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Archive - March 2018

  • Equity and Justice
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A Lesson of Leadership: How A Superintendent And School Leaders Supported Me When I Was Arrested

March 27, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
6 min read
1 Comment

It has been great to see the activism of students be expanded. While student activism didn’t begin with the Parkland youth, I am still glad to see them join the ranks of students of color who have been on the front lines for as...

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  • Equity and Justice
  • Let's Talk About It

I Have Students Who Would Prove To Be Better Secretaries of Education Than DeVos.

March 25, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
5 min read
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Betsy DeVos’s blistering interview a couple weeks ago on 60 Minutes was a disgrace. I have students, plenty of them, who could demonstrate more awareness about schools, charters, teaching and learning than the U.S. Secretary of...

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  • Equity and Justice
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  • Teacher & Principal Pathways

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

March 23, 2018
by David November
4 min read
2 Comments

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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  • Let's Talk About It

I’ve Known Gun Violence

March 16, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
4 min read
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I’ve known gun violence. Intimately. An in-law was gunned down at his front door by police responding to a “Black burglar.” He was fortunate to live. In college, my roommates were threatened by shotgun-toting White...

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In The Pursuit Of Justice: Fixing Philadelphia’s School Budget Deficit

March 14, 2018
by Zachary Wright
6 min read
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To absolutely no one’s surprise, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is running a deficit.  Projections show that at current funding levels, the SDP will be more than $700 million dollars in the red by 2020. According to...

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She’s Been Teaching About ‘Black Panther’ Long Before the Movie

March 13, 2018
by Abigail Henry
5 min read
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Below is an interview with Mastery’s African-American history teacher, Ms. Abigail Henry. In lieu of class one day, she took the freshmen class to see Marvel’s “Black Panther.” We discuss why she chose to include Black...

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  • Equity and Justice
  • Let's Talk About It

Students of Color Are Asking White Victims of Violence: “We See You. Now Can You See Us?”

March 11, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
2 min read
2 Comments

While students across the country are gearing up to conduct a 17-minute walkout to highlight the seventeen students who were murdered at Parkland High School, other students, including many of my own, are hesitant to demonstrate...

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  • Let's Talk About It

If Your Lesson Plans Aren’t Political Statements, Rip ‘Em Up and Start Over

March 10, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
8 min read
3 Comments

While most traditional schools have always grounded their work in the 3 Rs (Reading, ‘Riting, ‘Rithmetic), other schools have determined that the actual work includes the 3 As. After the NCLB law was ushered in, to sidestep...

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  • Let's Talk About It

There Is No U.S. History Without Black History

March 6, 2018
by Sharif El-Mekki
2 min read
1 Comment

This time of year, I tell students that Black History Month is a special time for celebration and reflection, but conversations about the role people of color have played in American history need to be ongoing all year. These...

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