“A child is the only known substance from which a responsible adult can be made.” –Tom Lickona, Raising Good Children The University School of Milwaukee (USM), where I am the Middle School Head, has a core set of values that we refer to as The Common Trust. Our core values are respect, trust, honesty, fairness, […]
Nude images disrupt Oklahoma education board meeting — Lawmakers Demand Investigation
Oklahoma lawmakers and law enforcement are calling for transparency and further investigation after reports surfaced that explicit images appeared on a television in Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office during an executive session of the Oklahoma State Board of Education. While in office, Walters has been known to push for the implementation of education policies based on […]
The Elusive Guzman: One quiet student taught me everything
I had only just begun my career as a middle school teacher in one of the outer suburbs of Los Angeles. “Outer” meant that the area still retained some of its rural features. Most of the orange groves and cornfields of the closer in San Fernando Valley had already been replaced by track homes and […]
Project 2025’s silent strike on Head Start
Federal Dismantling and Early Learning Disparities in Head Start As a veteran early childhood educator with over 15 years of experience, I’ve witnessed how a quality preschool education can positively change the trajectory of a child’s life. This is why, as a nation, we should be alarmed as President Trump begins dismantling the Federal Department […]
Why Are All the Kids at Low-Income Public Schools Wearing Uniforms?
At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, in a passive protest to my preschooler’s uniform policy at her public elementary school in Brooklyn, I bought slate blue pants instead of the required navy blue. I understood the risks, but I did not care. My favorite online clothing outlet for children was having a sale […]
35 years later, High School reading lists still lack diversity, NCTE study finds
According to a study funded by the NCTE, despite nationwide efforts to diversify texts used by teachers in secondary English literature classrooms, the list of books most taught by the nation’s teachers is written by dead, white men. In the study “The State of Literature Use in US Secondary English Classrooms,” funded by the National […]
Trump abruptly returns $5 billion in funding back to schools
In an abrupt move, the Department of Education announced on Friday that it would release over $5 billion in funding to school systems after the Trump administration paused it on July 1 without warning. These already approved federal funding is intended to support summer and after-school programs for migrant students, English learners, and underserved communities were […]
China’s AI-Powered education reform: Lessons and warnings for the global classroom
China’s Ministry of Education recently made an ambitious move that has attracted global attention. The ministry announced a comprehensive plan to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its educational system from primary schools to universities. Branded as part of the country’s “strong-education nation” strategy, this campaign pledges to redefine Chinese students’ learning experiences and their modes […]
