African American Influence on U.S. Government As February winds down, let’s remember that the celebration of African American influence does not have to end. In honor of this, we will take a look at some of the ways that
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A Different Kind of Readiness
My students, like so many across the nation, want to do something. They are on their Instagram and Facebook feeds, during the aftermath of the post-Douglas HS shooting. They see young people that look and sound just like them giving speeches, planning walkouts,
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House Bill May Allow for Innovations Beyond the 4-Hour ELD Block
In December, Emmanuel, a hypothetical yet typical student from Honduras, moves to the U.S. with his father. Emmanuel, based on his age and previous schooling, is placed into seventh grade. He speaks very little English; more accurately, he can read
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A Better Approach to Empathy-Building PDs
Long before being told so by the new generation of privilege shamers, I knew that the comfort in which I grew up and my smooth entry into adult independence, resulted not only from having parents who played by the rules,
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Must Like Kids
You may have heard that 70-80% of new restaurants fail within the first year. As it turns out, that often cited statistic is exaggerated: the actual figure is 17%, according to Forbes. It turns out the chance of success is
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Mindfulness and the Type A Student
I am the mother to a Type A student, a very Type A student. You all know the kind; she cried at every 89%, attended every school function then studied all night, and took every Honors, AP, Dual Enrollment class
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Four days. Three nights. Sixty students. Ten Teachers. One Million Smiles.
I returned home two weeks ago from Vikingtown, a diversity and leadership camp. The four days, three nights with sixty students and ten teachers created one million smiles. This was my first Vikingtown experience and I had zero clue what
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We Are More Than Dr. King
I was blessed to grow up in the rich African American (Black) culture that resides in the Washington, D.C. area. I saw our good and bad, our strengths and weaknesses, our beauty and shame wherever I looked. I was secure…I
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The Smart Phone Battle
Leave the Book at Home – BYOD If you’re like me and teach in today’s high school system, you have no choice but to deal with the cell phone epidemic every single day. Today’s electronic devices are incredibly powerful. They
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