Trump Isn’t Just Cutting the Education Budget, He Wants Schools to Pay for the Wall

Mexico will not pay for Donald Trump’s wall. Your children will. And your children’s children will pay the interest, as will their children—and perhaps the…

We Know All About College Financial Assistance, Here’s How You Do It Better

Financial assistance for families with college-bound students has seen big changes in timing since 2016. The new process begins much earlier with students now able…

How Free College Programs Can Increase Equity in Our Schools

As someone who has studied free-college Promise programs for over a decade, I read with interest the recent Education Trust report on equity in free-college…

If You’re a Politician and Don’t Have Education at the Forefront, Then You’re Part of the Problem

I recently had the opportunity to join with a few educators in a meeting with a prominent political official in my state to discuss teacher…

Congratulations, Graduates! We Don’t Care About You at All.

Hello, class of 2018! Welcome to the last day of your K-12 education and the launch of your adult lives. I know that today is…

In Arizona, We Are Walking Out for Our Students

I love my profession. I love my colleagues. I love my students. But I have become so hurt by the situation that exists in my…

Too Many Students Drop Out of Community Colleges. Here’s How We Fix It.

“Persistence” is a buzzword most educators at community colleges hear a great deal. We know too many community college students enter classes in the fall…

As a First-Generation College Student I Need a Lot More Than Financial Aid

I was reared and schooled in Detroit, where poverty and oppression eloquently danced while violence and crime serenaded the communities. The crime and oppression in…

So You Want to Go to College? Send a Text.

In 2013, then-First Lady Michelle Obama approached then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with the goal of inspiring more young people to attend and graduate from…

A Letter to Betsy DeVos About My Student Loans

Dear Secretary DeVos, You and I have a lot in common. We’re both from the great state of Michigan and have the same Michigan accent.…