No, New York City is not getting rid of elementary school Gifted & Talented programs in an attempt to make everyone feel special and lower student achievement. However, DNAInfo’s June 13th article, “Gifted Programs Ditched for Hands On Learning for All at More NYC Schools,” has convinced multiple hysterical folks – who probably only read… Continue reading Are Affluent Parents Fighting Against Gifted Ed for Underserved Kids?
(Dedicated to Fosemi, Lassana, and Adam.) Suddenly I was the inconsiderate one. As teachers, we need to be the agents of change who recognize and act accordingly to our students’diverse perspectives and customs. Here I thought I was responding appropriately when I noticed that some of my highest-performing students were not eating, even when I pointed… Continue reading Eid al-Fitr: A Case for Acknowledging Diversity (Or, Teacher, Teach Thyself)
Recently I’ve been forcing myself to take a news fast but earlier this week, while out socializing with some members of my new education family at the Education Post Blogger Summit, I learned about the murder of a pregnant Black woman in Seattle at the hands of two White police officers in front of her children.… Continue reading The Education Plantation: It’s Time I Move From The Field To The House
The Wall Street Journal and Chalkbeat report today on a new report by Aaron Pallas, an education researcher at Teachers College at Columbia, who finds that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s much-vaunted Renewal Schools Program isn’t actually helping students. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Two and a half years ago, early in his first term, the… Continue reading “No Bad Schools,” Mr. Mayor? Do the Math.
Last week, the article “As More Schools Look to Personalized Learning, Teaching May Be About to Change” published in the official publication of The National Education Association, America’s largest teachers’ union, triggered a massive backlash from a segment of the membership dead set against the mere mention of online learning and curriculum, or the suggestion that it… Continue reading When Talking About School Choice – Let’s Include Kids In the Conversation!
“Ms. Dukes, “I hear the tear-riddled voice of the student standing before me say, “I didn’t pass my (fill-in-the-blank) class. I’m not graduating.” NOT graduating? What are you talking about? Your high school graduation is next week! What in the world happened? I can’t help but hide the shock in my voice or the disappointment… Continue reading Senior Blues: Who’s Accountable When High School Students Don’t Graduate On-Time or At All?
I get lots of emails — me and millions of other people. Most of it is trash and I spend way too much of my time cleaning out my inbox to make room to take more pictures or to download a new app (don’t judge me – lol!). So I was pleasantly surprised when, in… Continue reading An Unlikely Yet Welcome Classroom Observation
(This is a guest post by Micia Mosely, PhD and Matthew Florence of the Black Teachers Project. Scroll to the end for their bios.) An article recently posted on New York School Talk, “A Parent’s Perspective on the Benefits of Teachers of Color,” posed the challenging question of how to make our schools more effective at… Continue reading Why Black Teachers Matter: A Response
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released his latest school diversity plan on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, but refused to answer any questions about it until backed into a corner by reporters at another event on Thursday, June 8. His Honor responded with a hodgepodge of generalities, including, “I wanted my children in diverse… Continue reading Everything Wrong With NYC’s Latest School Diversity Plan
Success Academy Charter Schools, New York City’s largest charter management organization that operates 41 elementary, middle, and high schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens serving 14,000 students, just won the 2017 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. The prize awards $250,000 to the public charter network that, according to a press release, “has demonstrated the… Continue reading Success Academy Wins Award for Closing Achievement Gaps (And Scores Two Victories in One Week)
