A Roof Over One’s Head

Note: The Schooldog has been away from his desk for a couple of months tending to some medical issues.

Summary: Before a student’s family sinks into the quagmire that is homelessness, may his or her family have luck to cross paths with a “diversion” worker. Continue reading

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How Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde Ganged Up on Me – A Lesson in Bureaucracy

Summary: Minutiae in a school day can tell the tale of how the larger institution functions for kids. Continue reading

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An Immigrant Story

Summary: It takes sociability, hard work, determination, resilience, love, and the benevolence of strangers for an immigrant to prosper. What’s not to admire? Continue reading

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The Age of Janus and the Challenge to Teachers’ Unions

Summary: In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision, teachers unions are weakened, but there are elements in the road ahead that could presage revival. Continue reading

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The Long Hard Way Out of Sticky Bottom; Amarillo College and the Battle with Poverty

Summary: Amarillo College in Texas and its varied support structures for low income students, financial and practical, testify to the complexity of escape from poverty. Continue reading

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Si, Se Puede; a Hopeful Slice of School Change and Its Politics

Summary: Intervention in poverty via the schoolhouse continues to be a viable avenue, but what is the state of funding and political will? Continue reading

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Is the God of Testing Dead? Or Just More Dimly Lit in the Firmament?

Summary – With the shift in educational decision making to the states under ESSA, testing can be expected to diminish in its relative importance, but retain a proportional role alongside such comprehensive measures of student outcome as educational attainment, employment, and avoidance of legal entanglements. Continue reading

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A Curious Thing Happened on the Way to School

Summary: In the intersection of social media movements and red state parsimony grass roots teachers’ strikes erupt in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Continue reading

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The Battle on the Horizon: An Assault on Teachers’ Unions

Summary: In a replay of past legal challenges to private sector unions’ ability to organize workers, conservative donors and foundations line up to challenge public sector unions, which eventually may put teachers’ salaries and their collective political clout in harm’s way. Continue reading

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Bring Those Charters into the House!

Summary: Charters are gaining ground. High time for public school boards, including Seattle’s, to make their peace, authorize a limited number of charters over time, and harness their creative energy. Continue reading

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