14% of your students have a suicide plan. 31% report suicidal thoughts, but 14% of them actually have a plan. 1 in 10 females reports being forced to have sex, 1 in 28 males. These numbers are all trending in the wrong direction. And they are bleak. They make your heart hurt and your chest…
What’s Working
Good News on “Willful Defiance” Suspensions in Oakland and What We Need Next
Usually a letter signed by the ACLU to your school or district is not a good thing. This one was a pleasant surprise sent to our principal, Leo Fuchs, at Learning Without Limits, recognizing the success in eliminating “willful defiance” suspensions. This mirrors some broader statewide efforts, that are starting to gain traction and that we should…
Fight unconscious bias with teachers who reflect culture of their students
(A guest post from Randal Seriguchi Jr. is the executive director of Urban Ed Academy in San Francisco, which helps third through fifth grade students succeed academically and become productive citizens with the support of their parents, families, schools and communities. This originally ran in the SF Examiner.) In the past 60 days, police arrested two…
The Research on the Importance of Black Teachers and the Troubling Numbers in CA
One relatively simple and costless reform could decrease Black dropout rates by roughly a third, increase all Black students’ expectations around going to college, increase significantly the percentage of Black students in gifted classes and also increase student engagement for youth of all races. We just need to hire, retain and develop more Black teachers. …
Solving the Shortage of Flatlands Teachers One School at a Time; Mills, CSCE and a New Waldorf Teaching Credential Program
My first visit to a Waldorf school was the Community School for Creative Education. It looked and felt different, weird, good weird, but weird. Families were integrated in classrooms and the halls, young children were preparing communal meals and there was art and movement at all grade levels, with a real focus on adolescent development. …