Teachers Are Working So Hard This Year, But Students With Disabilities Need More

I am a special education teacher with 17 years of experience in the classroom and a parent of two children with dyslexia. Recently, I learned…

It’s Time To Break the Discipline Cycle and Invest in Student Supports

While we continue to struggle to figure out how to educate students 12 months into the global pandemic, we cannot afford to lose sight of…

School Discipline Explained: Why It Harms Students of Color and How We Can Fix It

Over many decades, America’s disciplinary policies, from preschool to high school, have disproportionately affected marginalized students. This difference creates a “discipline gap.” Black students account…

Here’s Why Putting the Brakes on Charter Schools Is So 2020

Prior to COVID-19 upending American education, some state legislatures around the country considered moratoriums or “pauses” on public charter schools; while others, like in California,…

Saving Our Children from Violence When Schools Are the Abusers

Each of us has been that lone, righteous educator at the dinner party—that overzealous, overtired reality-checker among adults whose jobs don’t include ensuring the emotional…

As a Mom of a Son With Multiple Disabilities, I Have the Receipts on Remote Instruction

Here at brightbeam, our North Star is “How Are The Children?” As parents look back over the last nine months of COVID-related school disruptions and…

I’m Glad To Be Back in the Classroom. My Students Need Me.

November 12th was our first day of school in-person since March of last year. On my drive to school, I was excited and grateful—thinking about…

We Need a Cooperative Approach to Improve Education for Students With Disabilities

Ten years ago last month, a team of advocacy organizations filed the New Orleans special education lawsuit (P.B. v. White) in federal court. The class-action…

Civil Rights Groups Insist on Testing: ‘You Cannot Improve What You Do Not Measure.’

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. In this case, the clock is soon-to-be-Ex-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has told states that…

Teachers Can Legally Hit Your Children in 19 States. Let’s Talk About It.

This past year has tested more than our mettle as educators; it’s tested our investment in the causes we claim as ours. I mean, it’s…