7 Steps to Help You Implement Trauma-Informed Practices at Your School

The only way to implement something well is through trial and error. In 2017, I proposed to my principal that teachers should adapt to trauma-informed…

Pandemic or Not, Students Need Great Content Paired With Strong Teaching

When teachers welcomed their students on the first day of school last September, they never imagined ending the year on Zoom. Now, as the new…

Here’s How COVID-19 Is Hurting Aspiring Teachers of Color and Three Ways We Can Fix It

A growing body of evidence demonstrates the valuable role that teachers of color play in our schools, but COVID-19 could shrink their ranks—and may have…

If We Want Citizens Who Are Critical Thinkers, We Need to Support Them in Becoming Readers and Writers

In March, the National Education Policy Center published a policy statement claiming that policymakers “should realize there is no settled science of reading” and should…

School Closures Will Never Achieve Equity and Liberation for Black Kids

Oh, this board meeting will be interesting. The auditorium is filled with folks who are geared up for a showdown. All have matching blue shirts…

To See the Real Picture on NAEP, You Have to Know Where to Look

It would be all too easy to see the grim headlines about the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores as the whole…

I Have Stage IV Lung Cancer But I Couldn’t Imagine Not Being in the Classroom

I always thought I’d be a professional baseball player. It was everything that ever mattered to me—even if I couldn’t play, I knew I wanted…

I #LoveTeaching Because I Never Stop Learning

#LoveTeaching Week is a grassroots campaign started by teachers in 2015 as an opportunity to celebrate teaching, leading, and learning in a way that unites…

Before a Child Can Learn They Need to Feel Safe and Cared For

The life of a high-powered literary agent in New York City seems about the farthest thing from my life as a teacher serving largely low-income…

Episode 19: Football and Literacy (feat. Vesia Wilson-Hawkins)

In this episode, we sit down with our colleague Vesia Wilson-Hawkins to discuss what it would be like if parents got as fired up about…