Kentucky’s 5-Star School Rating System is Poised for Greatness, But They Could Still Screw it up

If Kentucky’s new education plan lives up to expectations, it’s going to get a lot easier to understand how public schools are doing in the…

I Was a Racist Teacher and I Didn’t Even Know It

I was a racist teacher and I didn’t recognize it. At the time that I taught, I would have argued that I was the opposite.…

Don’t Let Teacher Leadership Become a Meaningless Buzzword

As we enter back-to-school season, I’m anticipating a heavy dose of talk about the importance of “lifting” the teaching profession. I frequently heard talking points…

Illinois’ School Accountability Plan Doesn’t Work for Our Kids and the Feds Told Them So

It’s comforting to learn that the feds (i.e. The U.S. Department of Education run by Secretary Betsy DeVos) has some serious concerns about Illinois accountability…

We’ve Known for Years What Makes Teachers Better: It Isn’t Sexy or Controversial But It Works

As school reforms go, it’s not sexy, it’s not new, and it’s not at all controversial. So it probably won’t get as much attention as…

The Genius in Every Black Family: Our ‘Hidden Figure’

I’m visiting my aunt and uncle in Los Angeles, and we decide to watch the movie “Hidden Figures,” about three little-known Black women whose mathematical…

Educators at This School Give Students a Choice and Voice in How They Want to Learn

Schools providing personalized learning integrate student interests and self-pacing into their curriculum by combining student-centered practices with technology. There are many approaches to personalized learning,…

How States Are Approaching School Accountability

For the most part, what states measure for school quality has already been decided by federal law under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Every state,…

Here’s Some Suggested Reading for Our Trash-Talking Secretary of Education

You hear a lot these days—especially in the Trump era—about how broken, antiquated and just generally messed up public education is in our country. Just…

Critics of the Obama administration's Department of Education repeatedly targeted what they saw as federal "overreach" into local districts. Now the Trump education budget guts funding for programs that are popular and effective at the local level, while only adding significant new funding to one area—trying to influence local decisions about school choice. This proposed budget is a greater assault on local control. It needs to be called…