Even in Death, Black and Brown Students Are Dehumanized

In my second year of teaching, I had a notorious student we’ll call Israel. After the first day of class, we sat down and discussed…

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…

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…

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,…

Coffee Break: North Carolina’s Wanda Legrand Knows Students Can’t Be Successful Unless They Feel Loved

“We’ve not done enough to make students feel valued for their differences,” says Wanda Legrand, the new chief schools support officer for Guilford County Schools…

School Shootings Aren’t the Only Things School Police Officers Need to Train For

In light of recent school shootings, one of the proposed solutions has been to put more school police officers in schools. In the last 30…

When I Realized No One Cared About My Students With Special Needs, I Chose to Raise My Voice

As a first-year teacher of students with disabilities in a large urban district, I faced huge inequities that even other teachers and principals overlooked. I…

There Are Small Things We Can Do Every Day to Make Our LGBT Students Feel Safe

The same four students hang out together in front of my classroom most mornings. One set is female and the other male. I do not…

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…