"You can't lead the people if you can't love the people."

We're all with you, @booker.senate.gov

“Americans estimated that the average Black American family had about 50% of the amount of wealth that the average White American family had in 1963 & believed this had grown to 90% by 2016. In reality, Black families only had 5% of White family’s wealth in 1963 & had only grown to 10% by 2016.”

Just a reminder that DEI matters because it wasn’t until 1943 that someone was able to (and unfortunately had to) scientifically prove that racial inferiority was a myth. Centuries of racist narratives aren’t undone overnight and certainly not without active efforts to dismantle these ideologies.

What a beautiful, inspiring day at Denver’s capitol where people spoke of and fought for love, inclusivity and human rights.

Today, many of my California-based students were absent as they participated in a movement called “A Day Without Immigrants.” And all I could think was how privileged I am to teach these youth, who seem to understand more about human rights than some of our national leaders.

The next time a GOP politician says that they need a voucher program because test scores are not improving, let’s remember that Alabama introduced a voucher program last year while their test scores are improving. It’s not about test scores. It’s never been about test scores.

Our district had a severe snow storm today that started early and was unrelenting; many questioned why we didn’t call a snow day. By 6pm, our superintendent sent this apologetic email for making a bad call. It was a profound example of humility in a highly scrutinized administrative role.

If you’re looking for a quick overview of current debates in educational policy, this was a very clear, succinct collection of some relevant topics in education right now. This would be a good recommendation for parents or community members who also want to understand more about school policy.

Trump wants teachers to “INSTILL a patriotic ADMIRATION for our INCREDIBLE Nation and the values for which we stand…” but this in itself is a form of biased “radical indoctrination.” I’d rather show my students various viewpoints and let them critically synthesize that info without a hidden agenda.

Thanks for sharing space for these incredibly important issues. I hope families remain safe and educators continue to shield them!

This is my mom’s first photo as a Cambodian immigrant after surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge. Her family collected and sold cans to afford a life in America. Decades later, I have the opportunity to pursue a PhD and help marginalized children like her BECAUSE she was able to seek refuge in the US.

Taking on new costs for affluent kids already in private schools while simultaneously scapegoating undocumented kids, who are protected under Plyler, for "draining limited resources" - that's quite the policy choice.

Our school district is addressing absenteeism with informative videos on why attendance matters; I have a hunch many of the students/families for whom this relates aren’t engaging with these emails in general. What actions have you seen re: absenteeism in other districts that may be more impactful?