Race and class alike factored into how teachers treated me when I attended Evanston schools, and I’m sure they continue to factor into how teachers treat students today. While giving families the support they need to help their children succeed in Evanston schools is commendable, placing the onus mostly on black families to close the achievement gap misses the point.… Read more →
This is the first part of a four-part series on the writer’s experience and research on the achievement gap in her hometown of Evanston, Illinois, a diverse suburb north of Chicago and home to Northwestern University. One day when I was in second grade, my mother approached me with an envelope in hand. Wordless, she glared at me, and I… 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 →
Wisconsin mom Amber Regan nailed it when she pointed out why she couldn’t get her school district on board with a national grant proposal to “rethink” their suburban Milwaukee high school. “They (spend) … a lot of time looking at things and not a lot of time changing things.” Yep, school districts love to say they are interested in innovation, and… Read more →