Turning a James Baldwin quote into a blog is easy. James Baldwin is one of my favorite authors of all time. His writing is timeless, and he was indeed a national treasure. In my eyes and the eyes of those that read his work. James Baldwin was a writer, activist, and prominent figure in the…
First, let me begin with full disclosure and transparency. On November 14, the Indiana Department of Education released the 2017-18 accountability grades. My school earned a C. Last year, the IDOE rated our school a B, but last year, we were only rated on growth. If we were rated on both growth and proficiency, our…
Educators sometimes wear different hats. Those hats represent the different roles we play. We wear the hat of educator, which serves as the first hat. Then, we wear the hat of advocate. We must fight for the rights of students and ensure their voice is heard. We wear the hat of caretaker. Many students come…
The first quarter of the school year is over. The honeymoon stage of the new school year is over too. Students have settled into their schools and teachers know their students pretty well. The excitement of the new school year is over and now the work has truly begun. As teachers begin to hit their…
I began this education journey just eight years ago. I started with a simple goal to be someone I did not have when I was in school. I had one black male teacher from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It was not common for me to see black men as teachers. Now, looking back, I am…
I had the opportunity to visit a high performing school in New York. I went there to learn best practices on driving student achievement. This school was earning tremendous academic results with students who come from similar backgrounds as the scholars I serve. Many of these students receive free and reduce lunch and have previously…
They say there is a thin line between love and hate. What about the thin line between school and politics? It’s election season, and there are those major political races for Governor, Senators, and Congress. Those appointments could impact communities for years to come. Then, there are local races such as the school board races….
Now, I had to let the situation die down a little before I responded. I was still in shock. I couldn’t even be that angry because I was in disbelief. One of the hip hop and rap icons, Kayne West – Kayne Tigga, the man that gave us College Dropout, Graduation, 808 Heartbreak, My Beautiful…