Featured Publications 2

I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America

As a 6’2″ dreadlocked black man, Tyler Merritt knows what it feels like to be stereotyped as threatening, which can have dangerous consequences. But he also knows that proximity to people who are different from ourselves can be a cure …

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21 Lessons for the 21st Century

In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power. Censorship works not by blocking the flow of information, but rather by flooding people with disinformation and distractions. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century cuts through these muddy waters and …

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We Must Say No to the Status Quo

It takes more than good intentions to make meaningful change The “spirit slashing” of injustice: that’s what Veronica McDermott calls the psychic toll that marginalized students face every day. Students can be marginalized because of race, economic status, language, sexual …

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Transformational Pedagogy: Cashing the Promissory Note of Equity for All Students – Especially Those Who Are Marginalized

What makes equity so hard to achieve are its many facets, so numerous and complex they are hard to define. This inability to define equity handily is especially confounding for urban districts that reach out to our organization, the National …

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I Can Finish College: The Overcome Any Obstacle and Get Your Degree Guide

Marcia Cantarella’s advice is not only concrete and practical, it covers situations that may overwhelm and derail students as they attempt to navigate the path to graduation.

How to help African-American males in school: Treat them like gifted students

Far too many boys don’t get the support at home or in the community they need to thrive as adults. Instead, that job falls almost completely on their teachers.

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Teacher Training, Taught by Students

In a role reversal, Ms. O’Bryant and other teachers at Brick Avon Academy are getting pointers from their students this year as part of an unusual teacher training.

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The ‘Fierce Urgency of Now’: It’s Time to Close the Gap

The recent national conversation about our K-12 schools has done a remarkable job of reducing complex issues to simple choices.

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Why Relationship Building is Vital

The recent report by a Chicago-based research group underscores what teachers, principals and student have told me for years

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The trouble with professional development for teachers

The way we provide professional learning experiences and support our nation’s teachers is a running source of debate

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