During National Library Week (April 19–25, 2026), the American Library Association (ALA) released new data highlighting a continued rise in attempts to censor books and library materials across the United States in 2025. According to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), 4,235 unique titles were challenged in public, school, and academic libraries last year—the second-highest […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
An Ode to Pissed-Off Parents
When I was young in my career, I once apologized to a parent because her 16-year-old daughter was walking into walls. Mad Mom entered my classroom after school, fuming. Her eyes were wide, an almost predatory look on her face as she locked eyes with me and advanced. “Do you have any idea how much […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Los Angeles Unified to limit screen time for all students, prohibit use among youngest students
This story was originally published by EdSource. Sign up for their daily newsletter. The Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously voted to curb classroom screen time, directing staff to develop a policy by June ahead of the upcoming school year. The resolution aims to set clear limits on how screens are used in classrooms across grade […]
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Tier 1 Is Not Basic. It Is the Backbone of Everything We Do.
When schools see a spike in referrals, the instinct is often to look for more intervention. More pull-out support. More behavior plans. More counseling referrals. More Tier 2 and Tier 3 responses. But in many cases, the real problem starts earlier. We are often over-engineering interventions while under-building instruction. As a district leader overseeing social […]
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Dr. Sharon Bennett Delesbore: Pioneering equity and excellence in science education
Dr. Sharon Bennett Delesbore’s journey in education began on the basketball court. As a Division I athlete, she learned early that leadership extends beyond personal achievement. Her team’s commitment to community service, reading to students, mentoring youth, and serving as role models instilled in her a profound understanding of the transformative power of education. That […]
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From an adminstrator to back in the classroom: A teacher’s tale
My students are a far cry from being the next Bob Ross, René Magritte or Rembrandt Van Rijn. They’re a far cry from even being a starving artist in the future. But, dang it, they’re trying – and so am I. An Assignment I Didn’t Ask For I am the Resource Director for my district […]
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Education Department Moves to Dissolve Office Supporting English Learners
The U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with plans to dissolve the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), a key federal office responsible for supporting the nation’s more than 5 million English learners, as part of a broader effort to scale back and restructure the agency. The proposed closure, first communicated to Congress in […]
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On the ethics of properly grading students
I wanted to take a break from my usual cynical storytelling — don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of that — and address a very serious concern: an ethical, and yes, existential question (despite how overused that word has become) about student grading. I work as a special education teacher in an urban public high school […]