A year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down U.S. schools. A year into the pandemic, 12 million students still lack adequate broadband access at home. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) already has millions of dollars for broadband in schools and libraries in a program called E-Rate. But right now those institutions can’t use the money to get their families connected.…
Tag: brightbeam
Join Our Conversation on Learning and #PostCovEd
Join us on Thursday, April 23, at 5 p.m. Central Time, for our inaugural Zoom web chat, #PostCovEd: How the Pandemic Is Changing Schooling Now and for the Future.
Why Are Black Families Leaving Chicago? Maybe Our Kids Can’t Wait for Better Schools.
My hometown of Chicago has touted itself as a progressive city for many years. We’ve stood firm in our position as a sanctuary city and recently moved towards the legalization of marijuana—pushing a social equity initiative to ensure people in blighted areas have skin in the weed game. We even formed a progressive caucus within the city council in 2013. We also received national…
Our Kids Can’t Wait Till You Show Up for Them on Tuesday Night
Chicago, our kids can’t wait–and we’re not going to make them wait anymore, either. Our kids can no longer wait on our city’s leadership or Chicago Public Schools to figure out how to close the opportunity gaps that exist between Black, Latino and White students. I recently wrote about brightbeam’s report, “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray…
Chicago, It’s on All of Us to Close the Gaps for Black and Brown Children
Enough is enough. I’m kicking off 2020 with less talk and more action. I need all concerned Chicagoans on deck at the Our Kids Can’t Wait: Education Town Hall on February 25. Our Black and Brown students are in crisis, and the only way we’ll make real progress is if the whole community unifies and puts pressure on our leaders…
Hey Chicago, Let’s Stop Cheating Our Kids out of Educational Opportunity
The roots of so-called achievement gaps lie in lack of access to opportunity for disadvantaged kids. Chicago must continue to create opportunity for every child in every school, starting with access to science, social studies and the arts.
White People: Here’s Why Moving to a “Good School” in a “Good Neighborhood” Is Racist
Many White folks, especially northern white liberals who voted for Obama, would argue they are not racist, even while they actively cause harm to Black folks by their racist actions. Since so many people don’t know what racism is or how they are racist, here are three racist things that northern White liberals do: Engage in “White flight”—when poor Black…
Dr. King Would Have Shined a Light on the Shame of ‘Progressive’ Cities. So Should We.
On the day that the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was taken in 1968 he had become increasingly focused on the least of these, the poor, people suffering in the margins, families left behind as the country’s economic prosperity boomed and the U.S. found it easy to fund its war machine. Today we will once again honor Dr.…