I just moved into a new home. The boxes in my garage are about as never-ending as my trips to Target and Home Depot. There’s always something I need to do, which usually also includes somewhere to go. The one thing I don’t need to do is walk to the neighborhood school to see—if by chance—they have any open seats…
Category: Equity
Students with Special Needs are at Risk of Losing their Civil Rights
I’m detecting a trend. Recently, The Atlantic ran a piece that catalogues the Trump administration’s disregard of civil rights protections for Americans (and aspiring Americans) during the tenure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Across every issue, from criminal-justice reform to voting rights to LGBTQ rights,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, “the attorney…
When it Comes to Funding, My Students Shouldn’t Have to be the Underdogs.
It was before sunrise when the Peak to Peak speech and debate team sleepily boarded the bus for competition. We knew our meet in Fort Collins would be a challenge for our groggy group. Students would face an army of top-notch competitors from across the state. Once in the cafeteria our youngest competitors had their usual reactions. They oohed and…
DSST’s Decade of Achievement Could Culminate with $250,000 Broad Prize
For 10 straight years DSST Public Schools has celebrated having 100 percent of its graduates earn acceptance to college. This year, as a finalist for the 2018 Broad Prize for Public Charter schools, the network could have 250,000 more reasons to celebrate its positive impact on all of its students. For the second year in a row, DSST has been…
“Tough” is the Compliment We Pay White Teachers That Condemns Black and Brown Students
My nine years as a teacher in public schools have been eye-opening. The injustices that students from low-income backgrounds and students of color face in the education system have been common knowledge for years. And yet, it has been astounding to experience firsthand just how deep our biases go and how they cause us to misdiagnosis problems in education and…