Families in Chicago Just Had a Huge Victory But Now the Real Work Begins

Yesterday, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Janice Jackson announced that three of the four high schools proposed to be closed in the South Side Englewood…

25 Years Ago, These Two Teachers Started a School in a Basement With Just $1,000

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education. —Dr.…

Why Are We Complaining About Common Funding a Charter School? It’s a Good Thing

Last week, the Chicago Sun-Times released an article announcing that Chicago native, rapper and actor, Common, was financially backing an arts-focused charter school. And as…

You May Have Seen ‘Hamilton,’ But Not Like This

It was a cool Chicago evening in late April. I walked down the bleacher steps of the spacious new Back of the Yards College Preparatory…

A Candid Convo With a Chicago Principal Who Says Black Boys Learn Best When Success Looks Like Them

Christopher Goins is the founding principal of Butler College Prep, a four-year-old charter high school on the far South Side of Chicago with a student…

I’ve Got an Idea for How We Can Spend Chance The Rapper’s $1 Million

Chance The Rapper announced that he would donate $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. The announcement is big news, and hopefully will…

When the Only Real Choice Is Private: My Unlikely Attraction to School Vouchers

I felt that the free education my daughter was getting was just too expensive. I needed to find a school that would start filling her academic gaps while also providing culturally responsive pedagogy.…

#MyBlackHistory Call to Action: Give All Kids Access to Opportunities and Believe in Their Big Dreams

It never occurred to me that I couldn’t be anything I wanted to be. As I child, I dreamed of being Diana Ross, a doctor, an engineer, a business owner and a host of other things.…

I’m Frustrated by the Way Education Reformers Talk About Race and Social Justice

On January 25, I had the honor of sitting on one of two panels on “Race, Social Justice and Education Reform,” co-hosted by the American…

Coffee Break: Chicago Principal Sonia Wang on How Community Context Makes a Difference in the Classroom

Sonia Wang is an educator on the South Side of Chicago who began as a literacy and writing teacher at a district elementary school. She…