Author name: Ian

by Mark Kostin  I am White. I am male. And I serve as the associate director of the Great Schools Partnership. I am a work in progress. This is hard for me to say. I grew up in an environment where I felt much was expected. While certain concepts and skills seemed to come naturally to […]

by Steve Sell The work of disrupting inequities in our schools and communities begins and ends with power: Who has it, and who does not? As schools work to increase opportunities for student voice, it is important to pause and ask whether students are able to use their voices in ways that challenge the imbalance of

by Reed Dyer As educators dedicated to school improvement, we need to start apologizing more often. That’s because the work of school improvement is messy and pushes us all into the area where mistakes and missteps are inevitable. True school improvement is about fighting for equitable outcomes for all students and that involves talking about identity

by Craig Kesselheim The third-grader was standing beside a table in the noisy art classroom, ready to explain the tangible evidence of her learning. In one hand was a mummy, a doll-sized figure wrapped thoroughly in white plastered fabric. On the table was a sarcophagus rendered from a shoebox. The young learner explained that she had

by Katie Thompson We all know the “typical” school experience, right? Brick buildings, classrooms, desks in rows, teachers at a board; this is the image that first pops into our heads when we think of school. Excitingly, many schools in New England and around the country are challenging that typical school experience by incorporating external learning

by David Ruff In a perfect world, an employee would be promoted at work due to a fair and honest appraisal of their capacity. Unfortunately, in a world that struggles with inequity of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc., such promotions are frequently based on or at least influenced by realities beyond the employee’s capacity. Recognizing

by Carrie McWilliams When I was a principal in Providence, my school was the only elementary school in town without a playground. Every day I watched my students go out to play on a blacktop parking lot behind a chain-link fence. When I posed the question of why we did not have a playground, I was

by Andrea Summers In working with schools across New England as a school improvement coach, I have come to believe that many school district leaders and staff need to engage in significant reflection and study around the mindsets and foundational beliefs of educational equity before they can successfully implement more equitable policies and practices. Although there

by David Ruff Like many of you, my fall email inbox has been inundated with conference opportunities. Most of these are offered by great organizations, filled with thoughtful presentations, and attended by people I respect and admire. Interestingly, however, when I talk to educators, often I am asked: Is this conference really worth the time and