This is a letter written by a 17-year-old Oak Park student who set off a racial uproar after posting a selfie of himself in blackface. You can read details of the Incident in my earlier post here. I am reprinting it here in its entirety, with no edits. The student is underage, so his name is not being published. Hello,… Read more →
All across the nation, school leaders are struggling with how to respond to the results of the most divisive and shocking elections in recent American history. Many of our children are confused and reeling and scared, and they are looking to the adults around them–their parents, teachers, coaches and friends–to help them process this and move forward. It might feel like… Read more →
People loosely use the term “good schools and diversity” without looking into it or researching what that means. When you get below the surface, it means achievement for the white kids, but not for everybody else. That’s not good enough for me. Currently, my husband and I live in Broadview, a western suburb of Chicago, with our two daughters. Our… Read more →
Parents pay dearly for the privilege of living within the boundaries of Chicago suburban schools such as Barrington High and Naperville Central. Both are ranked among the top 40 high schools in the state, and both have average ACT scores that are 24.4 and 24.7, respectively—solidly above the state average. But peek below the hood, and you start to see… Read more →