The ELL Population Is Growing, But Where Are the Teachers to Help Them Excel?

Your first year of teaching isn’t usually filled with victories, but I’ll never forget the brightest moment of mine. It was a Friday in early…

It’s Time to Help Teachers Discover the Science Behind How Kids Learn

We recently surveyed around 200 K-12 educators from across the U.S. to discover their beliefs about learning.  The results were not good—and say a lot…

Classroom Jobs Let Students Take Control of Their Own Learning

Is there anyone happier than a 6-year-old who has been entrusted with an important task? Kiddos, in my experience, like almost nothing better than to…

First Day Jitters? Teachers Get Them Too!

As I embark on my 15th year in public education, I’m baffled that it still happens to me. After all, this is my 15th “first…

It’s OK, You Can Teach For America

In 2013, Sandra Korn, then a senior at Harvard and a contributor to the student newspaper The Crimson, wrote an article telling her peers “Don’t…

How Do We Bring Magic Into the Classroom? Georgia’s New Teacher of the Year Shows the Way.

For 2020 Georgia Teacher of the Year Tracey Nance Pendley, the road to teaching was not easy. Pendley’s mother was a drug addict who was…

6 Things New Teachers Can Do Now to Start the Year Off Right

I was beyond excited when I accepted my first teaching position. I had worked hard all of those years, completed my student teaching, passed the…

Here’s What I Wish White Teachers Knew When Teaching My Black Children

Dear White Teachers of My Black Children: I am a Black mom and I have two children who are now in high school. Raising them…

Teacher Diversity Matters and Charter Schools in North Carolina Are Getting Results for Students of Color

Seth Gershenson’s research on the impact of teacher expectations and their effect on students has made waves across the country. With the support of the…

Without Teach For America, I Wouldn’t Be Teaching in the Same Latinx Community Where I Grew Up

I have vivid memories of teachers joining my school communities and then saying goodbye to them only a few years later. As a young girl,…