Educational equity is a goal for many of us but in short supply. Parents, students, and teachers continue to search for improvements in a system that limits access to high-performing public schools, both charter and traditional, and disproportionately disciplines children of color.
In 1951, a class action suit was filed against the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. The plaintiffs were thirteen Topeka parents on behalf of their 20 children. What a strong example of parental engagement this landmark case models for us, right? This case… Continue reading Have We Made Any Progress Since Brown v. Board of Ed? Not In My Experience.
Our guest today is Whitney Q. Hollins. She is a special educator in the NYC DOE, a Research Assistant at We Got Us Now and a doctoral student at C.U.N.Y. Graduate Center. Whitney and I do advocacy work together and what struck me most about her when we first met was her sharp mind. She’s… Continue reading What Should Teachers Know About How Mass Incarceration Intersects With The Classroom?
If it feels like I’ve written this post before, that’s because I’ve written this post before. (Think of it as Groundhog Day: High School Edition.) The highlights: September 12, 2016: Can Last Minute Test Prep Bring Diversity To NYC’s Specialized High Schools? September 26, 2016: As a NYC Parent, I Don’t Think the DOE’s Change… Continue reading NYC High School Admissions: What the Department Of Education Refuses To Admit
In response to my posts about how New York City parents can raise the odds of their children getting into a Gifted & Talented public school program, a reader wrote to sarcastically congratulate me on destroying what had previously been a perfectly even playing field. Her child, it seems, took the G&T test with absolutely… Continue reading Is NYC Education an Even Playing Field For All Families?
Celia Scott Wickham wasn’t just an HHLA board member. She was also my mother-in-law. On Friday, February 16, 2018, Harlem Hebrew Language Academy Charter School (for those tracking such things, one of NYC’s most diverse public schools at 36 percent White, 30 percent Black, 29 percent Hispanic) dedicated the day to celebrating their neighborhood. Classrooms… Continue reading Is Parental Engagement Necessary For a Child’s School Success? A Personal Story.
Since the start of this school season — my daughter’s junior high school year — a big focus in our household has been on SAT preparation. My daughter chose to take the SAT rather than the ACT because she is not as strong in math and the SAT better caters to her overall skills and… Continue reading The “Big Business” of SAT/ACT Preparation: A Mom’s Story
I didn’t know that there was a researched title for the kind of teacher I am. I just thought it was me being me and, while that’s true, I recently learned that the role I bring to the classroom every day is called being a “warm demander.” According to esteemed scholar Dr. Diedre Houchen, “warm… Continue reading When They Go Low, We Go High: Why Black Teachers Are A Necessity, Not An Option
(New York School Talk exists to offer a “safe space” for parents, teachers, students, and anyone invested in public education. Most of our bloggers support charter school expansion in New York City. Not all of them do. We deeply value all voices and believe that differing opinions can lead to enlightened strategies to address what… Continue reading Sharing Space Doesn’t Make For Safe Schools
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?
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
