“Our challenge is to see the seed or opportunity buried in the soil of conflict.” Dedicated to my heart, my nephew E. Henry Phoenix, Arizona is hot! Muy caliente! It’s so hot that afternoon school sports teams often practice in the evening, after the sun has set. Like many schools, the day begins by 8:00… Continue reading Conflict Resolution, Or, The Story of My Nephew Henry.
This is a guest post by Kristin Damo, the founding principal of Success Academy Lafayette Middle School in Brooklyn. My father emigrated from the Philippines and raised me on his own. The promise he made to me as a child is that I would have access to a world-class education. Today, this is the promise… Continue reading Mayor de Blasio’s Diversity Problem
Lane Wright is Director of Policy Analysis at Education Post. He is focused on telling stories that help families understand how their schools are doing, how to make them better, and how policy plays a role. He’s a former journalist and former press secretary to Florida’s governor. Every state uses standardized tests to find out… Continue reading Why Do We Need Standardized Tests?
I must say, I’m very grateful for the pre-service training that I received as a student preparing to be a teacher and in the early years of my career when I was a substitute and leave replacement teacher. My professors, cooperating teachers, and the department chairs that supervised me all embedded and modeled for me… Continue reading Educators and Professional Development: Quality Versus Quantity
For the past few weeks, every time I see the cover of a local New York City newspaper there are reports of incidents of blatant racism and discrimination against students of color. This week, sadly, is no exception. According to an article published this Monday in the Daily News, Liriano [a teacher in the NYC… Continue reading Even During Black History Month, Teaching Black History Is Demonized.
A school is only as good as its administrators’ execution of their vision. It starts at the top. Building administrators — specifically, school principals — are the ones who do the hiring of teachers. So much rides on their cultural competence, and this factors heavily into the hiring of teachers of color — or lack… Continue reading When Diversifying Staff, It All Comes Down to Principals!
What could be more important than welcoming 1,300 high school students during the morning into your building as a principal? I mean, seriously. I do it. These students walk past my 5’2” petite frame (hence, I often wear heels making me a resounding 5’3” tall powerhouse) on their way to the cafeteria and subsequent classes.… Continue reading NYC Teacher: Principals, Get Out There and Lead!
Whenever I mention how long I’ve been teaching or the ways in which I’ve observed how we can improve the teaching profession and education overall, I’m almost always, like clockwork, met with the suggestion that I become an assistant principal or principal. Is moving to administration the only logical next step in a teacher’s career?… Continue reading From Teacher to Administrator: The Only Logical Next Step?
