This extraordinary year has been challenging for any student: isolated from your friends, counting on the internet to work wherever you can get it, so you can try to follow a teacher on Zoom long enough to learn enough to navigate a project on your own. If you can find a quiet place to study…
mental health
Teachers, You Can Never Know the Demons Your Students Face, But There Is Something You Can Do to Help
This guest post is by an anonymous, Oakland-based educator. One time my mom tried to kill me. She chased me with a knife, cackling like a witch. It was hide-and-seek—but it wasn’t, it wasn’t a game. I trembled in a dark corner of the basement, which terrified me, but I was more terrified of her…
Schools to Celebrate- Fostering Wellness on Staten Island
People said we were crazy when we applied to start John W. Lavelle Prep Charter in Staten Island. It was a college prep middle school that would cater to students with emerging mental health challenges. There were no other models to look at in NY, and these kids often faced immense challenges. This is what…
Hearing the Silent Screams of Students Before It’s Too Late
It was a short note. “I am sorry, I am not dropping out but I won’t be coming back to school, thank you for everything, I’m sorry.” But it activated a red alert at the school, immediate calls to family, and a staff member dispatched to do a home visit. The student had overdosed on…