When This Chicago School Was on the Verge of Closure, A Visionary Principal Built the Team That Turned It Around

When This Chicago School Was on the Verge of Closure, A Visionary Principal Built the Team That Turned It Around

Back in 2013, when Principal Aaron Rucker first came to Auburn Gresham’s Ryder Elementary, he said someone in the central office warned him: “You’re being

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How Barron Gunnings Is Shifting the Narrative for Black Male Students

How Barron Gunnings Is Shifting the Narrative for Black Male Students

Barron Gunnings is a thoughtful, passionate young man currently entering his third year at the College of Wooster. He’s someone who “never felt the need to

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White Teachers Working to Create Equitable Schools Must Accept That Race Impacts How We Teach

White Teachers Working to Create Equitable Schools Must Accept That Race Impacts How We Teach

I remember the moment clearly. It was my sophomore year of college and we were in a crowded cafeteria. A friend asked me to identify the partner I was work

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There's a Difference Between a 'Good' School and Choosing Whiteness and Wealth

There’s a Difference Between a ‘Good’ School and Choosing Whiteness and Wealth

It’s nearly summer, and while for most that means the end of a school year, for many it also means transition. Preschoolers transition to kindergarten, ele

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Just Like Emancipation, Quality Schools Are Being Delayed and Denied to Black Students

Just Like Emancipation, Quality Schools Are Being Delayed and Denied to Black Students

“Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” While many Americans are waiting with baited breath for

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Ava Duvernay’s ‘When They See Us’ Is Unfolding Right in Our Schools

Ava Duvernay’s ‘When They See Us’ Is Unfolding Right in Our Schools

When you see them, they may be laughing, talking loudly, listening to music that is not your music. They may be dressed in clothes that are not your clothe

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Having a Mock Slave Auction Isn't Teaching Students About Slavery, It's Just Racist

Having a Mock Slave Auction Isn’t Teaching Students About Slavery, It’s Just Racist

As an educator, I am sometimes left with more questions than answers. One question that I have is how come conducting a mock slave auction is a popular way

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I'm Not Willing to Trade Fixing Income Inequality for Better Schools. We Need to Do Both.

I’m Not Willing to Trade Fixing Income Inequality for Better Schools. We Need to Do Both.

I don’t know about y’all but I get tired of seeing annual reports basically saying the same thing: Black people in America are suffering. Like this Urban L

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High School Graduate Tatiana Amaya on Raising Student Voice and Claiming a Seat at the Table

High School Graduate Tatiana Amaya on Raising Student Voice and Claiming a Seat at the Table

Often, you hear about leaders, far earlier than you meet them. Sitting in a café near the school where I lead as principal, Mastery-Shoemaker, I was approa

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