Stories

Charter Schools

When Restorative Justice Is Done Right, It Can Make Schools Safer, Even When Your Kid Is the Victim

The day another kid tried to choke my daughter, it would have been easy to go full-force Mama Bear and demand a suspension. But it wouldn’t have solved the problem. What really worked was a safety...

Politics

My Native American Students Don’t Need to Be Taught About Racism But They Do Need a Space to Talk About It

Just this year alone, Kanye West has said slavery was a “choice,” Roseanne Barr compared former Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett to an ape, Starbucks closed down 8,000 stores to hold anti-bias training...

Charter Schools

How New Mexico Is Becoming a Quiet Leader in the Education Reform Movement

While much of the education reform world was convening in Austin for the annual charter schools conference this week, I snuck off to Albuquerque for the New Mexico Teacher Summit at the invitation of...

Charter Schools

After 14 Years of Teaching, I'm Packing Up Room 103 for the Last Time

It’s June. The classroom walls are bare. The grit outlined empty spaces left behind by charts, posters, reading lists and student work jut out starkly against the grime. The books are packed away...

We Got 99 Problems But One Confederate-Named School Ain't One

Outrage: Too Many Kids on the Street There are 1.3 million students in America without homes. Nate Bowling teaches 12 of them. I think I’m plugged into what’s going on with my students, but I...

School Choice

A Thank You to The Parents, Students and Teachers Who Dare to Demand Better From Our Public Schools

As we come to the end of another school year, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the teachers and parents who have dared to demand something different in our public schools. These are not...