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 […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teachers are Lambs to the Slaughter: The Fiction We Teach, The Reality We Live
By Kelsey Trumble We hand students dystopian novels—1984, Fahrenheit 451, The Hunger Games—as warnings about what happens when fear becomes normal, when truth bends, when cruelty turns quiet. But somewhere along the way, the fiction blurred. Now, when another teacher bleeds in a classroom, the outrage burns through feeds faster than facts can catch up. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
2025 Edition: Scarlet Letters and Autism Awareness
On September 22, 2025, during a White House press conference with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump, they stated that the use of Tylenol (acetaminophen) during pregnancy may be linked to autism, despite any evidence supporting this claim. Asking for help has always been stimagtizing for learners. When a learner needs additional support, we’ve put them […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
If You Prick Us: A Plea for Empathy
The Cum Laude Society holds members to high expectations for character. These expectations are embodied in the motto of the Cum Laude Society: arete, dike, time: excellence, justice, honor. That’s a nice motto, but for the world we inhabit today, it strikes me as incomplete. We need to add a fourth concept: empatheia. Empathy. Empathy […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
When Advocacy Meets Overload: A teacher’s journey to support a silent student
In the current landscape of education, schools are increasingly challenged by the growing number of students requiring specialized services due to various needs, including learning disabilities, emotional trauma, and behavioral issues. According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), approximately 14% of all public school students receive special education services under […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
Under His Eye: Teaching Under Trump’s Policy
I teach twelfth-grade English at an urban school. The poverty rate here is high. Violent crime is a common occurrence. I’ve devoted my career to serving this population. The work is often difficult, but it’s the most-important work in the world, and I’m all in. When I returned to the classroom in September, to begin […]