I grew up in 1970s Las Vegas, during the era of school desegregation and redlining, a discriminatory housing practice where banks and the government literally drew red lines around minority neighborhoods, denying families access to fair home loans and shaping inequities in schools and educational opportunities. I didn’t know what redlining was back then. What […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Federal Judge: Education Department unlawfully used partisan messaging during shutdown
According to a federal judge, the Department of Education was unlawful in using partisan messaging on out-of-office automatic replies during the recent government shutdown. On Friday, November 8, Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the Department of Education “infringed upon its employees’ First Amendment rights” […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Oh SNAP! Food for Thought: When Policy Starves the Classroom
We’ve all joked about being hangry. We say it when we snap at someone before lunch or feel our brains fog mid-afternoon.We know hunger makes us short-tempered, distracted — a little less human. Now imagine being seven years old and living in that feeling all the time. As lawmakers debate another round of SNAP cuts […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
How the Government Shutdown has Triggered my Teacher Shame
Teacher Shame, a term I use to describe the regular intervals at which I am reminded that I chose a low-paying job that seems to be considered unimportant by society. The current government shutdown has triggered me. The first time I felt this shame was when I watched the faces of my college boyfriend’s family […]
Posted inMental Health
Sick Leave or Sick Lie? When Teachers Can’t Even Call In Dead
On Thursday, I did what every responsible educator does when they’re too sick to be at school: I sent my principals a doctor’s note excusing me until Monday. I also sent in my sub schedules detailed plans to cover the classes I normally support. I thought I’d done everything right. But on Friday at 2:30 […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Colorado voters support measures to feed public schools students by taxing rich
Last night, Colorado voters decided on a pair of measures aimed at bolstering funding for free school meals for all public school students, as well as to mitigate federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, by taxing the wealthy. Proposition MM will increase state income taxes paid by households earning […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Where Have All the Paraprofessionals Gone?
Parademic Paraprofessionals: Because teachers need heroes too! Paraprofessional: Because miracle-worker isn’t a job title! Quotes praising the hard-working paras in the education world are endless. Many educators and administrators agree that their schools simply could not operate without the dedication of their support staff. It’s no wonder! The roles of paraeducators have evolved right along […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
The 60-Second De-Escalation Routine I Still Teach Today
Leigh Reagan Alley, Ed.D. is Coordinator of Teacher Education at the University of Maine at Augusta, where she designed the first dedicated Master of Arts in Teaching Whole Child Education. She is the former executive director of Maine ASCD, an architect of the xSELeratED Schools Framework, an Advisor for the Institute for Humane Education, and […]