My mother was an English teacher who taught in predominantly white and affluent private schools. As part of her employment benefits, my siblings and I were afforded an education at these elite schools for free. From first through eighth grade I was privileged to benefit…
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What SCHOOL CHOICE Means To Me
School choice has been a significant part of my life, even when I didn’t have a term for it. My parents were both educators, and my mom taught in international and private schools. As a result, I attended the schools where she taught. My parents…
Learning Experts vs. Subject Experts
More elementary schools are moving towards departmentalizing their schools. This means eliminating the traditional model of one teacher teaching all core subjects to one group of students. Departmentalization means hiring subject matter experts to teach one or two core subjects across multiple grade levels, for…
If it Takes a Village, Does it Matter Which Village?
Around 1973, when my white adoptive parents attempted to adopt another black child so that I would not be the only one in the family, they were rejected. Between 1968 and 1972 approximately 50,000 black children were adopted by white families. In 1972 the National…
Hiring For Cultural Fit
In a recent Education Week Blog, Madeline Will discusses recent research on the trend to hire teachers based on ‘cultural fit’. The research states that when schools hire for cultural fit there may be a tendency to ignore other priorities like race, training, and experience….
What D.E.A.R. Means To Me
“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” — Maya Angelou Diversity If “variety is the spice of life”, diversity is the key to any successful educational environment. Diverse learning communities should include students, faculty, and…