Bill Withers. One of the greatest of all Appalachian musicians — a region that has given us so many of them. Born & raised in the heart of West Virginia.

“I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery…I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope”. www.democracynow.org/2026/7/3/wha...

I believe that we will win.

Meanwhile, too many journalists continue to treat these guys as analogous to the wonks over at Brookings.

Colleagues and I have have a new Article Collection coming in Cogent Education, "Reforming the Math Hierarchy: Policy, Practice, and the Politics of Equity in Access and Pathways." The deadline to submit is April 2 2027. Find out more here: invt.io/1fxburt504u

Happy, happy Pauli Murray Day! prayer.forwardmovement.org/calendar/pau...

If your candidate A loses to another candidate B and you blame B and/or their allies for running and disagreeing with you on some issues INSTEAD of acknowledging that they better met voters’ preferences, I dunno how deeply you believe in democracy.

One fun fact is that countries that delay sorting students by perceived ability tend to do better on international tests than those that engage in earlier sorting: www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Just a reminder that the best women in sports supporting letting all girls have a shot at playing with their friends–even the 10 trans girls out there who just want to play: www.womenssportsfoundation.org/press_releas...

Trans rights are human rights always and forever.

Thinking of these words from Tennessee Williams today.

Big if true.

I'm so pleased to see Dr. Miller get some well-deserved recognition. #homesicknesscontent

The shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic increased the full-time employment of physically disabled individuals by between 9 & 11 percent, say researchers at @stanforduniversity.bsky.social, @ucsandiego.bsky.social, and @stockholm-uni.bsky.social. #econsky www.aeaweb.org/research/cha...

I still challenge the assertion that districts are operating in a post-NCLB world. Many teachers I work with suggest schools are largely still operating in a test-focused world. This study from 2013 suggested kids were spending ~19 days on standardized test. Two years ago it was only down to ~16.

My biggest takeaway from the NCLB era is that we should take a long hard look at who gets held accountable for what. And I mean accountable for everything, from air quality to gun violence to housing conditions, plus all the in-school factors that influence student outcomes.

The college wage premium is one reason why the folks who say not every kid needs to college rarely mean *their* kids don't need to go to college.

turns out being deliberately antagonistic towards the people who elected you in order to court people who would under no circumstances ever vote for you is not smart

This incarceration of dads “renders thousands of children w/out their father’s care every day, not just on Father’s Day. Detained men’s grief, due to forced separation from their work and from their families, is amplified by the maddening uncertainty of not knowing when or if they will be released.”

Lolsob at the link in the email about the new NSF data application website being broken immediately.

Related: there's an opportunity to sign on to a statement opposing the transfer. Broad Coalition of Disability, Civil Rights, and Education Organizations to Denounce ED’s Latest Transfers of Core Functions forms.gle/5v6boQni8rNn...

One very specific thing that state and federal-level Dems could do while also working for a long-term OCR fix is stand up a consortium similar to the public health ones and provide a venue for students with disabilities to have their grievances heard: progressive.org/op-eds/prote...

This is a bad idea, and everyone knows it. www.chalkbeat.org/2026/06/17/p...

cc: @socialistdogmom.bsky.social

The world is at war with its children.

Opponents of the voucher program have often repeated that it subsidizes private school tuition for families who can already afford it. Our analysis showed that is largely true for the more than 3,000 recipients whose families make upward of $173,160 annually. www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

This headline should read "Employers frustrated they can't offload training onto schools." www.ft.com/content/a6ee...

Bluesky itself is proof enough of the dangers of gifted and talented programs

These are some troubling findings–particularly in light of recent discourse: www.chalkbeat.org/2026/06/11/g...

I think stories like this show just how unhelpful traditional letter grades in communicating how students are doing at school. www.inquirer.com/education/ph...

"Which is to say it was a perfectly normal morning, no better or worse than any parent of any kid might have. Normal is not what we would have predicted in those first 24 hours. But normal is what we have." This is one of two messages on this. I wrote about #DownSyndrome and prenatal testing.

Let's go, Philly! Philly schools’ learning outpaces other big-city districts post-pandemic, a new report says share.inquirer.com/OzCzyM

Personally, I would put the final theory first - the curriculum most students have experienced does not allow them to practice the kind of reading (or writing) expected of them in college. It predates smartphones. Also, I've had an iPhone longer than any of these students and I can still read.

First flower arrangements out of the garden this year!

I promise "conservative writer" that Philadelphia voters absolutely voted for this. Take your bigotry and terrorizing elementary students elsewhere. share.inquirer.com/a3YoK2

A lot of people in K–12 education politics/policy are trying to convince themselves (and others) that U.S. families are desperate for schools to figure out how to *use* AI in schools. I think that that's wrong—and absolutely NOT what U.S. families want.

Let's go, Virginia! virginiamercury.com/2026/06/01/v...

Happy Pride to everyone! I just love my queer friends so much and am grateful for each and every one of y’all!

If I hear another f--ng interview about how the long run learning loss which started pre-covid (esp in reading) is probably caused by social media and failure to implement Science of Reading, while totally ignoring the post-recession great disinvestment - for which we already have causal evidence...

Some interesting perspectives from teachers on ed tech at next week's webinar! Register here: tinyurl.com/Missing-Teac...

The College Board really just floats in the ideological currents of the moment, contributing nothing

charlottesville city schools happily announcing their new police hires on the same day the nyt puts out yet another damning report on police violence against school children 👍 great policy work guys what could go wrong 👍 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

It's me. I am white, married woman with college degrees for Talarico. Somebody put that on a cup I can drink out of at the mahjong table.

"Early school tracking strongly predicts academic achievement and future plans, often amplifying pre-existing inequalities." ijse.padovauniversitypress.it/system/files...

Proud to join @scholars.org as a member of our Philadelphia/NJ chapter! scholars.org/scholar/marg...

Wait. What?

One thing I’m grateful for in life is a mom who calls me up to complain about how annoyed she is at Abigail Spanberger.

Anti-homesickness content.

MAGA pols always find a way to exempt the religious schools taking taxpayer dollars from the accountability mechanisms they impose on public schools.

Join us at the Division A Equity in Action Committee to hear from the awesome Dr. Miranda on Wednesday!