2022 Could Be the Year We Finally Meld Phonics with Language-Rich Communities

In this new year, elementary literacy will see two trends continue. One is improving foundational skills instruction, with phonics being the headliner. The other is…

Equitable Learning Recovery Must Be Grounded in Solid Research

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with political and social unrest, has deeply disrupted the lives and learning experiences of most students. It has created an urgent…

Teachers Can Choose to Bring Back Joy in the Classroom

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” —Mark Twain There is no question that the experiences children…

The School Year Hasn’t Been Easy, But My Students Have Pushed Through at Every Turn

When I gathered with my fellow teachers at Boston Renaissance Charter Public School K-6 before the start of the school year, it was with a…

BIPOC Students Deserve To See More Than White Protagonists in Children’s Books

The great American educator, Mary McLeod Bethune, once said, “The whole world opened to me when I learned to read.” As we mark National Family Literacy…

Schools Now Have Tons of Money. What Are They Doing With It?

I live in Lawrence, New Jersey—a middle-class, diverse town, halfway between Princeton and Trenton. For years I was on the school board and was very…

Here’s How My Middle School Kept Kids From Failing During Pandemic Isolation

As the horrors of World War II were drawing to a close, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously advised: “never let a good crisis go…

After the Last Year and a Half, We Must Never Forget How Resilient Students Are

Kids today are too fragile. We’re raising a generation of snowflakes! It’s a universal truth: As long as there are young people, there will be older…

When We Let Go of Assumptions About What School Should Look Like, We Can Better Support the Whole Child

The Center on Reinventing Public Education has been a leader in tracking school districts’ responses to the pandemic and in showcasing innovations that could help…

Q&A With Alicia Dixon: Mutual Accountability Is a Stepping Stone on the Path to Justice

Alicia Dixon is executive director of the Marcus Foster Education Institute (MFEI). Since 1973, MFEI has been committed to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for…