What happens to children’s academic skills over summer break? Research shows that many students lose ground, an effect known as the 'summer slide.' Several studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s appeared to show that children suffered significant learning losses [...]

Each year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation compiles its Kids Count Data Book from trusted data sources to help parents, educators, and policymakers understand where children across the United States are thriving—and where they need more support (see Appendix: Definitions [...]

The July Equity Exchange newsletter focuses on summer learning and the work that takes place during summer months to prepare for successful “Day One” school openings. This month, we also examine the 2025 Kids Count report and what the newest [...]

Each month, in the Equity Exchange newsletter, I reflect on the historical context, my experiences as an educator and large urban district superintendent, and their relationship to educational practice, reforms, opportunities, and equity. May, of course, was a time for our [...]

Most of us know that June is LGBTQ Pride Month. Fewer of us know why. Pride Month coincides with the anniversary of the 1969 New York City (NYC) Stonewall uprising. Today, we celebrate Pride Month, but it wasn’t always a celebration. To fully [...]

Like too many Black children, I lost my father much too early. In my case, my father, my hero, died of cancer when I was twelve. While that was devastatingly hard, I was fortunate because over the course of my youth, many [...]