The Equity Line contains original analyses, commentary, and “on the ground” stories of students, parents, educators, and activists all over the nation striving to improve education. It chronicles our efforts, as well as those of partners and friends who are working toward the shared goal of closing gaps.
“All Children are Born to Thrive”: Why Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) Matters
After months of distance learning, unfinished instruction, social isolation, and missed activities during the summer months, many of the nation’s students will…
Listening to Educators of Color
by Eric Duncan and Simone Hardeman-JonesThe Education Trust and E4E recently convened a small group of educators of color from across the country to hear about their experiences during the sudden shi…
Mirrors and Windows: Investing in Educators of Color
by Katie CasterI teach middle school science and English as a second language (K-5) in Boston Public Schools. I am adopted from El Salvador. Every day, I bring my Latinidad i…
Hungry Kids Continue to Struggle Through a Pandemic During Summer Months
America’s kids have already endured what has been undoubtedly the most nontraditional school year of their young lives. However, the summer months bring added …
Profile in Education Equity: Educare DC
by Ed TrustEducare Washington DC is a full-day, year-round early childhood program in Ward 7 serving 304 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, and their families. Last year, …
“What Did We Hear? What Did We Learn?”
In a lively conversation, Tanji Reed Marshall and Karin Chenoweth wrap up Season 1 of ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times by talking through what th…
“We’ve been planning, planning, planning.”
“If we’re face-to-face, we’ll be pretty good with that. If we’re remote, we’re 80% there,” says superintendent Corey Miklus in Seaford, Delaware, about the upc…
“Schools that already had cohesive cultures did the best.”
Dr. Sonja Santelises joins ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times to discusses the Black Lives Matter protests and the decisions she faces as superinte…
“Our hope is to come back as close to normal as we possibly can.”
By using gyms and deploying every possible teacher, even if they don’t have all the proper certifications, Steubenville’s superintendent Melinda Young is hopin…
“Virtual learning on steroids.”
Increased costs in the face of massive budget cuts means that the already difficult task of re-opening school buildings becomes even more complicated. “It’s ov…
#COVID19PBL Educators Connecting Across the Distance and Exhibiting Anti-Racist Values
by Joe TrussMy school’s transition to distance learning was much like a lot of principals. We rushed to pass out technology, upload assignments to Google Classroom, and an…
“We have the resources.”
“The money exists to ensure that all students are served,” says Tricia McManus, the brand-new deputy superintendent of Winston-Salem Public Schools in North Ca…
Why I Teach Where I Teach: To Use My White Privilege to Close Opportunity Gaps
by Hannah TurnerI teach English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Argyle Middle School, which is five miles away from the house I grew up in and in the same school dis…
Why Schools Should Consider Online Coaching for Teachers
“Rrrr – aaaa – t.” A five-year-old boy on my computer screen looked up at his teacher quizzically. He was unsure of what the word was, so his teacher patiently…
Profile in Education Equity: Jonathan Feinstein, State Director, Texas
Ed Trust is pleased to announce Jonathan Feinstein as the state director for Texas. Jonathan brings more than 15 years of experience in education as a teacher,…
“This is so much of a harder task to perform”
Providing distance learning is much harder than providing an education in person, says Mary Haynes-Smith, principal of Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in…
“We’ve borrowed the phrase, provide grace”
“The biggest bonus” of the remote learning that Godwyn Heights School District in Michigan has been doing is the strengthened ties between school and families,…
Self-Advocacy or Defiance in Protests? Depends: Are You White or Black?
by Nancy Duchesneau and Ashley Griffin“Please, I can’t breathe.”Are these words of “resistance,” or are they a man’s simple plea to stay alive? In seven minutes, George Floyd became yet another Bla…
“We have the opportunity and I hope we don’t waste it”
Jennifer Robbins, principal of Ladd Acres Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon, has been collecting and studying data about which of her school’s students ar…
Schools Might Be Closed, But Families Still Deserve Data on Student Learning
by Terra Wallin and Sarah MehrotraNearly 9 in 10 parents are worried about their children falling behind academically due to coronavirus-related school closures, according to recent Ed Trust po…
