Late this winter, just before the world turned upside down, we sat down with two people we admire. Sharif El-Mekki, 26-year veteran educator, founded the Center for Black Educator Development. Mario Shaw, newer to the game but...
Archive - April 2020
We are members of the Class of 2020. In the last few weeks, you’ve heard about us as the class who won’t get to go to prom, throw a senior prank, or share a normal graduation with our classmates and families. These things are...
That educators are culturally competent matters more than ever. COVID-19 has upended the school year for students nationwide and educators are working diligently to assure that quality learning opportunities continue for...
Montgomery County, like the rest of the country, is in crisis mode. In this unprecedented era, millions of students are at home when they should be in school learning. We appreciate the efforts of local school district leaders to...
It’s essential to begin today’s piece by acknowledging the privilege it is to think and write. Last week this time, typing up a day-ending Medium blog was not on my list of aspirations. Last week this time I didn’t even...
We find ourselves in times of crises: loss of many lives in sudden waves of sickness, fear, doubt; we face critical choices in so many categories, with seemingly unending uncertainties. Recently, most of us find ourselves...
It’s Women’s History Month and this is your friendly reminder that black women are undermined, underappreciated, and outright mistreated in this country. Black women are the breadwinners. They are “the most active...
I’ve seen a lot in my 48 years. I’ve seen the n-word scrawled in bathroom stalls and spray painted on walls. I’ve seen swastikas carved into desks and drawn on doors. I’ve seen comment sections littered with all sorts of...
To all my disrupter friends, please accept this letter as my resignation from the so-called “education reform movement.”For more than 20 years I’ve been lost in the reform forest, but no more. For too long I’ve relied on...
Before we get into today’s piece, let’s get a few things clear from the top: My wife and I have five… yes, one, two, three, four, five… kids at home with us right now. They range from 9 to 17, but frankly that...