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Tag - Accountability

  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
  • Equity and Justice

If You’re an Educator Who Thinks We Need to Hold Parents Accountable, You Need to Do Some Soul Searching

April 17, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
4 min read
1 Comment

Time and time again, I’ve heard educators say that the lack of parental engagement in their schools is what is holding them back. But, when I listen to families, in Philly or Chicago or any other urban city, I hear about the...

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  • Equity and Justice
  • Let's Talk About It
  • Teacher & Principal Pathways

Can Superhero Principals Alone Turn Schools Around? The Research Says No!

March 23, 2018
by David November
4 min read
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New York Times columnist David Brooks recently penned an op-ed on the importance of excellent principals.  Among his chief assertions is the notion that great principals are the key driver of school improvement:...

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  • Let's Talk About It

We Should Support Schools That Work. It’s Really That Simple.

March 19, 2018
by Zachary Wright
4 min read
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Zachary Wright shares his reflection on some of the silly conversations that occur about governance. His original blog can be found on Education Post. Politics makes strange bedfellows. As a liberal who is theoretically...

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  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
  • Higher Standards
  • Let's Talk About It

I’ve Taught in a School With Zero Accountability, It’s Terrible

March 2, 2018
by Zachary Wright
6 min read
1 Comment

By last December, the fall of my ninth year of teaching high school, I had been observed by teacher coaches, visitors from educational non-profit organizations, principals and assistant principals, no fewer than 15 times. Each...

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  • Let's Talk About It

A Former Superintendent Wonders: What’s Missing From The Discussion About Schools That Serve Our Communities?

January 18, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
7 min read
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This blog was originally written by Joshua Starr, CEO of PDK International, and published on Chalkbeat.  I recently had the pleasure of visiting Sharif El-Mekki, the principal of a Mastery Charter School campus in...

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  • Let's Talk About It

Black Education Leaders Share Alternate Ways to View What Happens When White Women Cry in Schools

January 10, 2018
by Kelli Seaton
15 min read
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Being in urban education is hard work.  Some might say that being an education leader in an urban environment is even harder work.  To further emphasize this reality, the Hechinger Report highlights the locus of responsibility...

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  • Let's Talk About It

Discomfort, Yes. Different Tests, Hell No.

November 18, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
5 min read
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Last month, my friend, Erika Sanzi, wrote a piece on her blog Good School Hunting. She raises several great points. I’ve re-posted it below. Some kids are uncomfortable with reading To Kill a Mockingbird down in Biloxi...

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  • Let's Talk About It

Appointed or Elected School Boards: Which Will Serve Black and Brown Kids Better?

November 11, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
4 min read
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As members of Philadelphia’s business, academic, labor, and advocacy communities, we are regularly reminded that our city’s success is dependent upon the success of our public schools. Troublingly, the School District of...

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  • Accountability
  • Let's Talk About It

When’s the Last Time You’ve Heard a Politician Take Full Responsibility for the Education of Black and Brown Children in Philly

November 7, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
2 min read
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For too long, we’ve pointed fingers at each other…again and again, we’ve told the people of Philadelphia that the state of their schools are someone else’s responsibility. -Mayor Kenney Last week, Mayor Kenney, in a...

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  • Let's Talk About It

Conscious Educators Don’t Make Excuses, Run From Accountability, or Break Promises Made to Families

November 1, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
4 min read
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In his meticulously researched book, “The Education of Blacks in the South 1860-1935,” James D. Anderson reminds us of a story that highlights a now famous quote. “Tell them we are rising.” When Richard Wright, one of the...

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