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.
Q&A with Erika McConduit, Louisiana Director, The Education Trust
by Letisha MarreroWhy are you so passionate about social justice in education?Social justice is something that has been a part of me throughout my life. I grew up in New Orleans. My mother was a children’s book writer, and my father was a lifelong educator, so education was ingrained in me.…
Profile in Education Equity: Ohio State Senator Peggy Lehner
by Letisha MarreroThis summer, Ohio legislators passed a bill that bans expulsions and out-of-school suspensions for students in kindergarten through third grade. Ohio now joins a handful of states, including Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee that have taken measures to cut down the number of suspensions and expulsions for early learners. One…
10 Key Takeaways on Degree Attainment for Latino Adults
by J. Oliver SchakAs we stated previously, there are many benefits to having a college degree, both on an individual and societal level. Noting the economic and social benefits of a more educated community, more than 40 states over the past decade have adopted some sort of degree attainment goal — that…
7 Key Takeaways on Degree Attainment for Black Adults
The individual benefits of earning a college degree are well known, but the larger social benefits that are associated with a better educated population are often overlooked. Generally, people with higher incomes contribute more to federal, state, and local tax revenues, which provide more money for schools, colleges, public…
3 Ways States Can Improve Degree Attainment for Blacks and Latinos
In the U.S., if you are Black, you are two-thirds as likely to hold a college degree as someone who is White; if you are Latino, you are half as likely. While there have been gains in degree attainment since 2000 (9.1 percentage points for Black adults and 7.2…
How Civic Engagement and Activism Begin In the Classroom
Civics education should happen early and often, because it affects our everyday lives. Whether you are watching the news on your television, listening to it on the radio, or checking it on your phone, you are bound to find a report about an injustice committed on the political level…
Profiles in Education Equity: Daniel Zavala, Director of Policy and Government Relations at League of Education Voters
by Ed TrustA native of Washington state, Daniel Zavala started his career as a bilingual special education teacher after getting his bachelor’s and master’s from Stanford University. His path to policy work was shaped by his parents’ backgrounds in education and social justice. After earning his law degree at the University…
Parent to Educators: Stop Labeling Our Children
by Ivy EllisWhat parent doesn’t want the best for their child? Of course, we all would like to live and raise our kid(s) in the safest neighborhood with the best schools staffed by talented, attentive teachers who also advocate for our children. Regardless of status or color, parents do everything in…
Profile in Education Equity: Brigitte Blom Ramsey, executive director of the Prichard Committee
by Ed TrustBrigitte Blom Ramsey is the executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence in Lexington, Kentucky. Previously, she spent a decade as an elected member of the Board of Education in Pendleton County, Kentucky and served as a governor-appointed member of the Kentucky Board of Education for six…
Why Congress Should Fund the School Leader Recruitment and Support Program and Title II-A
Soon, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will be deciding on a budget for the 2019 fiscal year. Among the programs to be budgeted under the committee are K-12 education programs. Unsurprisingly, the current administration has proposed to eliminate a number…
Supporting Queer College Students of Color
by Antonio Duran and David Perez IIAs we celebrate Pride Month, LGBTQ advocates continue to challenge the actions of the U.S. Department of Education. This advocacy should not be surprising as educational systems in K-12 and higher education have long been criticized for not being a welcoming space for individuals who identify as part of…
What’s Behind the Teacher Strikes? A Look at Teacher Salaries
by Rachel MetzThe school year may have come to a close, but for some teachers across the country, things are just getting started. From North Carolina to Arizona, teachers have been making headlines for strikes and “sick-outs,” which are expected to ramp up in other states next school year. While specific…
Profile in Education Equity: Gini Pupo-Walker, Conexión Américas
by Ed TrustAn educator for over 20 years, Gini Pupo-Walker is the senior director of education policy and programs at Conexión Américas, a nonprofit in Nashville that serves Latino students and their families. She also leads the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition, where she works with other key groups in Nashville and…
Teacher Appreciation: Stories of Courage and Kindness from Room 40
My dad is a former cop turned special education teacher in California. For the past 20 years, his daily beat has been Room 40, a well-worn portable classroom, lined with books and anti-bullying posters, and lit with the energy of his seventh and eighth grade students.Watching him interact with…
The PROSPER Act Is About to Make College More Expensive
by Courtney BolligLast Saturday, I proudly joined thousands of students on college campuses throughout the country who are walking across the graduation stage to receive their diplomas this spring.And in the coming months, I will join many of these same students as we begin to pay back our federal student loans.Like…
Hidden School Resources: What Students Deserve in School
by Reetchel PresumeFor the past few months, there have been teacher walkouts in states like Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and the latest in North Carolina, where more than 15,000 teachers took their grievances to the state capital in Raleigh. These protests are about more than just teacher salaries, but about…
On School Discipline: Q&A with Educator and Activist, Brittany Packnett
by Samantha Kobbah2.7 million — that is the approximate number of students who were suspended from their school environments on one or more occasions during the 2015-2016 school year, according to the new Civil Rights Data Collection survey. As education leaders and policymakers grapple with the implications behind the data, one…
Why I Teach Where I Teach: To Give My Students a Sense of Belonging
by Ed TrustWynter Pitts is a first-grade teacher at Citizens Academy Southeast, a Title I school in Cleveland with a 97 percent Black student enrollment.While I was in the hallway getting ready for a morning meeting, I saw a student of mine going to the wrong line. I immediately called out…
Why I Teach Where I Teach: To Support Latino Students Seeking the American Dream
by Ed TrustJennifer Pisonero is a Black Latina Spanish teacher at University Preparatory Academy (UPA) Middle School in Detroit, as part of the Bright Loritos Language Immersion program. Nearly 83 percent of students at UPA qualify for free or reduced lunch. When I moved from Cuba to the United States, school…
Why I Teach Where I Teach: To Mitigate the School-to-Prison Pipeline
by Ed TrustCharisma Ricksy is a third-year educator and grade-level lead at Baton Rouge University Prep Elementary, a Title I school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My parents were privileged with choosing from many schooling options for my brother and me. As a native New Yorker, I was fortunate enough to attend a…
