Tag: school choice

White Silence = Violence

White Progressives Have a Lot of Work to Do, and I’m Not Here to Help

When I ran for school board it was Betsy Hodges, the former Minneapolis mayor, who was the first elected official to endorse me. She asked me a lot of questions, offered some straight talk about the political system and spoke very clearly about what it takes to win in a Whiter than White town like Minneapolis. Later, after winning a…

As a Charter Network Leader I Fight for Students, and a Strike Will Hurt Them the Most

Nobody likes a teacher strike. I know. I have lived through a number of them. And I may have to do it again. My life and my background speak to the importance of education and school choice, two topics currently under discussion both in the city of Chicago and throughout our country. As an African-American woman and educator, I am a…

How to GoCPS for Elementary School, Part One

Are you planning to use GoCPS to apply for your child’s elementary school for next year? Well, buckle up, because it’s not easy. The process of choosing schools, applying, and enrolling your child in the Chicago Public Schools is daunting for even the most seasoned of parents.   As a Chicago Public Schools graduate, I had dreams of my children attending…

Real School Choice Means We Need Good Neighborhood Schools Too

I believe in school choice. But I believe in it like I believe in capitalism or college football. It’s a cool idea and I’m glad it’s around, but it doesn’t always work quite as well as advertised. Capitalism needs regulations and external guardrails to operate in any sustainable, fair way, and college football needs…well, I don’t have room to go…

Barton Dassinger at Chavez Elementary

Hey 7th-Graders, Here’s the App to Help You Find a High School

By launching GoCPS this school year, Chicago Public Schools took a huge step toward making applying to both elementary and high schools easier and more fair. But the process isn’t perfect and many families are still struggling to learn how it works. During Tuesday’s Town Hall meeting at Back of the Yards College Prep, CEO Janice Jackson fielded questions from…

The Power Of Unschooling: Why My Daughters Don’t Go To School

How does a 10-year-old Atlanta-based black girl with Jamaican parents, shoulder-length locs, and zero interest in school become deeply immersed in the studies of Finno-Ugric language groups and Eurasian migration? It started with flags. And the Internet, of course. Sage would come across an image of a flag, then search online to find its related country. Then, she’d see the…

Donald Trump Got It Right on School Choice. How About Hillary?

Even a broken clock is right twice per day. If you listened to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, you might find that this saying is apropos. You probably heard a lot of things you didn’t like.  But, how about his stance on the right of parents to choose a high quality school environment for their children? Now,…