Yaritza was suspended in seventh grade for punching a boy in the nose. He had called her a dull-witted donkey, not quite in those words.Luckily, her seventh-grade teacher—who was also the debate coach—recognized her spark of Latinx magic and showed her how ideas can be mightier than fists. She learned to challenge the veracity of…
For some Americans, the federal government investing a single dime in education is considered an overreach of power and an insult to the Constitution, which lays out that the responsibility for all functions not assigned to the federal government, like education, remains with the states. However, over the last few decades, there has been a…
Students at the summer performance celebration I know I can (I know I can)Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)If I work hard at it (if I work hard at it)I’ll be where I wanna be (I’ll be where I wanna be)–Nas, “I Can” Where can you find dual language English/Haitian Creole…
Juneteenth is a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” in honor of the date Union Army’s Major General Gordon Granger arrival in Galveston, Texas to announce the end of the Civil War & the official end of slavery through the ratification of the Emancipation Proclamation which occurred on Jan 1, 1863 (de Haan, 2020). This announcement…
Connecticut has become the latest state to pass legislation requiring that reading instruction be based on the science of reading. According to the state’s recently enacted budget bill, every school district in the state is required to focus its reading curriculum on the science of reading by 2023, despite opposition from some educators and parents….
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education held the first installment of its Equity Summit Series, “Building Equitable Learning Environments in Our Schools.” The program featured First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten, leaders and educators from across the country, and student performances. During the summit, participants highlighted the…
1. Millions of people, including me, learned to read with the help of Reading Mastery. Why change such a successful product? Although Reading Mastery has evolved, the instructional design of the program remains the same. Reading Mastery Transformations is based upon the Direct Instruction pedagogy of explicit, systematic instruction. So, teachers can be confident that…
Detroit’s diverse population would benefit from the plan As President Biden’s American Families Plan meets opposition in Congress, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer is moving forward with a $400 million dollar plan to expand the state’s Great Start Readiness Program so that it can provide free preschool to 22,000 more children. Whitmer wants to spend $255…
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board has voted 6-1 to distribute an additional $700 million in the 2021-22 academic year to schools using the Student Equity Needs Index (SENI). The SENI is a formula used to inform the allocation of funds so that LAUSD can efficiently address the achievement gap. Passage of Board…
Funding for the World Language Advancement and Readiness Act (WLARA) Grants Program is critical. Reach out to your Senators and ask them to sign onto the Senate version. This letter is addressed to Senate Appropriators and requests $15 million in FY22 funding for the WLARA through the forthcoming Department of Defense Appropriations bill. The deadline…