We Need a New Way of Talking About Students Who Face Barriers Erected by Adults and Sustained by Broken Systems

I bring John, David, Ana and Sally into every training, strategy session and decision-making room I occupy.  Well, actually I bring their stories, to remind…

We Need to Learn About Trauma to Help Kids Who Need Us Most

Everywhere you look, our schools are filled with traumatized children; children struggling not just to learn and succeed, but to survive. Too often, we think…

We Can’t Fight This Education Battle If Our Trauma Beats Us Before We Beat the System

Last night during the Education Leaders of Color (EdLoc) Convening, an itty bitty lady from Puerto Rico with a powerful voice and massive mission was…

The Case for Supporting the Mental Health of Your Students

Four seniors at Ánimo Jackie Robinson—a Green Dot high school that opened to bring more high-quality, public education to historic South Central Los Angeles—chose to…

My School’s Dual Language Immersion Program Helps Immigrant Students Blossom Into Leaders

It’s the first week of the 2018-19 year in my second grade classroom at Munger Mountain Elementary School, and one girl sits apart from the…

Here’s How Teachers Can Help All Students Thrive, Even After Trauma

Fall has always been my favorite season. Having the opportunity to join hundreds of educators at the recent LEAP InnovatED Summit, just days before most…

When a Student Says, ‘The President Is Going to Take My Parents Away’

In my fourth-grade classroom in Houston, Texas, the morning after Election Day 2016 was quiet. As students filed into the classroom, I asked them to…

A California Charter School Gave Me a Lifeline. Don’t Take That Away From Other Students.

If charter schools had been an option when I was young, I believe my mom would have been wise to choose them for me, given…

Teachers Can’t Take Care of Their Students If They Don’t Take Care of Themselves First

I remember vividly the first time I put my head on my desk and cried during my lunch period. The bell to end the fourth…

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,…