful, exquisitely put-together, good,…

Social Emotional Learning Needs to Become How We Do School Not Just Another Thing We Do at School

Earlier this month, the fire alarm went off at my school as students were entering the building in the morning. For most people, this signifies…

My Barbershop Taught Me Social Emotional Learning and Now I’m Sharing That With My Students

I remember growing up and my father would give me a haircut in our basement. Other times, he would take me to the barbershop. Now…

My Barbershop Taught Me Social Emotional Learning and Now I’m Sharing That With My Students

I remember growing up and my father would give me a haircut in our basement. Other times, he would take me to the barbershop. Now…

Explaining Social-Emotional Learning to Families Can Be Tough. Here’s Three Things You Should Know.

Eighty-two percent of Americans think it’s very important for schools to help students develop interpersonal skills like cooperation, respect and persistence. Despite this, schools have…

How Opening Up to My Colleagues Made Me Realize Social-Emotional Learning Isn’t Just For Students

Faculty meetings. What comes to mind when you hear those two words? Earlier this year, I experienced an extraordinary faculty meeting at my elementary school,…

Why We’ve Got to Talk About Race If We Want to Achieve Education Equity

Our inability as a nation to engage in difficult conversations about race has left us with a lack of agreement on how to define equity.…

For This D.C. Teacher, There’s Still Hope But Again It’s Deferred

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”—Proverbs 13:12 These days when you hear about D.C. Public Schools…

Principals Can’t Build Strong Schools When They Have to Spend So Much Time on Discipline

Recently, East Providence High School’s wrestling team was caught with alcohol, drugs and vaping products on a team trip. As punishment, the wrestling season came…

Training Teachers in Relationship Building Is Key to Any School Discipline Reform

Reformers and education experts in Washington have spent months debating school discipline policy. But these debates have overlooked a key element successful practitioners have long…