I was a principal at Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker in Philadelphia for many years. We took to heart the concept of windows and mirrors, decorating our walls with images and quotes from popular heroes; Malcolm X, Dr. King, Rosa...
Tag - Bias in schools
When I was first assigned to teach U.S. history nearly a decade ago during my second year as a social studies teacher, my first stop was to a Black-owned bookstore around the corner from where I taught. A month before the school...
Earlier this year, Dr. Tamar Klaiman, member of the Abington Board of School Directors, came under fire for saying the following: We know that the Black and Brown students are much more likely to be shot by the officer...
As a principal of three neighborhood schools serving majority Black students, I was always in talent acquisition mode. More on point, I was always in talent acquisition and cultivation mode, since the best recruitment strategy is...
I know a few Black male teachers, however I know more Black male principals and vice principals. It’s not that more Black educators choose to be administrators over teachers per se. Rather it’s because Black male teachers are...
To the Tremendous Energy at the Start of an Unprecedented School Year Growing up, I attended a small Catholic grade school in East Camden. We were a small community, but a community nonetheless. At the start of every school...
Contrary to the stereotypes, education continues to be a value of the highest priority in the Black community; dating back to the underground schools in the Antebellum South where Black people, at the risk of losing limbs and...
Shortly after I proposed to my wife, our parents threw us an engagement party. There were a few standout moments from that day; my wife in her beautiful yellow sundress, it was the hottest day of the year, and a conversation my...
George Floyd, gasping for air, uttered a desperate final plea that was heard around the world: “I can’t breathe.” The image of a black man dying under the knee of a white cop is horrific — and symbolic of the racism...
We all know that a teacher’s instructional skills matter for students. But a growing body of research shows that their background and life experience matter, too. This is especially important for students of color: while all...