Blog

Should Schools Push Kids Out Of Their Comfort Zones?
Blog

Should Schools Push Kids Out Of Their Comfort Zones?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Earlier this month, The Atlantic ran a piece entitled, Teens Are Protesting In-Class Presentations. Taylor Lorenz wrote: “(S)tudents have started calling out in-class presentations as discriminatory to those with anxiety, demanding that teachers offer alternative options…. “Nobody should be forced to do something that makes them uncomfortable,” says Ula, a 14-year-old in eighth grade, who,… Continue reading Should Schools Push Kids Out Of Their Comfort Zones?

Is Betsy DeVos on the Verge of Removing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color?
Blog

Is Betsy DeVos on the Verge of Removing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color?

Laura WatersLeave a comment

Let’s just call her Betsy DeVoid. Our secretary of education earns a name-change because of her predilection for voiding laws that protect our most disenfranchised students. First it was rescissions to the civil rights regulations that protect students with disabilities. Now it’s the 2014 Obama administration’s school discipline guidance, also based on civil rights law, that requires… Continue reading Is Betsy DeVos on the Verge of Removing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color?

Some News for Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza: NYC’s Top 31 Screened High Schools Are ALREADY Diverse.
Accountability · Blog · School Choice

Some News for Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza: NYC’s Top 31 Screened High Schools Are ALREADY Diverse.

Guest Blogger (via Alina Adams)Leave a comment

David Rubel is an independent public policy consultant with a focus on New York City. For over 30 years, he has conducted research on a range of policy issues including community needs and resources, housing court evictions, workforce development and most recently public and nonpublic school education. Equity is a primary concern of his work.… Continue reading Some News for Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza: NYC’s Top 31 Screened High Schools Are ALREADY Diverse.

Are Our Social-Emotional Needs Being Met? No! NY Students Are Hurting And So Are Their Teachers.
Blog

Are Our Social-Emotional Needs Being Met? No! NY Students Are Hurting And So Are Their Teachers.

Vivett DukesLeave a comment

This school year started off on a not-so-good note for me. My dad’s favorite uncle died and my siblings and I had to accompany our father to Jamaica, West Indies for the funeral. This caused me to miss the first three days of back-to-school. You see, just as we adults have troubling things going on… Continue reading Are Our Social-Emotional Needs Being Met? No! NY Students Are Hurting And So Are Their Teachers.

Should Schools Teach Your Child Values?
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Should Schools Teach Your Child Values?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

PJ Library, a non-profit which sends out free Jewish children’s books, also has a book club for parents. Their most recent selection was Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do To Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children by Marjorie Ingall. In Chapter 6: Emphasize – But Don’t Fetishize – Education, Ingall, as all New York… Continue reading Should Schools Teach Your Child Values?

Did You Know That 28 Percent of New York Students Are Chronically Absent? What’s The Solution?
Blog

Did You Know That 28 Percent of New York Students Are Chronically Absent? What’s The Solution?

Tina PosterliLeave a comment

With a new school year underway, one of the major issues my school district will be tackling is one that is a growing problem across the United States, chronic absenteeism. Since the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act “fifth indicator” mandate of absenteeism, more and more states are tracking and reporting absences, and that is shedding… Continue reading Did You Know That 28 Percent of New York Students Are Chronically Absent? What’s The Solution?

Not Backpacks Full of Cash: Backpacks Full of Rights! NCSECS Takes On Special Education Equity in Charter Schools
Accountability · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Not Backpacks Full of Cash: Backpacks Full of Rights! NCSECS Takes On Special Education Equity in Charter Schools

Laura WatersLeave a comment

It’s a common complaint among those who turn down their collective nose at public charter schools: they don’t serve their fair share of students with disabilities, or at least those with moderate to severe disabilities, and they counsel out kids who can’t deal with academic rigor, either back to their sending districts or to private… Continue reading Not Backpacks Full of Cash: Backpacks Full of Rights! NCSECS Takes On Special Education Equity in Charter Schools

Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite
Accountability · Finding the Right School

Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City schools are off for Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, on Monday, September 10, and Tuesday, September 11. (To read why I think all cultures should be allowed to take off their holidays, and how that would work in practice, click here.) One of the rituals of Rosh HaShanah is tashlich, where… Continue reading Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite

NYC High School Student Explains Why A Diverse Teaching Force Matters — And What He’s Going to Do About It.
Blog

NYC High School Student Explains Why A Diverse Teaching Force Matters — And What He’s Going to Do About It.

nyschooltalkLeave a comment

This is a guest post by Jose Romero, a high school senior in New York. He aspires to become a fifth-grade teacher, so he can give kids the support he received from his mentors and teachers of color. It has appeared in TNTP and on Education Post. For 10 years—the first decade I was in school—all… Continue reading NYC High School Student Explains Why A Diverse Teaching Force Matters — And What He’s Going to Do About It.

What Would Pres. Obama Do About NYC’s SHSAT Schools, College Readiness, and Teacher Quality? Hear From His Secretary of Education!
Blog

What Would Pres. Obama Do About NYC’s SHSAT Schools, College Readiness, and Teacher Quality? Hear From His Secretary of Education!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Arne Duncan served as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015. This August, he released a book, How Schools Work: An Inside Account of Failure and Success From One of the Nation’s Longest-Serving Secretaries of Education. Many of Duncan’s lessons are applicable to New York City. Here, we break down three of… Continue reading What Would Pres. Obama Do About NYC’s SHSAT Schools, College Readiness, and Teacher Quality? Hear From His Secretary of Education!