graduation Archives - STORIES FROM SCHOOL AZ

8th Grade Promotion: Party, Pomp or Passé?

June 17, 2017Amethyst Hinton Sainz Life in the Classroom, Parent Involvment, Social Issues

A few weeks ago, I attended my son’s 8th grade promotion ceremony. Needless to say, I am extremely proud of him. He has overcome many obstacles and is becoming a responsible student and a principled friend and citizen, in addition

Reality Check for This Here Teacher

February 20, 2017Amethyst Hinton Sainz Assessment, Education, Education Policy

Are we in a post-truth society? Are we hopelessly floating in our bubbles of alternative facts and biased narratives? Or can reasoning and evidence prevail? The truth is that sometimes, one doesn’t even need the facts to be “alternative” to

Reality Check for English Language Learners

December 8, 2016Amethyst Hinton Sainz Assessment, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Literacy, Uncategorized

Snippets of surreptitious conversational Spanish dart around the classroom amid scattered outbursts of giggles. I review the color-coded highlighting of sentence parts in our newest sentence formula involving superlative adjectives, pointing to the laminated neon cards magneted to the

Mind Like a Civ(ics Test)?

February 10, 2015Amethyst Hinton Sainz Assessment, Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues

Should Arizona high school graduates understand civics? Heck, yes. What? I agree with our Republican-dominated legislative and executive branch on an issue? As in many other states, our state legislature and national representatives are elected disproportianately by older, wealthy white

The Tassel’s Not a Hassle*

January 6, 2013Amethyst Hinton Sainz Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Literacy, Social Issues

Sometimes it is frighteningly transparent who is profiting from access to our schools.