I’m concerned about the growing backlash against what are referred to as “no-excuses” schools. Too often, critics depict overly-rigid approaches to discipline that pave the road from school to prison. I agree that too much...
Category - Accountability
Integration. The idea brought well deserved cheers with Brown vs Board of Education. Many likely assumed that 60+ years later, deeply segregated schools would only serve as a relic of the past and a sharp pivot in the road for...
“I am not accountable for the violence, drugs, pregnancy…in my school.” I wasn’t surprised by this final retort. It was tweeted to me by a seasoned educator. I don’t doubt she loves her students. And judging by some of...
“An educator in a system of oppression is either a revolutionary or an oppressor.” –Lerone Bennett, Jr. There is a war going on. When war is mentioned, most folks will immediately think about what is happening overseas or...
For many years, the School District of Philadelphia, anti-charter groups, and even high performing charter schools, demanded that charters be held accountable for student achievement. They are right to demand this. Just as...
“With great power, comes great responsibility.” The conditions of our schools clearly communicate to us that we need authentic vanguards for our communities. Although many (vote hungry politicians, district employees...
I wanted to weigh in on two recent articles about testing. As a current charter school principal, former Philadelphia School District teacher and principal, recent Principal Ambassador in the US Department of Education, and CEO...
What is one to surmise about today’s educational systems, specifically our nation’s public urban school districts in relation to whether or not they are being adequately funded? Dating as far back to America’s seminal K-12...
The other day I rode by a mansion in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania—one of the wealthiest districts in the state, if not the country—and I noticed a sign encouraging people to “opt out” of our state’s annual standardized...
Recently, Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite announced that North Philadelphia school E.W. Rhodes Elementary would be among four schools undergoing a district-run turnaround plan—requiring staff to reapply for their...