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…

How This Organization Is Developing Communities With Education at Its Core

A great school is vital to every community, but it’s only one part. A new organization, Maslow Development Inc., knows this and they’re working to…

How We Can Make School Buses Safe for Kids and Affordable for Districts

Earlier this year, a New Jersey student and teacher were killed in a school bus crash while traveling for a field trip. The incident followed…

This Isn’t an Endorsement But Let’s Just Say We Need More Teachers in Congress

Outrage: Fewer Susans The National Motto in the Classroom Act was passed in Tennessee last week. Basically, all schools in the state will now have…

Her School Didn’t Just Get Her Through College, It Got Her Through Tragedy

Three people, two tragedies and one college visit shaped April Austin’s post-secondary dream of becoming an occupational therapist. Growing up, April’s grandfather loomed large in…

These 12 States Are Being Sued for Not Funding Schools Equitably

As teacher strikes bring attention to underfunded public schools, families and education advocates are suing to compel states to uphold statutory or constitutional obligations on education funding.…

Hope and Outrage: Lawmakers Would Rather Invest in Prisons Than Schools But Our Kids Are Fighting for Their Education

Outrage: These Politicians Bullshitting Third-Graders We all know politicians are full of it. But kids keep it real. So when third-graders ask why you’re putting…

My Chicago Neighborhood Is Still Scarred 50 Years After MLK’s Assassination, But My Students Give Me Hope

Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, leading to an uprising in Chicago. The North Lawndale and East Garfield Park…

ICE Took My Students’ Parents Away

In my classroom there is a poster that says, “Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and never give up.” This poster is more than some…

Coffee Break: Memphis Education Leader Natalie McKinney Is Doing the Right Thing for Families for the Right Reasons

Last fall, former Shelby County Schools policy director Natalie McKinney assumed leadership of Whole Child Strategies, a nonprofit created to help Memphis neighborhood leaders use…