This essay originally appeared on the FutureEd blog. When schools were shuttered around the country three months ago, the pandemic did what nearly a decade of activist parents and testing skeptics could not do — put a systemwide pause on statewide standardized testing. It wasn’t because the tests were too long or poorly aligned to classroom...

Although we aren’t yet through the worst of the pandemic, there are signs that our collective efforts to “flatten the curve” have not been in vain. We can begin to look forward with some hope to the gradual return of normal life. For many of us in education, our thoughts are focused on what comes...

The killing of George Floyd is rightfully sparking a hard and overdue look at the American relationship with law enforcement, in particular, about race and policing. In the education world, that means the role of police in schools — especially school resource officers, or SROs — is again under scrutiny. When schools in Minneapolis announced...

With every breakdown comes the possibility of a breakthrough. I live by these words in my personal life as a parent and spouse; in my professional life as a mentor and parent coach; and in my career as a scientist-educator working with kids. Breakdowns are a part of life. They offer powerful learning opportunities. We...

George Floyd was unarmed and complying with officers. Breonna Taylor was asleep in her home. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a run. They all became victims because of the color of their skin. Now, frustrations are boiling over across the country. In my home of Los Angeles, peaceful protests intended to raise voices against systemic...

In moments of crisis, I look to my ancestors for guidance and strength. Blessed with the wisdom of millennia-old East African traditions, I trust in the power of collective resilience and hope. I grew up with stories of colonization and a 30-year war, as a result of which, by age 14, both of my parents...

For parents, the current school closures are requiring us to step in and support our children in new ways. It’s hard. I know. I’m a mom to two school-aged kids and find myself balancing work while playing school information technology specialist, phys ed teacher, guidance counselor and homework enforcer. But it’s also a rare opportunity...

I can’t help but feel some guilt as I unpack the fresh produce sprawled out on my kitchen counter among my laptop and my son’s iPad with paired wireless headphones. I think about the family who is undocumented, where the parents don’t speak English, where they are struggling every day to survive so technology and...

In times like these, it is easy to feel powerless. Yet now is exactly the time when we must speak explicitly about power— who has it and who is wielding it to respond to the needs of our communities during this uncertain time. Amid the global Coronavirus crisis, we must continue to focus on and...

A Gallup survey done in early April found that 83 percent of parents reported their children were involved in online distance learning. But Gallup conducted the survey online, so it excluded families with no internet connection. That means perhaps a third of students are not participating in remote learning this spring. For them, “summer” will...