ExtraOrdinary Districts: Lexington Part 3 – Building a Learning Community
Superintendent Ash refocused Lexington school district on helping not the bussed-in Boston students but any student who needed extra…
ExtraOrdinary Districts: Lexington Part 2 – Where Do You Start? Everywhere!
Once the educators in Lexington got a handle on how badly some of their students were doing, they threw…
ExtraOrdinary Districts: Lexington Part 1 – Secrets of a High-Performing School District
Most wealthy, high-performing school districts have huge achievement gaps. And 10 years ago, Lexington, Massachusetts, did too. The students…
ExtraOrdinary Districts: Episode 1 – How Do We Know Which School Districts are ExtraOrdinary?
Anyone who wants to identify “extraordinary districts” has a daunting challenge: The United States has more than 14,000 school…
Helping Students Get the Great Teachers They Deserve
In school districts across the nation, Black, Latino, and Native American students, as well as students from low-income families,…
ExtraOrdinary Districts: Ordinary school districts that get extraordinary results
Across the nation, many school districts are asking themselves, “What can we do to better serve our students of…
The Dream Act: Allowing Immigrant Students to be Workforce Ready
Before joining Ed Trust-New York, I worked as an advocate/attorney for immigrant families. One of my first clients was…
Let Young Dreamers Continue to Dream
In 2012, Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved the “Maryland Dream Act." I was proud to be working for Governor Martin…
ESSA Planning Process is Complete. What’s Next?
By now, most states have submitted their ESSA plans to the U.S. Department of Education for review. Over the…
The Case for Investing in High-Quality Early Learning
Imagine a preschool classroom where every child is engaged in positive social, emotional, and developmental learning activities. Where children…
Classroom Assignments Matter. Here’s Why.
As a former classroom teacher, coach, and literacy specialist, I know the beginning of the school year demands that…
FY18 Appropriations: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly + What’s Next
Over the past two weeks in D.C., there has been a lot of action on the Hill on the…
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Today marks Chile’s Independence Day and the first full week of Hispanic Heritage Month celebration — a time when…
Dear White People: We’ve Always Had Affirmative Action
“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”—Gloria SteinemDear White People,Days ago, I, like…
Getting Students Over the AP Finish Line: Hear From Schools Already Doing It
In implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are choosing how to measure and hold schools responsible for…
Welcoming Our New Team Members
We are thrilled to announce a number of new additions to our team, as we work toward growing our…
Pairing Access With Supports to Boost Success in AP
This morning we published our new brief, “Systems for Success: Thinking Beyond Access to AP,” an in-depth examination of…
Systems for Success: Thinking Beyond Access to AP
The national data are clear: more students of color are taking AP exams, but success rates for these students…
Mansur’s Manifesto: How an Aspiring Black Male Teacher Plans to Turn Teaching Into Activism
Anytime I tell people that I am majoring in social studies education, they ask one of two questions: “Where…